IHM Fall 2007 Newsletter

IHM NEWSLETTER

Fall 2007 Vol. 6 / No. 3

INSIDE

FEATURE STORY
Independent Research
Studies In Progress—
Emotional Frontier
Investigated ................. 1

Promising Results for
Students—TestEdge^®
National Demonstration
Study Summary ........... 2

Epigenetics,
A New Biology ............. 3

PROGRAMS FOR GIVING
HeartMath Military
Service Appreciation
Fund ........................... 4

HEARTMATH
ENERGY-SAVERS
Soft Heart—A Place of
Ease ............................ 5

CALENDAR OF
EVENTS ...................... 5

NEW PRODUCTS
Transforming
Depression—Newest Book
in HeartMath’s
Transforming Series .... 6

Timely, Transformative
and Fun—Introducing
HeartSmarts™
Curriculum for
Grades 3-5 .................. 6

A COHERENT HEART
MAKES ALL THE
DIFFERENCE .............. 7

Independent Research Studies In Progress—Emotional Frontier Investigated

In addition to long-term collaborative relationships with numerous researchers and research institutions, IHM encourages outside independent studies. A growing number of researchers are coming forward with proposals to investigate the efficacy of IHM’s emotion-regulation tools and technologies for various populations and areas of need.

As more people understand the importance of the role of emotion in human experience, it’s a natural outcome that scientists and scholars elect to investigate this new arena of awareness. Now that there are technologies for measuring the effects of emotion on physiology and validated techniques for self-regulating emotion, a whole new world of potential discovery has made itself apparent to researchers around the world.

Following is a sampling of independent studies in progress. Each one is investigating the application of particular HeartMath techniques and/or technologies, as these apply to specific groups of people. As you will see, these independent researchers seek to learn how real people, facing real challenges, might benefit from using HeartMath tools, techniques and technologies for enhanced quality of life.

Education
Evaluation of Changes in Natural Heart Coherence Levels With Age and Educational Environment: Linda Caviness and Marilee Dalton, La Sierra University, Riverside, Calif and Shelley Davidow, Sunbridge College, Chestnut Ridge, N.Y.

Evaluation of HeartMath and a Portable HRV Coherence Device in Reducing Anxiety Disorders in College Students: Steve Keffer, Dr Mark Gabriel, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va

Use of the emWave^® PC/Mac (formerly Freeze-Framer^®) and emWave^® PSR with Emotionally Disturbed Secondary Level Students: Katherine Brewer, Santa Barbara County Office of Education Research, Santa Barbara, Calif

The Relationships Between Physiological Measures of Intuition, Classroom Interactions, Behaviors, Traits and Academic Performance Study: Linda Caviness, Angie Barrett, La Sierra University, Riverside, Calif

Learning within a Prison Environment: Will Emotional Intelligence Training Benefit Female Inmates Participating in a Work-based Education Program? Lori Bosteder and Sara Hargrave, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore

Cardiology
emWave^® PC/Mac (formally Freeze-Framer) Technology in Cardiology: A Single Center Study Of The Effects Of Freeze-Framer^® In Subjects Presenting To A Cardiology Clinic study: Dr. Stephen Jennison, Becky Aud-Jennison, Claire Call, Prairie Cardiovascular Consultants, Springfield, ILL

Pregnant Women, New Mothers and Infants
Effects of Stress Management and Anxiety Reduction Training Using Heart Rate Variability on Pregnant Women and Their Infants: Janice Keeney, University of North Texas, campuses in Dallas-Fort Worth region

Does Breast Feeding vs. Bottle Feeding Affect the Energetic Link Between Mother and Infant Study: Wendy McCarthy, Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, Calif

Veterans Health
Effects of HeartMath Intervention and Technologies on Improving Outcomes in Veterans with PTSD: Martha Kent, Arizona State University

Empirical Validation of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback as a Treatment to Reduce Stress Reactivity in Combat Veterans with PTSD: Psychologist and Investigator, Neuroscience Laboratory, SC

Effects of HeartMath Intervention and Technologies on Improving Outcomes in Homeless Veterans and Veterans with Substance Abuse: Psychologist, Veterans Residential Treatment Center, CA

