Scientific research has confirmed that there is a continual two-way communication between the heart and the brain with the heart doing most of the talking. In fact, the heart communicates with the brain and body in 4 ways:
Neurological communication - nervous system
Biochemical communication - hormones
Biophysical communication - pulse waves
Energetic communication - electromagnetic fields
Further research has confirmed that there is actually a brain ON the heart that processes information before it sends that information to the brain and the rest of the body - the heart has intelligence. Research that has been replicated many times over shows that the heart often "knows" of an event and begins to react to it before the brain is even aware of the event itself. Interestingly, even though we are told these days that "our gut knows", the fact is that the heart knows first.
Did you know that...
your heart emits electromagnetic fields that can be measured up to several feet away from your body and that change according to your emotions and the emotions of those around us?
you can boost your immune system by conjuring positive emotions and that those positive emotions create physiological benefits in your body?
a mother's brainwaves synchronize with her baby's heart beats and that the fetal heart develops before the brain exists?
negative emotions can create a nervous system chaos that directly affects your body?
heart-brain coherence is vital to health and wellness.
We have the power and ability to self-regulate, to bring our body into coherence and alignment. The body has the ability to do that on its own. However, when something interferes with natural alignment, we do have the ability to intentionally change course emotionally and physiologically. Our thoughts and mindset directly impacts our ability to create positive changes in our systems of neurology, autonomic system, hormone, vascular, immune, digestive, cardio-vascular, and more.
Now is the time to see health and wellness in a new light. Health is not just the absence of disease but rather a process by which we understand our body's natural state of coherence and intentionally work to get out of it's way so that we may heal. I realize that this is a concept not embraced by the medical system and I am in no way implying that you should not seek medical guidance, if you so choose. I am saying that there is more that we need to understand if we are to take responsibility for our lives, our health and wellness, and our understanding of what brings us to a maximum state of aliveness. It starts with knowledge and intention. The more knowledge we have, the more amazed we become on just how extraordinary we are as human beings - how interconnected we are within and without.
Coaching questions for the day: what does your heart know that your brain isn't interested in seeing and what does your heart know is impacting your general health and wellness? And, of course, the concluding question: what are you willing to do about it?
PS Here is an excellent and free research paper from the HeartMath Institute on this subject.
Wanda Taylor, CEO
ICF Master Certified Coach
services@baycentre.net