| IHM NEWSLETTER |
Winter 2007/2008 Vol. 6 / No. 4 |
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FEATURE STORY
Making an International
Connection .................. 1
New Licensing Program
for Healthcare Providers
Enhances Treatment
Programs ..................... 2
CALENDAR OF
EVENTS ...................... 2
HeartMath Offers
Breast‑Cancer Survivors
Hope and Wellness ...... 3
PROGRAMS FOR GIVING
Together, We Are
Doing It! ...................... 4
NEW PRODUCTS
Emotion Visualizer™ Pro
Technology to Increase
Your Heart Power ........ 4
HEARTMATH
ENERGY‑SAVERS
The Treatment
Formula ...................... 5
STUDENTS TEACHING
STUDENTS .................. 6
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Making an International Heart Connection | New Web site available the first week of April, 2008. |
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Coming in April: IHM’s All-New Web Site
As you know, today, we live in a "wired" world. People around the globe are conducting an increasing amount of the business of living over the Internet – work, shopping, correspondence, banking, learning, play and more. Why not also use the Internet to reconnect with your heart, achieve heart coherence and begin experiencing new levels of joy, health and fulfillment?
The Institute of HeartMath has integrated the internet as an international stage for communicating with millions of people about creating global coherence and the wonderful possibilities of heart-based living at www.heartmath.org. We invite you to participate in this
exciting new arena for global outreach and join us in our quest to create greater personal and global coherence. At our new site you will discover ways to add more quality to your life and share with others. You can connect with other heart-focused people who, like you, have a sincere interest in building a coherent community. You’ll find new information about IHM’s work and what we offer, and we think you’ll like how we’ve organized the site to make navigation easier and more efficient. Tooling around HeartMath’s Web pages is now more enjoyable and rewarding than ever.
A small sample of what’s new:
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Personal Trackers™
Launch your Personal Tracker and begin experiencing the benefits today. Track your well-being as you go through Survey 1. Gain insights into your 5 Dimensions of Well-Being – Physical Vitality, Emotional Vitality, Social Connectedness, Spiritual Connectedness and Overall Well-Being – by tracking changes over time. Track your emWave® progress as you go through Survey 2. A great way to
hone your emWave® PSR® skills and track your coherence quotient. See the difference in your performance and state of well-being as you score.
- Community Tracker™
It’s like a stethoscope for the heart of the community and how it is feeling in real time. See how others are doing in the areas of physical and emotional vitality and overall well-being.
- Stress & Well Being Survey™
Use this research-based personal assessment tool, which includes useful recommendations, to explore your state of your mind and heart as often as you like.
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Solutions for Stress
If you’re having difficulty getting a good night’s rest, are suffering from fatigue and need a natural way to boost energy, get angry for little or no reason, or are having problems in your relationships, new interactive solutions are coming in April.
- HeartMath Universe
HeartMath programs and methods are now being utilized in more than 50 nations across five continents, and IHM is committed to extending this reach even farther to connect more people through heart-based living. Go to www.heartmath.org/universe.
- Your favorites are still here:
- HeartQuotes™
- IHM Newsletters
- The HeartMath Report
- Quick Coherence® Technique
- Shopping at HeartMath
We think you’ll love the new Institute of HeartMath Store! We’ve responded to your requests to make the IHM shopping experience easier and more efficient. Don’t forget to take advantage of your 10% Membership Discount while you’re shopping.
- Research and Education
These, of course, remain the key areas of focus at the Institute of HeartMath. We’re continuing to make the exciting discoveries and results of our extensive studies into stress, emotional management, heart intelligence, intuition and so much more available to the world online. As we respond to your feedback, IHM will continue to add pages that feature specific areas of investigation and focus keeping you informed.
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OK, ready to tour the new site?
Please, enjoy looking over our new Web site and store, and when you’ve finished, tell us what you think. Your feedback is important and we’ll use it to continue providing you with the best possible information and services. Simply click the Contact Us on any page and e-mail your comments to us. We look forward to hearing from you! 
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| Page 2: New Licensing Program for Healthcare Providers |
A Newsletter from the Institute of HeartMath® |
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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
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New Licensing Program for Healthcare Providers Enhances Treatment Programs |
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Professional healthcare practitioners routinely work with patients and clients who feel powerless to change negative emotional patterns and self-destructive behaviors. With the intense pressures to keep up, people are experiencing more anxiety, pain, sleeplessness, test anxiety, fatigue, depression and other stress-related symptoms. The cry for help can be heard from elementary schools to university campuses, employees in businesses of all sizes and from family members, friends and colleagues.