Psychology
Exploration of Energetic Interactions Between Therapist and Client in Coherent and Non-coherent Modes: Nina Paradiso, Santa Barbara Graduate Institute

The Efficacy of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback On the Reduction of Depressive Symptoms: Robert Wysocki, Argosy University, Chicago, IL

Business Entrepreneurs
Study of Physiological Indicators of Intuition in Repeat Entrepreneurs: Murray Gillin, Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, Victoria, Australia

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1	Fall 2007

Page 2: Promising Results for Students

A Newsletter from the Institute of HeartMath^®

MEMBERSHIP:
$25/yr (US $)

FOR MEMBERSHIP AND CUSTOMER SERVICE WRITE OR CALL:
The Institute of HeartMath
14700 West Park Ave.
Boulder Creek,
California 95006
1 (831) 338-8500
Toll-Free in US:
(800) 711-6221

E-MAIL:
info@heartmath.org

WEB SITE:
www.heartmath.org

Promising Results for Students—TestEdge^® National Demonstration Study Summary

TENDS, the TestEdge National Demonstration Study, was conducted by Institute of HeartMath researchers in collaboration with faculty and graduate students at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, Calif. Funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

The study’s purpose was to investigate the efficacy of the TestEdge program in reducing stress and test anxiety and improving emotional well-being, quality of relationships and academic performance in public school students. The TestEdge Program is based on 18 years of scientific research. It teaches a set of easy-to-use tools and techniques that enable students to reduce stress and test anxiety while self-generating an optimal psychophysiological state for improved learning and academic performance. The primary study observed an experimental group and a control group.

A few of the preintervention findings across the whole sample population at baseline were:

61% of all students reported being affected by test anxiety, with 26% experiencing high levels often or most of the time.
Twice as many females as males experienced high levels of test anxiety.
There is a strong negative relationship between test anxiety and test performance; students with high levels of test anxiety scored, on average, 15 points lower on standardized tests in both mathematics and English-language arts than students with low test anxiety.

"The study is superb. …Of particular import is the physiological evidence indicating that students in the program had established a new set point of emotional stability – a requisite for sustained behavioral change."

—Karl Pribram, M.D., Ph.D., Neuropsychologist;
Author – "Brain and Perception" and "Languages of the Brain"

Both teachers and students received instruction in HeartMath tools and techniques through The Resilient Educator^® and TestEdge^® programs, respectively. These programs, used as the intervention in this study, were developed by IHM. This study marks the first time the efficacy of the TestEdge program has been evaluated in a large-scale implementation.

After the TestEdge program had been delivered to the students in the experimental school, the study results showed strong, consistent evidence of a positive effect from the intervention on these students compared to those in the control group.

Some post-intervention findings include:

There was a significant reduction in the mean level of test anxiety. Of those students at the intervention school who had reported being affected by test anxiety at the beginning of the study, 75% had reduced levels by the end of the study.
This reduction in mean test anxiety also was evident for more than three-quarters of all classrooms and it was observed throughout the academic-ability spectrum – high-performing to low-performing classes.

"…a goldmine of information, research and insight. … That the biological basis for learning lies in the emotional structures of brain and heart, not in intellectual schema and enforced modifications of behavior, is literally the liberation of childhood and the society as a whole."

—Joseph Chilton Pearce, Specialist in early child development.
Author of "Magical Child," "Evolution’s End" and "The Biology of Transcendence"

Physiological Study Findings Results from the electrophysiological study provided compelling evidence for hypothesizing a causal link between increased psychophysiological coherence and the cognitive functions central to learning and test-taking.
Students in the experimental group had acquired the ability to self-activate the coherent state prior to taking an important test.

Heart Rhythm Coherence While Preparing for a Stressful Test

Data from the electrophysiological substudy—a controlled experiment involving a random stratified sample of students from the intervention and control schools (N=50 and 48, respectively). In this experiment, students were administered the Stroop stress test while heart rate variability was continuously recorded. These graphs quantify heart-rhythm coherence—the key marker of the psychophysiological coherence state—during the stress preparation phase of the protocol. Data are shown from recordings collected before and after the TestEdge intervention. The experimental group demonstrated a significant increase in heart-rhythm coherence in the post-intervention recording when they used one of the TestEdge tools to prepare for the stressful test, as compared to the control group, who used their own stress preparation techniques. ***p < 0.001.

