Stress reduction through heart coherence, by Vreni Gurd, is great food for thought for anyone dealing with stress, especially for those with atrial fibrillation triggered by stress.
Some interesting comments from the article:
The brain and the heart are connected via the autonomic peripheral nervous system, which is not under conscious control and regulates organ function.
The sympathetic branch (fight or flight), raises heart rate, blood pressure etc. whereas the parasympathetic branch slows heart rate, lowers blood pressure etc. The goal for optimal health is to have the two branches balance each other.
So, learning how to control the heart can make a huge difference in our ability to come to peace with the emotional brain.
These ideas come from a book, The Instinct to Heal - Curing Depression, Anxiety, and Stress without Drugs and without Talk Therapy, by David Servan-Schreiber, M.D., PhD
Gurd concludes:
It is said that we are happiest when we follow our heart, so learning to hear what our heart is telling us can be very valuable indeed.
Amen. In my most popular speech and signature story, Hear Your Heart, I talk about how hearing your heart can actually save your life. It saved mine.
Do you have a story about hearing your heart?
http://www.mellaniehills.com/speakintro.htm
BIO:
Mellanie True Hills is a heart disease survivor, heart health expert, internationally-known author, and non-profit CEO.
Newsweek said, "a near-death experience prompted Mellanie to make a career of telling others what they need to know about heart disease." Following a brush with death in emergency heart surgery, and a near-stroke from a frightening irregular heartbeat later that same year, Mellanie True Hills pledged to use her second chance to help others avoid the #1 and #3 killers, heart disease and stroke.
As CEO of the American Foundation for Women's Health, her mission is to raise awareness of heart disease and stroke with her inspirational and motivational keynotes for American Heart Association Go Red for Women events, hospital women's health events, and corporate and association events. She provides a message of hope and encouragement, sharing how to take control, decrease stress, and protect against heart disease. Audiences consistently say, "You saved my life."
After being cured of her life-threatening irregular heartbeat, atrial fibrillation, she launched www.StopAfib.org
Author of the award-winning book, A Woman's Guide to Saving Her Own Life: The HEART Program for Health and Longevity, she has been featured by hundreds of media around the globe, including CNBC Asia, Reuters , Newsweek, Better Homes and Gardens, Heart-Healthy Living, FoxBusinesss.com, MSNBC.com, PBS, ABC, NBC, and CBS.
Visit Mellanie True Hills on her website:
http://mellaniehills.com
View Mellanie's Videos:
https://www.empowher.com/heart
To share your heart story with EmpowHer, go to www.EmpowHer.com/share