Take Charge Of Your Nervous System - Perform Better
TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM USING YOUR BREATH 💥.❤️
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is the main metric that many elite athletes use to measure their recovery. This metric is well defined and is referenced in the medical literature. Heart rate variability or HRV is the physiological phenomenon of the variation in the time interval between consecutive heartbeats in milliseconds. A normal, healthy heart does not tick evenly like a metronome, but instead, when looking at the milliseconds between heartbeats, there is constant variation. In general, we are not acutely aware of this variation; it’s not the same as the heart rate (beats per minute) increasing and decreasing as we go about our daily business. You can get a sense of your HRV if you feel your pulse on your wrist while taking a few deep breaths in and out: the interval between beats gets longer (heart rate slows down) when you exhale and shorter (heart rate increases) when you inhale, a phenomenon called respiratory sinus arrhythmia. In addition to respiration, HRV is influenced acutely for example by exercise, hormonal reactions, metabolic processes, cognitive processes, stress and recovery which is why I find it a helpful tool for performance.. “Higher HRV has been found to be associated with reduced morbidity and mortality, and improved psychological well-being and quality of life.
Simply put, it is likely the best way that a person can scientifically measure their ability to perform. It’s not too bold to say that if you do not measure your HRV, you cannot determine if your body is ready to exercise at an optimal level or not. This is especially important for those in business who work hard, have busy lifestyles and need assistance in when they should be pushing themselves harder or pressing on the break.
For me personally and for my clients I use a combination of 2 technologies – HeartMath (as a daily method of increasing my HRV just like a meditation practice) and the Ouru ring (which helps me keep track of daily HRV rhythms, sleep and stress response). My journey started 6 years ago when I personally struggled with the concept of meditation and using a device like HeartMath was a great tool for me to open my mind to the idea of breathwork and how powerful this can be on the human body. The fact that I could actually see live data and track my progress on a daily basis helped to motivate me and keep on top of daily habits especially around recovery. Being from an IT background this was key for me as I found meditation too ambiguous and kept having those thoughts of “Am I doing this right?, is it working?.
By using HeartMath I became more in tune with my breath and biological rhythms and it allowed my mind to grow and except the breath and meditation practice. I became so in love with this practice that I became a certified HeartMath coach and now teach this practice to coaching clients that struggle with stress and want to perform at their best.
Using breath work allows you to focus on your mind and keep in charge of your emotions rather than letting your built in emotional programming take charge of you. In business this can be the difference between making extremely beneficial and rewarding decisions or making highly costly ones fuelled by stress and negative emotions.
If you want to be a high performing individual you have to have a balance of strong mind and strong body and breathwork is the starting point to opening up a gateway into the high performance healthy lifestyle.
Mark Wignarajah - bperformance
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