The Executive Summary is available for downloading at: www.heartmath.org/tendssummary.
The complete study, over 300 pages in length and rich in detail, is available at: www.heartmath.org/tendsreport.

This newsletter is published quarterly by the Institute of HeartMath, 14700 West Park Avenue, Boulder Creek, California 95006; (831) 338-8500.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Institute of HeartMath, 14700 West Park Ave., Boulder Creek, California 95006.

© Copyright 2007 Institute of HeartMath. All rights reserved. Express written permission is required from the publisher to reproduce, in any manner, the contents of this issue, either in full or in part. HeartMath, Freeze-Frame, Heart Lock-In, Cut-Thru, HeartSmarts, and Heart Mapping are registered trademarks of the Institute of HeartMath. The Resilient Educator is a trademark of the Institute of HeartMath. Attitude Breathing and Quick Coherence are registered trademarks of Doc Childre. Freeze-Framer and emWave Personal Stress Reliever are registered trademarks of Quantum Intech. TestEdge is a registered trademark of HeartMath LLC.

This newsletter is not intended to provide advice on personal health matters, which should be provided by a qualified health care provider. We regret that we cannot respond to individual inquiries about personal health matters. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.


2	Fall 2007

Page 3: Epigenetics, A New Biology

A Newsletter from the Institute of HeartMath^®

Epigenetics, A New Biology
– The science of how genes are controlled by the environment and by our perception of the environment.

A new, exciting area of IHM research, in alignment with Bruce Lipton’s research, is the field of epigenetics. Lipton, Ph.D., author of The Biology of Belief and winner of the 2006 Best Book award for Best Science Book, has shown that our genes and cells respond to signals from outside the cells, including the hormonal and energetic messages that reflect our emotional, mental and spiritual experiences.

Earlier in his career as a research scientist and medical school professor, Dr. Lipton actively supported the perspective that the human body was a "biochemical machine ‘programmed’ by its genes." "We scientists believed that our strengths, such as artistic or intellectual abilities, and our weaknesses, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer or depression, represented traits that were preprogrammed into our genes. Hence, I perceived life’s attributes and deficits, as well as our health and our frailties, as merely a reflection of our heredity expression."

In 1980, however, Dr. Lipton’s research began to reveal that this perspective on the human body was flawed. By 1985 he realized that rather than being controlled by our genes, our cells are controlled by their perception of the environment. He hypothesized that the cell "brain" actually was the cell membrane and tested this in 1987 as a research fellow at Stanford University’s School of Medicine. This pioneering research presaged epigenetics, one of today’s most active areas of research.

This new perspective on human biology does not view the body as merely a mechanical device, but incorporates the role of mind and spirit. This breakthrough in biology is fundamental to healing because it shows that when we change our perceptions or beliefs we send completely different messages to our cells, in effect, reprogramming them. This new biology reveals why people can have spontaneous remissions or recover from injuries thought to be permanent.

"The body really represents the cooperative effort of a community of 50 trillion single cells," Lipton said. "While every cell is an independent entity, the body’s community accommodates the wishes and intents of its ‘central voice’ – the mind and spirit." The principle source of stress is this central voice, or the mind, which comprises two separate minds – the conscious and the subconscious, he said.

"The conscious mind is the thinking ‘you,’ Lipton explained. "It is the creative mind that expresses free will. Its supporting partner is the subconscious mind, a database of programmed behaviors. Some ‘programs’ are derived from genetics. However, the vast majority of the subconscious programs are acquired through the developmental learning experiences we have as children."

"The subconscious mind is not the seat of reasoning or creative consciousness. It is strictly a stimulus-response device. When the subconscious mind perceives a signal from its environment it reflexively responds by activating a previously stored behavioral response – no thinking required."

"Our fundamental perceptions or beliefs about life were downloaded into our subconscious mind by simply observing the behaviors and attitudes of our parents, siblings and peers during the first six years ... Our dual mind’s effectiveness is now defined by the quality of the programs carried in our subconscious mind."