Recognizing the critical need for a new approach to treatment for a wide range of debilitating conditions, IHM and HeartMath LLC, in collaboration with researchers, clinical psychologists, physicians, therapists and counselors, have developed a new HeartMath training and certification program. Tentatively set for a February 2008 introduction, HeartMath Interventions: Establishing a New Baseline for Sustained Behavioral Change, is uniquely designed
for licensed and certified counselors, social workers, therapists and other healthcare providers. Health practitioners who’ve been using HeartMath interventions for many years note that they are highly effective in helping clients achieve desired results faster than ever before. Dr. Myron Thurber, a Washington-based therapist who utilizes HeartMath interventions in his treatment programs, has found that his patients can discover they actually do have the power to transform themselves. "It’s powerful when patients see how their emotions change the rhythms of their hearts. For many, this is the first time they really understand that they have control over their emotional responses and can control their own behavior and thoughts by intentionally shifting their emotions. It is remarkable to behold."
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Unlike HeartMath’s 1:1 Provider Program, which trains professionals how to teach their clients the HeartMath System in a workbook-based instructional model for a variety of applications ranging from personal to professional development, the HeartMath Interventions certification program focuses on the specific information and protocols needed to incorporate HeartMath techniques and technology into therapeutic settings.
| "Using HeartMath techniques in a group-therapy environment results in levels of vulnerability and accomplishment of work with patients that is nothing less than astonishing." |
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| —Dr. Steven Sawyer, works in the Milwaukee area with court-referred clients that have serious anger issues |
Blending at-home study with live e-learning, practitioners will learn how to use HeartMath’s tools and technologies to empower their patients and clients to effect and sustain changes in behavior and improve health and overall well-being. After successful completion of the program, practitioners will be certified to incorporate HeartMath interventions into their patient and client protocols. The program also helps practitioners themselves stay balanced and resilient in the face of their day-to-day work.
Practitioners who work in mental health, family and child support or social-service agencies, medical facilities and outpatient clinics, schools and universities, correctional institutions or private-practice clinics, please contact Brian Kabaker for more information at bKabaker@heartmath.org. |
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| Calendar of Events: |
talks/workshops/exhibits/conferences |
March 13-15, 2008
California Association of School Psychologists Convention at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Burlingame, Calif. Institute of HeartMath exhibiting. For more information go to: http://www.casponline.org or call (916) 444-1595.
March 24-28, 2008
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting and Exhibition in New York City, NY. Research on Schools, Neighborhoods, and Communities: Toward Civic Responsibility. Rollin McCraty, Ph.D. and Jeff Goelitz speaking and exhibiting. For more information go to: http://www.aera.net.
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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.
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| Page 3: HeartMath Offers Breast‑Cancer Survivors Hope and Wellness |
A Newsletter from the Institute of HeartMath® |
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HeartMath Offers Breast-Cancer Survivors Hope and Wellness |
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Recreational therapist Diane Groff, Ed.D., and exercise physiologist Claudio Battaglini, Ph.D., both of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, recently completed an exploratory study on the role of recreation therapy in facilitating well-being in survivors of breast cancer using HeartMath’s handheld emWave® Personal Stress Reliever®.
The two researchers are strong advocates of developing patients’ psychological and physical strength, which are needed to combat the debilitating side effects of cancer treatment. Since October 2006, Groff and Battaglini have reviewed a series of case histories in which 29 survivors within six months of post-treatment for breast cancer participated in the "Get REAL & HEEL program", which consisted of a variety of leisure therapy interventions. This program was offered to patients at no cost, thanks to the NC Triangle Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
In addition to strength-based physical exercise with a personal trainer, the "Get REAL & HEEL" program offered recreational therapy activities such as cognitive and behavioral interventions for stress management, relaxation training, creative and journal writing, expressive arts, leisure counseling and biofeedback (HeartMath – emWave® PSR®, and Wild Divine – Healing Rhythms.) Group recreational interventions included dance, expressive arts, group outings and exercise activities with other women in the group.
In the research study, participants were able to choose which type of biofeedback intervention they primarily used. After instruction on HeartMath’s Quick Coherence® technique and the benefits of sustaining heart-rhythm coherence, the participants all were given emWave PSR’s so they could practice at home. They stated that they really liked how easy and convenient they were to use.
In fact, the researchers discovered they had an unexpected compliance problem, one that researchers don’t commonly experience. Several participants were reluctant to return their emWave units when the Get REAL & HEEL program ended because they were somewhat addicted to them. Fortunately, the staff at HeartMath kindly offered these participants a discount and many units were purchased after their participation in the study ended.
This unusual scenario led the HeartMath Research Team to investigate this research endeavor more closely. IHM Research Coordinator Tani Shaffer, Ph.D recently interviewed Dr. Groff about the research results and here discusses her participants’ enthusiasm for the HeartMath intervention:
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Dr. Groff said the HeartMath – emWave, and Wild Divine – Healing Rhythms programs offered unique aspects to the participants’ understanding of the benefits of biofeedback. According to Dr. Groff, the participants expressed a particular preference for the emWave PSR because this type of intervention demonstrated a clear relationship between emotions and physiology.
