The heart-brain connection

Your heart knows things that your mind can’t explain.

–Unknown

At some point, we have all asked ourselves, “Should I listen to my heart or my head?” When we listen to our hearts, we are coming from a place of emotion and intuition. On the other hand, when we listen to our minds, we are coming from a place of logic and knowledge. Before making a decision, there is usually great deal of communication back and forth between the two.

What is heart intelligence?

You may be surprised to learn that the heart contains its own brain. Known as heart intelligence, the Institute of HeartMath defines it as “the flow of awareness, understanding, and intuition we experience when the mind and emotions are brought into coherent alignment with the heart.”

Surprisingly, the heart sends more information to the brain than vice versa. The communication between your heart and brain is what causes the thoughts and emotions we experience.

Heart signals significantly impact brain function; they influence emotional processing and higher cognitive abilities such as problem solving, attention, perception and memory. The heart and brain are constantly responding to each other.

When we feel positive emotions such as happiness or love, our hearts send a signal to our brains that reflects the emotion. As positive emotions are stable and balanced, that is exactly how the signal shows up in the brain – “a smooth harmonious wave.” This is known as a coherent heart rhythm pattern. It’s when we are in this coherent state that our bodies operate most efficiently.

How to get your heart and brain in sync

We all have control over the energy we project, and it all starts with becoming more conscious of our thoughts and attitudes. The more we feel positive emotions such as gratitude and compassion, the more in sync our hearts and brains become. It’s really that simple!

When we are in a state of coherence, we are better at communicating and making decisions and we are more likely to face our challenges in a creative and intuitive way. Even more incredible is the fact that our heart intelligence has the potential to make a positive change in the people around us.

To measure your heart rhythm, try the emWave – innovative technology that collects pulse data and translates your heart rhythms into graphics that reflect your level of coherence.

Rose Caiola
Inspired. Rewired.