WHAT IS HEARTMATH?
The HeartMath Institute is an organization that has been researching the heart-brain connection for more than 25 years and learning how the heart influences perceptions, emotions, intuition and health. The HeartMath system provides a unique combination of science-based techniques and coherence technology.
COHERENCE AND RESILIENCE
Coherence helps us to develop the capacity through resilience with measurable results. HeartMath also teaches the science and provides a training regimen to increase our skills.
REGULATING HEART RHYTHMS AND VIBRATION
HeartMath techniques work by regulating heart rhythm patterns which signal the major systems of our body. You might say it regulates your energetic vibration. Your vibration is felt by you physiologically and it’s felt by others in your environment. It begins with emotional responses.
It's a simple progression of coherence techniques focusing on the heart, applied in the moment. The result is measured in our physiology-specifically the nervous system, the hormonal system and the messaging to that area of the brain which coordinates responses to threats and emotional memory called the amygdala.
We've heard about the amygdala in Collaborative Law and mediation training, often related to helping clients regulate their emotions and access their higher selves and their high-end goals, but until now we haven't been taught how to help them do that.
EMOTIONAL SELF REGULATION
We can recognize and acknowledge our emotions and make a choice to self-regulate in the moment. The more we do that the same things that normally trigger don't bother us as much and eventually diminish from our practice in the moment of applying coherence when the reaction occurs.
When you are coherent you are in the flow. You think and perform well and get along better with others.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT FOR LAWYERS?
Lawyers are in the business of conflict -whether they are judges, litigators, Collaborative attorneys or
mediators. And the whole point of a legal system is to help resolve conflict - between people, between concepts and ideas, and politics.
How we deal with conflict consciously and unconsciously has an effect on our clients, our colleagues and our
success in helping ourselves and others come to resolution.
FOR OURSELVES
Being aware of our emotions and regulating them by bringing our attention to the heart affects the heart
rhythms which signal all of our physiology - including the nervous system, the hormonal system and the neural connections in the brain to become coherent and work smoothly, in sync. With regular practice we feel better.
FOR OTHERS
For those around us -including clients, colleagues, family and friends...
If we are coherent, it has a positive effect on others. You witness this experientially and the effect
can be measured through the electromagnetic field generated by the heart. This is part of the science behind HeartMath. It can be used for growth and development based on biofeedback with affordable and easy to use technology that can be an app on your phone or your computer.
THE KEY TO OUR WORK AS PEACEMAKERS
When we focus on the heart, we shift our attention from the mind to the heart. Coherence facilitates coordination between the heart and mind, then we are able to truly listen and respond to others in a way they can feel heard. To come to understand another and be able to communicate from a heart level of caring is key to mediation and any other type of facilitation. To access that place within ourselves on demand is the foundational tool.
FOR OUR SUCCESS
Our success as attorneys depends on our level of coherence, including physiological and emotional.
Stress is an unhealthy factor we all carry and the anxiety it produces is counterproductive for our
clients.
ENERGY TO KEEP GOING WITH ENTHUSIASM
And probably the most profound effect of going to the heart for me has been my unwavering energy to stick with a peacemaking practice when business is slow.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT FOR ME
HeartMath is the most efficient and effective tool I know to find the heart and use those heart qualities that are so powerful in helping people come to peace, personally and professionally.
3 QUESTIONS
Forrest "Woody" Mosten, a master teacher of mediation, taught us how to create a “Satisfying and Profitable Peacemaking Practice” by asking ourselves 3 questions:
MY ANSWER BECAME MY CALLING
When I went inside to find my core value the answer was a resounding “I’m a Peacemaker!!” And at the
same moment I felt the most comforting calm and happiness. I knew it was my heart calling me,
bringing attention to those heart qualities we all love and find when we move away from our thinking mind,
if only for a brief moment.
IT WAS MY HEART CALLING
And the heart became my calling…
After I thought about this experience for a while I realized that the foundation for a satisfying law practice for me is connecting with the heart. We are not taught that in law school.
And continually going back to my heart has maintained an energy that propels me as a
peacemaker to this day.
I’m 74 now and just getting started!
HOW I CAME TO HEARTMATH
I had found and started using and teaching HeartMath exercises to my first grandchild in 2005. It calmed me instantly. My insomnia disappeared and my tendency to worry was reduced. It was like coming home. It has had a profound effect on my development later in life. I hope to share this widely so others won't need to take so long to get started.
COMING BACK
In 2017 I became a HeartMath® certified coach/mentor and began 3 year journey through HeartMastery®
and a coaching program for Heart Ambassadors.
These programs helped me see the power of applying the tools in different situations, creating a capacity for
resilience and a heart-based view of the world, including understanding personal development, communication, relationships and inner growth.
I became a HeartMath® certified trainer in 2020 to teach it to larger audiences.
In 2021 I became a HeartMath® Trauma-Sensitive Certified Practitioner, the certification I am most proud of.
HEARTMATH AND LAW
All along I was applying HeartMath techniques to my law practice of peacemaking as a mediator and Collaborative family law attorney. It made my practice work.
I wrote a book about my journey and blog articles about how to apply this to legal practice.
But the foundation is still the HeartMath system and always will be for me.
HeartMath is a registered trademark of Quantum Intech, Inc.
Dona Cullen, Collaborative Attorney, Mediator, CDFA, HeartMath®Certified Trainer/Coach/Mentor, HeartMath®Trauma-Sensitive Certified Practitioner, Peacemaking Practice Trainer