Continuing our series looking at coaching tools and techniques, Coaching at Work road-tests the HeartMath system
1 The tool
What is it?
The HeartMath system is a combination of tools and technology that helps people tune in to their “heart’s intelligence” to maximise health, balance and performance.
These highly practical tools help clients access clearer thinking and experience the heart of who they are.
When the signal from the heart to the brain is “coherent”, a smooth heart rhythm sends a clear, ordered signal to the brain. According to HeathMath’s providers, we are then able to access the intelligence that resides in the brain, so the heart and brain become synchronised.
To do this we focus our breathing around our heart and recall, then relive, heartfelt emotions, such as appreciation, courage and compassion. The wisdom of the heart becomes more engaged in what we are doing and our outcomes are more productive, efficient and fulfilling.
When we are out of coherence – hampered by negative emotions – our heart rhythms become more jagged, and we experience energy drain. Our effectiveness will then be diluted.
The HeartMath technology includes a desktop or handheld wave monitor, which allows clients to look at their level of coherence and heart–wave rhythms in real time (the technology does not measure feelings, rather, the autonomic nervous system’s synchronisation).
Once they have correlated their coherence with how they are feeling, using the HeartMath exercises, they are able to “access an emotional landscape that is healthy, resilient and balanced”.
For more on the tools, techniques, technologies and coaching methodology available on the one-to-one HeartMath provider programme offered through licensed provider Ei World, contact: www.eiworld.org
How does it work?
The HeartMath one-to-one programme aims to increase the ratio of time spent in coherence. There are a number of HeartMath tools, such as the Neutral tool, and the Quick Coherence, Heart Lock-In and Freeze-Frame techniques.
The emWave Desktop technology can help the client immediately notice their baseline coherence, and by applying these exercises shift it upwards.
A HeartMath provider chooses from a series of six workbooks that enable a client to focus on a specific aspect of everyday life, eg, work performance, stress and health and vitality. This gives the client a comprehensive programme for working on their challenges during and between coaching sessions.
The Quick Coherence technique allows clients to connect with their “energetic heart zone” to release stress and balance emotions. The technique only takes a minute to do. Thus, focus, intuition and decision-making can be improved almost immediately. Here’s how it works:
Quick Coherence technique
- Heart Focus
The client is invited to focus their attention in the area of the heart. Sometimes it helps clients to put their hand over their heart. I tell my clients that if their mind wanders, to gently guide it back to the heart, writes Jill Savage. - Heart Breathing
I then invite my clients to focus on their heart and imagine their breath flowing in and out of that area. This helps clients to focus mind and energy in the heart area. I invite them to breathe slowly and gently to a count of five or six, through the heart, until their breathing feels smooth and balanced. - Heart Feeling
I invite clients to recall, then relive, a positive feeling as they are breathing through the heart. I invite them to allow this feeling gently to manifest itself, and then sustain it through Heart Focus, Heart Breathing and Heart Feeling. The goal is to ‘feel’, not just ‘think’ about, a positive feeling.
2 The administrator
Using the tool
In supervision, the HeartMath tools can be used with clients in a number of ways. They can develop the resilient coach, allowing clients to practise HeartMath techniques for self-care and well-being. They are also useful when we experience stuckness.
In supervision, if my client is triggered by their coaching client into using stressful patterns, the HeartMath tools can help see the situation with our authentic selves by taking charge of our emotional reactions. With the emWave2 technology, clients are able to store, retrieve and print out their results so they can track their levels of coherence.
Jill Savage is a performance development coach and a coach supervisor working as an associate with The Beech Consultancy. She is a licensed 1:1 HeartMath practitioner through Ei World
3 The client
The experience
I work as a senior performance development coach with The Beech Consultancy and regularly have peer supervision with Jill. I wanted to develop how I show up for my clients.
The application
Jill invited me to reflect on my own unique emotional landscape and to consider where I wanted to be as a coach for my clients. My intention is always to be available for my clients in a way that provides both connection and learning.
She asked me to see my level of coherence in real time. By using the emWave2 technology on the desktop I could see where my baseline was. Then Jill talked me through the steps for the Quick Coherence technique. I noticed my heart wave rhythms were smooth and I felt more at ease and expansive. The desktop indicated I was operating mainly in the green zone – a measure of high coherence. Jill said I looked softer and had visibly relaxed.
It was fascinating to experience how the coherence could be disturbed. Simple things, such as a change in the style of music we were listening to, actually shifted the patterns.
The verdict
The HeartMath tools and techniques are a way to access deeper self-awareness and self-management, which are both essential for being an effective coach.
They are powerful and yet simple exercises that I can use before and during a session to allow me to tap into my heart’s wisdom and gently clear any interference.
Peter Blackeby is a senior performance development coach with The Beech Consultancy
The pros and cons of the HeartMath system
UPSIDE
- Supports health, well-being and performance
- Real-time visual technology/data
- Widely researched
- Highly practical
- Enhances cognitive thinking
- Discusses the client not the tool
- Good for stress management coaching, supervision and personal development
- Techniques are used beyond the session
- Quick and easy
DOWNSIDE
- Accreditation needed
- Daily practice of techniques required
- Some jargon and scientific language
- Technology can be seen as gimmicky
- Needs time for maximum impact
- Some clients might resist working with feelings
HeartMath, Heart Lock-in and Freeze-Frame are registered trademarks of the Institute of HeartMath.Quick Coherence is a registered trademark of Doc Childre. emWave and Heart Intelligence are registered trademarks of Quantum Intech, Inc.
Coaching at Work, Volume 7, Issue 1