Lipton said subconscious behaviors are programmed to engage without even being observed or controlled by the conscious self.

"When we become more conscious," he said, "and rely less on the automated programs in our subconscious, we become the masters of our fates rather than the ‘victims’ of our programs. Using our conscious awareness, we can actively transform our lives by rewriting our limiting perceptions and beliefs and self-sabotaging behaviors."

Lipton’s research reveals that rather than being determined by our genes, we are continuously being genetically encoded in our brain and energetic structures. Our neurological pathways are strengthened by frequent patterns and weakened by infrequent patterns. His and IHM’s research show that people need to have skills for mental and emotional self-regulation and that we can affect our genetic structure for improved health and well-being and greater connectedness with ourselves and others.

For more information, go to: www.brucelipton.com.


3	Fall 2007

Page 4: HeartMath Military Service Appreciation Fund

A Newsletter from the Institute of HeartMath^®

Programs for Giving

HeartMath Military Service Appreciation Fund
... military service men and women are the heart of our great nation.

A Pentagon report released in June 2007 reported that U.S. troops returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan suffered "daunting and growing" psychological problems: 38% of Army soldiers, 31% of Marines and 49% of National Guard members reported post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depression, anxiety and other potentially disabling mental disorders. Report of the Department of Defense Task Force on Mental Health – June 2007

Although not all returning soldiers develop PTSD or other mental disorders, most have significant issues returning to normal lives. Everyone responds differently to reintegration, but common mental and emotional responses include anger, anxiety, sleeplessness, depression, nightmares, inability to stop repeating thought loops and continually replaying traumatic scenarios. Physiological responses include nausea, diarrhea and chronic pain. Common ways of coping are drugs and alcohol, which can lead to abuse, addiction and development of reckless behavior patterns.

Whether service personnel already suffer from PTSD or are at risk, there is an urgent need to reach them as soon as possible after their return: Many troops returning home are experiencing the effects of surviving in a combat zone and greatly need mental and emotional management skills.

Some of the facilities we are working with include:

Amputee Center: The emWave^® technology is helping amputees learn to control pain, manage emotions and stay balanced through the surgeries and the recovery process.
Psychiatric Services Facility: Troops returning from Iraq are practicing with the technology to develop skills to help with PTSD, anger, anxiety, reintegration issues and the transition process.
Substance Abuse Program: Veterans in the substance abuse program are learning the techniques and practicing with the technologies to learn to manage emotions and change addictive behaviors.
PTSD Clinic: Veterans in support groups are learning the techniques to assist with emotional management, substance abuse issues and recovering from PTSD.

You Can Help

We’ve been receiving two or three calls a week from military and veterans facilities asking for help in providing HeartMath’s skill-building programs and emotion-regulation technology. Therefore, we’ve created the HeartMath Military Service Appreciation Fund so you can get involved personally, helping us to fulfill more requests for help.

The money you donate to the Military Service Appreciation Fund will be used to provide training programs and technology to military troops, giving them solid solutions for lessening mental, emotional and physical suffering and making it easier for them to transition back into society. Healthcare providers also will receive training and technology so they can pass these skills and resources on to the many veterans who need care, including those who have been in combat and noncombat zones and who served recently or in the past.

You can make a big difference in helping stabilize the mental, emotional and physiological condition of our troops by giving them tools to cope with the personal impact of war. HeartMath’s scientifically developed and tested resources can aid in shifting feelings of hopelessness and helplessness to optimism and wisdom and help these individuals achieve heart coherence.

Your contribution, regardless of the amount, will help. Thank you for your care and generosity.

National Guard Member Thankful for HeartMath

New York National Guard member Jake Kubetz’s greatest fear before deploying to Iraq in 2005 was not physical death, but the sight of fellow soldiers returning from Iraq as emotional basket cases and emotionally empty shells. Fortunately, Kubetz said then, he had HeartMath. "The HeartMath tools have truly made a difference in my life and the lives around me," he said right before deployment. After returning in 2006, Kubetz said, "Thanks to HeartMath, I made it back in good spirits; it was the best weapon I had over there, and the only one I brought back with me and continue to use. ... The heart tools helped me to readjust to life in the States and the culture shock of coming back."

