Neurophysiological Effects of Harmonisation: The Effect of Harmonisation on Heart Rate Variability, Respiratory Rate and Electroencephalograph

Authors

  • Peter C. Meier, Ph.D.
  • Susan E. Ballinger, Ph.D.
  • Barbara Hoi
  • Victor Vickland, M.Phych.

Abstract

 

Harmonisation is a practice whereby the harmoniser, who is centered in silent prayer, opens and nourishes the subject's chakras, using touch. This technique has been widely used since 1933, with substantial anecdotal evidence about its benefits, but no published, peer-reviewed data. This preliminary study aimed to discover if standard physiological measuring techniques can detect any significant changes in the central and autonomic nervous systems and the cardiopulmonary system during harmonisation. A simple, comparative design was used, with one experimental group of 20 self-selecting, healthy women, naive to harmonisation. The results were compared with reference data, matched for age and gender, from non-intervention control studies conducted by the same experimenters in the same neurophysiological laboratory. An 3D-minute recording session determined baseline, intervention and stabilization measurements of electroencephalographic, electrocardiographic, and respiratory data. A significant lowering of brain activity was found during the opening phase of harmonisation, implying a state of increased mental focus coupled with a sense of calmness and relaxation, while significant changes to heart beatlrespiration ratios were observed during the nourishing phase. This suggests that different physiological processes affecting the central and autonomic nervous systems and the cardiopulmonary system may occur during different phases of harmonisation.

Author Biographies

Peter C. Meier, Ph.D.

Susan E. Ballinger, Ph.D.

Barbara Hoi

Victor Vickland, M.Phych.

References

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