As women learned HeartMath skills in the intervention, they began reflecting on their stress-management styles before the onset of their illness. Many began to question the relationship between their disease and stress, as they realized that they had been living with a serious deficit of exercise, poor nutrition, excessive stress, ineffective coping mechanisms or little awareness of the impact of chronic stress on their overall health.
Further, Dr. Groff states that it was especially striking to her and her colleagues that the majority of the participants were able to reach coherence with ease and within the first five minutes of instruction. In the context of managed care and hospital visits, it is truly remarkable to discover an intervention that can be taught and mastered in such a short amount of time! Dr. Groff and her team were especially pleased to witness the participants’ thrill of discovery and the warm glow of feeling empowered by learning this new skill to regulate their emotions and physiology.
Although these women generally responded enthusiastically to the idea of a personal trainer and lifestyle coach after completing their cancer treatment, it also was beneficial to learn they had the inner resources necessary to master their own coping and self-regulation, thus giving them a sense of control over their bodies – something that had been surrendered to others for a considerable amount of time.
As one participant stated in her therapy journal, "If nothing else, i am learning to control my emotions and that is having a tremendous impact on my life." Indeed, feelings of empowerment such as these can have a tremendous impact on one’s entire life, and the lessons that can be learned from HeartMath’s tools continue to offer wellness and hope to counter illness and stress.
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| Page 4: Programs for Giving |
A Newsletter from the Institute of HeartMath® |
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Together, We Are Doing It!
As a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization, we depend upon the support of individuals like you, who understand the importance of researching and developing new and better ways of helping people connect with the guidance and intelligence of their hearts to achieve personal and global coherence.
We appreciate you, our supporters, and want you to know that you are important to all of us at IHM:
It is your appreciation for the work we do that helps us build an ever stronger foundation from which we can help more and more people. |
We not only need and greatly appreciate your financial support, but your energetic support as well – the collective energy of the many thousands of people around the world who’ve expressed their sincere belief that work such as HeartMath’s is critical today. That energetic support is largely what inspires our researchers, trainers, technologists and entire staff to pursue with unwavering purpose the mission we all share.
Look at What You and the Institute of HeartMath Have Accomplished!
Your Dollars at Work is a presentation and tribute we’ve put together especially for you, our members, donors and other supporters who have put your faith and trust in the Institute of HeartMath. We think you’ll agree our current strategies portend an even greater and more productive future. We invite you to look at what you and the Institute of HeartMath have accomplished and see your dollars at work at www.heartmath.org/yourdollarsatwork.
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Technology to Increase Your Heart Power
If you own an emWave® PC/Mac you’ve probably been enjoying the Emotion Visualizer which allows you to see visual imagery that corresponds and reacts to different emotions and coherence levels. Now you can add more visual experiences, edit them and create your own with the Emotion Visualizer Pro!
Emotion Visualizer, a feature in emWave PC/Mac, shows stunning, colorful images that vary depending on the emotion you are feeling. It works like this: As you organize your emotional intentions to send out love, care or appreciation, the visual images on your emWave PC/Mac change to reflect your emotional coherence level. These visual images provide dynamic feedback so you can get a feel for when you are increasing your coherence by intentionally feeling positive emotions.
The Emotion Visualizer Pro gives you of the ability to adjust colors, patterns, positioning and more so you can experience even deeper levels of coherence and perfect your skill at regulating your emotions. As you master the skills of maintaining personal coherence, why not keep advancing your abilities while enjoying new visual experiences as you go?
Discover many more "experience options" from which to choose, or even create your own unique visualization experiences: With Emotion Visualizer Pro you can be your own special-effects designer and director.
If you love technology or what it can do for you, Emotion Visualizer Pro is a great complement to your emWave PC/Mac. For those who work with clients and students using emWave technology, the Emotion Visualizer Pro is an easy way to keep their learning and practice sessions fresh and entertaining.
Product features include: Welcome Section, How to Use, Visualization Objectives, Tutorials, Visualizer Simulator and much more. The cost of this downloadable product is just $49.95. Simply go to our store, download Emotion Visualizer Pro and enjoy creating new experiences: http://store.heartmath.org/Whats-New.
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| Page 5: The Treatment Formula |
A Newsletter from the Institute of HeartMath® |
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| HeartMath Energy-Savers |
The Treatment Formula
A treatment is a method for dealing with a situation. According to the dictionary, synonyms for this word are: handling, management, conduct, approach.