For information or to contribute, go to: www.heartmath.org/warriors; or call Katherine at (866) 221-6339. Send check to: Institute of HeartMath, Military Service Appreciation Fund, 14700 West Park Ave., Boulder Creek, CA 95006

Your contribution is tax-deductible. IHM is a t01 (c)(3) nonprofit research and education corporation.


4	Fall 2007

Page 5: Soft Heart—A Place of Ease

A Newsletter from the Institute of HeartMath^®

HeartMath Energy-Savers

Soft Heart—A Place of Ease

As you practice cultivating your heart’s intelligence, you begin to discern different aspects of this unique core of wisdom within you. These aspects, or qualities of intelligence, can be used in different circumstances as your changing needs arise. A valuable aspect to call upon is the "Soft Heart."

Soft Heart is a place to regenerate and find renewed balance. Let’s face it, nobody feels great, or even good, all the time. How you feel can shift frequently during a day, week or month. Mood swings are commonplace as life becomes more complex, overstimulating and uncertain. Shifts in feelings and mood can be exhausting and confusing unless you have emotion regulation tools to use. When you learn to go to your Soft Heart, you’ll find an easygoing, warm place of compassion for yourself. It’s not a mushy or self-pitying place. It’s a place of ease and self-care.

A useful metaphor for Soft Heart is a warm, calming bath. Imagine yourself soaking in this bath in your heart, easing away tension and anxiety little by little. Your first step, before entering the "soak," is to recognize that you’re feeling disturbed, overwhelmed or depressed.

Remember, it’s not the issues that cause your low-ebb feelings as much as the significance you’re giving them. Now, find your Soft Heart attitude. Soak and relax your feelings in the compassion of the heart, letting the significance dissolve a little at a time. Take your time doing this. Keeping your attention in a Soft Heart can allow more coherent heart rhythms to emerge, helping you recoup mental, emotional and physical vitality.

Respect the fact that you are human, living in a time of profound change as the planetary shift accelerates. Allow yourself to ease and rest in the comfort of your Soft Heart to recoup energy. As you move in slower motion for a while, you’ll find that your emotional energy delicately recharges and your vitality and heart buoyancy eventually will return.

Calendar of Events:

talks/workshops/exhibits/conferences

September 5-9, 2007
AARP Life@50+ National Event & Expo at the Boston Convention Center, Boston, Mass. HeartMath exhibit booth #531. For more information go to: www.aarp.org/events.

October 2-7, 2007
American Academy of Family Physicians Scientific Assembly, at McCormick Place, Chicago, ILL. HeartMath will have exhibit booth. For more information go to: www.aafp.org.

October 10-12, 2007
Organization for College Counselor Directors of Higher Education Annual Fall Conference, at the Cliffs Resort in Shell Beach, Calif. Dr. Rollin McCraty presents "The Heart’s Role in the Physiology of Emotional Stability." Christiana Bishop will demonstrate the emWave^® technologies. For more information go to: http://caps.ucdavis.edu/occdhe/conference.html.

October 14-17, 2007
Ready to Learn Conference sponsored by EduAlliance, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Anaheim, Calif. Jeff Goelitz will be presenting The Resilient Educator^® and IHM will have an exhibit booth. For more information go to: http://www.edualliance.org/2007/readytolearn/ or call EduAlliance Network at (831) 425-0299.

October 17-19, 2007
Institute for Health and Productivity Management, at Hyatt Gainey Ranch, Scottsdale,Ariz. Bruce Cryer will present with Duke Health System and Health Fitness Corporation. HeartMath will have an exhibit booth.

October 19-22, 2007
Qualified Instructor Licensing Program—The Resilient Educator^® Course, at IHM Conference Center, Boulder Creek, Calif. For more information go to: http://www.heartmath.org/educator or call Christiana Bishop (831) 338-8706.

October 23-27, 2007
Association for Educational Communications and Technology International Convention, at Hyatt Regency Orange County, Anaheim, Calif. "Learning Within the Kaleidoscope: A Culture of Technology." IHM will have an exhibit booth. For more information go to: http://www.aect.org/events/Anaheim/.

