NEW ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES ASSOCIATED WITH INTENTIONAL HEART FOCUS

Abstract

This work utilizes the measurement of heart rate variability (HRV) as a vehicle to show that continued practice of certain specific techniques involving an intentional shift of focus to the area of the heart, and invoking specific feeling states such as "love" and "appreciation," automatically manifests in increased autonomic nervous system balance. In particular, (1) enhanced balance between the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system, (2) a shift of the high frequency and low frequency portions of the HRV power spectra to around 0.1 Hz range, (3) entrainment and frequency locking of multiple body oscillators (HRV, pulse transit time and respiration), (4) a shift in frequency of all the body's entrained systems, around O.IHz frequency, associated with a change in focus of the subject to a different heart feeling state, and (5) the intentional generation of a newly defined internal coherence state (near zero HRV), have all been achieved. These are electrophysiological correlates of certain mental and emotional states occupied by the individual. Three individual subjects plus a group study of twenty subjects are reported on and discussed. From these results, one sees that individuals can intentionally affect their autonomic nervous system balance, and thus, their HRV.