The new Math we’re sharing with you in this issue is a formula that gives you an effective treatment for managing stress of all kinds. It’s simply called "The Treatment Formula" and it goes like this:
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As we all know, stress is a common part of living at this unique time on planet Earth. A shift is taking place and although it holds enormous potential for humanity, it is clearly a time fraught with uncertainty, extreme changes, confusion and too much stimulation. Day-to-day living can be challenging, based not only on the situations in our lives, but also and especially on how we feel about those situations.
The Treatment Formula is a simple, systematic method for utilizing your heart’s intelligence to clear the decks of stress and regain poise and balance to live a more satisfying, fulfilling life. Here are the five steps, with brief explanations for each:
- Prepare: Access more of Your Higher Self
Access your Higher Self by using your favorite heart tool – Neutral, Quick Coherence® or Heart Lock-In®.
- Step One: Deeper Truth in Your Feelings
From your heart, penetrate to a deeper truth in what you are feeling. Have the courage to ask yourself, "What’s the real truth of my feelings?" Keep asking from the heart with meaningful intent, really wanting to know what feelings are there.
- Step Two: Heart Vulnerability
Remember that heart vulnerability is not a sign of weakness. It comes from the courage to be authentic with what’s real and true for you. Doc Childre once said heart vulnerability is so important that without it, all progress stops. Without discovering and admitting to ourselves what we are really feeling, release and clearing will be thwarted, and what’s not cleared will continue to build.
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Step Three: Attitude Replacement
Once you recognize your deeper feelings – often they can be an underlying judgment, resistance or anxiety – with the intent of clearing them, ask your heart for a replacement attitude. Clearing unproductive feelings requires this shift in attitude from your mature heart. Your heart will tell you what an effective attitude replacement would be – perhaps forgiveness, holding to neutral about people or situations or becoming more present in the moment
without projections. Once you commit to a replacement attitude, make a sincere attempt to bring in a feeling of that attitude. Anchor the new attitude and feeling until the resistance clears. This can take a little time but just keep anchoring in the replacement attitude. This way, rather than repressing unwanted feelings, you are using the intelligence of your heart to release them.
- Result: Clearing
Genuine clearing of unwanted feelings will give your entire system a boost in energy and vitality. You will recognize the release and relief you feel when you are clear. It’s important to build awareness of how it feels to be clear of feelings that drag you down and drain your energy, and it’s also important to have the patience and self-care to repeat the Treatment Formula whenever you notice unpleasant or painful feelings rising again.
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Here’s a simple example of when and how to use the Treatment Formula to clear unwanted feelings and shift to a new range of experience and possibility:
Situation: Ugh! I just don’t want to get up and face the day.
- Prepare: Access More of Your Higher Self
OK, I’ll just lie here for a few moments and go to Neutral: heart focus and heart breathing.
- Step One: Deeper Truth in Your Feelings
I don’t have the energy. I feel like a hamster on a wheel. Too much to do. No one really appreciates me. I would rather not deal with my family/boss/the world today. Who cares anyway?
- Step Two: Heart Vulnerability
When I really go to my heart, I can see that I feel unloved and cut off from my own love and care. I feel alone, lonely and discouraged. Life isn’t fun to me anymore. I feel like giving up.
- Step Three: Attitude Replacement
In my heart, I know I have the strength to keep going. What attitude would help me right now? How can I open my heart and feel better? Hmm, I see. The attitude that feels best for me right now is soft heart. I will ease into and through the day with care for myself and others – no overcare. From the soft heart, I will do my best.
- Results: Clearing
Ah! I feel a new lightness and ability to face the day. I can see I was putting too much significance on everything and felt like I was facing an unmovable mountain of things to do and people to deal with. Now I feel more centered in the moment and I’m in a place where I can take one step at a time, and from the soft heart, ease through my day.
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| Page 6: Students Teaching Students |
A Newsletter from the Institute of HeartMath® |
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Students Teaching Students
"I am a counselor working in an urban school district in Racine, Wis. Last spring, one of my supervisors sent me to a HeartMath workshop and I was very excited to learn your techniques. I have been teaching them to middle school students for six months and I’m very happy with the results.
Students are excelling on exams, making better choices and, most of all, starting to realize what power they actually have over their lives. It’s a beautiful sight when I walk in my office and see students teaching the techniques to other students."
—Deborah Renna, middle school counselor
A new program planned for February, HeartMath Interventions: Establishing a New Baseline for Sustained Behavioral Change, was developed for professionals like Deborah Renna. Licensed and certified counselors, social workers, therapists and other healthcare providers will learn to use HeartMath tools and technology for empowering people to change their behavior and improve their lives. (See Page 2) |
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Institute of HeartMath • 14700 West Park Ave., Boulder Creek, California 95006 • 831-338-8500 • www.heartmath.org |
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