November 7-11, 2007
ChildSpirit Conference, at the Sheraton Read House in Chattanooga, Tenn. Dr. Robert A. Rees is presenting. For more information go to: http://www.childspirit.net or call Mary Hart at (678) 839-0609.

November 30-December 3, 2007
The HeartMath 1:1 Provider Program, at the IHM Conference Center, Boulder Creek, Calif. This is a unique training and licensing program for coaches, consultants and healthcare professionals on how to teach the tools of the HeartMath System. To register, call (800) 450-9111 or go to: http://www.heartmath.com/health/professional/1_on_1_licensing.html.


5	Fall 2007

Page 6: Transforming Depression

A Newsletter from the Institute of HeartMath^®

New Products

Transforming Depression
The newest book in HeartMath’s Transforming Series.

CNN reported recently that antidepressants are now the most prescribed drugs in the U.S., edging out those to treat high blood pressure. The World Health Organization predicts that by 2020, depression will surpass heart disease as the No. 1 disability worldwide.

Consider how many people you know right now who often feel depressed or suffer mild to serious depression. You probably can name some in your own family, friends or co-workers and in a wide range of age groups. Perhaps even you feel depressed.

Transforming Depression: The HeartMath^® Solution to Feeling Overwhelmed, Sad, and Stressed, by Doc Childre and Deborah Rozman, Ph.D., is aimed at helping you release and prevent depression. Scientifically based, this fourth book in the Transforming series is full of practical exercises and simple tools to keep you from repeating downward spirals. This 181-page roll-up-your-sleeves manual covers what you need to do for emotional energy maintenance and shows you how to take a heart-intelligent stand for your own well-being.

In addition to application-specific uses for foundational tools such as Heart Lock-In^® and Neutral, you’ll gain in-depth knowledge of how to use Cut-Thru^® to ease and release even the most stubborn and wearisome emotional drains. The Cut-Thru technique was used in the groundbreaking IHM case study showing how consistent practice resulted in average 100% increase in DHEA and 23% reduction in cortisol production among participating individuals. They experienced increased emotional balance and health and positive feelings of caring, warm-heartedness and vigor.

The first part of the book covers tools to clear stressful feelings as they come up. The second part covers emotional restructuring techniques to release longer-term emotional issues and depressive perspectives. The last part covers deep psychology on the root causes of many depressive patterns and discusses how to use the techniques to clear them. Take the book to heart and it will help you develop the awareness and understanding to step into a new world.

To purchase, go to: www.heartmath.org/depressionbook.

Timely, Transformative and Fun
Introducing HeartSmarts™ Curriculum for Grades 3-5

After nearly two years of development and piloting in the classroom, the new HeartSmarts curriculum has been released. Based on HeartMath research on the physiology of learning and performance, this upper-elementary school curriculum teaches students ages 8-10, about their emotional physiology and gives them a set of basic tools to help manage stress, improve learning and strengthen relationships. Based on initial teacher testing and comments, this program has the capacity to transform the social and emotional learning climate of any third- through fifth-grade classroom or after-school program.

HeartSmarts is organized into five modules: Exploring Emotions, Getting in Sync for Learning, Listening from Your Heart, Becoming Your Best Self and Sharing What You Know. Short lessons use experiential learning in pairs and small groups for problem-solving, improving relationships and engaging in collaborative discussion on topics related to school performance. In each module, students practice a new tool to get in sync for learning. As the teacher makes these tools part of his/her meaningful rituals and routines in the classroom, they become "habits of the heart," reinforced through daily practice and reflection without requiring additional instructional time. These practices can dramatically cut down on students’ learning issues and behavioral problems and cultivate healthier, more mature attitudes and actions.

For more information or to purchase, go to: www.heartmath.org/heartsmarts3-5.


6	Fall 2007

Page 7: A Coherent Heart Makes All the Difference

A Newsletter from the Institute of HeartMath^®

Institute of HeartMath • 14700 West Park Ave., Boulder Creek, California 95006 • 831-338-8500 • www.heartmath.org


7	Fall 2007