A Stupidly Easy Exercise to Live With An Open Heart (& Stay There)

Sometimes, the most profound pieces of advice are the simplest. 

We probably even learned most of them in Kindergarten: 

Robert Fulghum elaborates on this further by adding:

"Take any of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm.

Think what a better world it would be if all - the whole world - had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are - when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together."

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As someone who is dedicated to my own healing and to the healing of others, I am always looking for ways to share powerful practices, techniques, and teachings that can support myself and others along the way. 

However, as far and as wide as I have looked, I haven't found anything that is more powerful, all-inclusive, non-binary, non-dogmatic, accessible, free, willing, universal, and profound as the breath. 

It doesn't matter what colour you are, which country you were born into, what gender you associate with, how much money you have, what shape you're in, where you live in the world, who you're friends with, what sports team you support, or how weak or strong, naive or wise, big or small, or rich or poor you are. The breath will breathe us all equally. 

We also don't have to go anywhere to find it, buy it, grow it, source it, convince it, persuade it, manipulate it, or borrow it either, it comes with through every single moment!

Exercise, diet, and sleep have far more variables so a one-size-fits-all-kind-of- advice never ends well. However, because everyone breathes and because the breath directly communicates with the heart and the brain via the nervous system, everyone can direct and influence the thoughts that they think, the emotions that they feel, and the actions that they take in the world by controlling the breath. 

"So, what is this stupidly easy breathing exercise that can help me live more from the heart? And why are you taking so long to get to the point?" I hear you ask. And rightly so! 

So, without any further ado, here goes. 

Rhythmical breathing 

To start with (and for some humour): Imagine that you have a set of nostrils on your chest where your heart is. Then…

• Gently close your eyes (not now but once you start)
• Breathe in through your (real) nose - smoothly and without force - for 4 seconds
• Breathe out through your nose - smoothly and without force - for 4 seconds
• Continue for 5 minutes and relax

If you find that four seconds is too long, try breathing in for two seconds and out for two seconds instead, or in for three seconds, out for three seconds until your breath naturally relaxes. Then slowly soften your breath once you feel more comfortable.

*Try not to judge or wish for your breath to be different here, just allow it to naturally soften the more you relax and observe.

As long as you breathe in a consistent rhythm without force, any rhythm is good. 

Why this is so effective

Because all of life is in a rhythm or cycle, when we breathe in a rhythmical way (in for 4 seconds, out for 4 seconds, for example), we sync to the natural rhythms of life. The breath's rhythm can change depending on if you want more energy or more relaxation but by breathing in a rhythm, we enter a state called heart coherence.

What is heart coherence?

"Coherence is the state when the heart, mind, and emotions are in energetic alignment and cooperation. It is a state where there is increased synchronization and harmony between the cognitive, emotional and physiological systems, resulting in the efficient and harmonious functioning of the whole." - HeartMath Institute.

A wonderful by-product of breathing exercises that breathe in a rhythmical way is that the body enters heart coherence naturally. Beautiful ripples (or waves) then start to radiate out from the heart as it signals to every other cell in the body to also become coherent. 

These waves move both vertically (up and down the body) and horizontally (out from the body), meaning that not only are heart coherent waves healing for each individual in coherence, but they are also healing to everybody within that individual heart's energetic reach. This, amazingly, has been measured to be 10m outside of the body.

Picture a body of water where wave after wave is equal size and equal distance apart, making each molecule sway and move as one. Now imagine those waves as heartbeats - that's heart coherence. 

An incoherent heart might look like big swells or choppy waters. 

Check out the graph below. It shows what happens when the heart beats coherently and incoherently and what happens to the shape and size of each wave when it does. It also shows what emotions are associated to the different rhythms.

As you can see there are some visible differences. 

Incoherent heart rhythms are far more erratic and spiky whereas coherent heart rhythms are more consistent and smooth. So, naturally, more erratic, incoherent heartbeats create more erratic, incoherent thoughts that trigger more incoherent emotions such as anger, sadness, jealously, and fear. 

The good news is that the opposite is also true. A coherent heart creates coherent thoughts that create coherent emotions like love, joy, excitement, and gratitude. 

Never has the saying 'we're just on different wavelengths' been more accurate.

The benefits of heart coherence:

• Decreases stress
• Boosts energy levels

• Creates balance and clarity
• Enhances creativity
• Builds emotional resilience
• Creates less reactivity
• Builds compassion, empathy, and understanding
• Improves physical health
• Creates better circulation & blood flow
• Improves overall heart health
• Soothes anxiety and depression

Heart coherence is a personal and collective phenomenon that we personally and collectively move in and out of during day-to-day life. 

On a personal level, we can sometimes feel the collective energy when we walk into a room full of people. Sometimes it just feels like there's something in the air. That "something in the air" is the collective heart energy comingling to either emit coherent or incoherent waves. Our own heart's intelligence then picks up on that energy field and sends a message up to the brain. Our brain then interprets the message which makes it either want to stay and enjoy the beautiful atmosphere or get the hell out of there. The body then moves in accordance with that message.

Looking at heart coherence on a much bigger scale

Where this becomes exciting to me is when we look at recent studies held throughout major cities such as New York and New Delhi. Together, they show that the collective heart affects the thoughts that we think, the emotions that we feel, and the behavioural patterns we act out as a collective. In short, we are the sum of all parts, and everyone matters. 

Can one person in heart coherence make a difference in their community just by being in coherence? And can one person out of coherence affect the overall mood of many? 

There is reason to believe so when looking at the power of mob mentality and group prayer, for instance. At these times, there seems to be a collective consciousness that influences all individuals within the area the group operates.

People can do unthinkably cruel things in a group that they would never do on their own, for example. 

It seems that if the surrounding field governing their heart space is strong enough, there's no telling to the degree to which some people will go. It's also the same on the other end of the spectrum too. 

Miracles have been recorded through group prayer such as healing loved ones from afar and dropping crime rates across major cities like New York and New Delhi when meditating on peace.

One way to transform erratic, spiky, incoherent heart rhythms into consistent, smooth, and coherent ones is through breathing in a rhythmical way. 

Sometimes the most profound ways to heal are the simplest. As far as I can see, that's the only one missing from Kindergartens. 

The challenge of heart coherence on an individual level though is that each individual is either in or out of coherence from moment to moment depending on their emotional stability. The surrounding environment (social scenes, family dynamics, workplaces etc…) have a big influence here so if a person's outer environment is intense and they don't have the tools to self-regulate, then they are at the mercy of the collective field they find themselves in. And depending on how much that collective field is either in or out of coherence, it will have a great impact on their emotional state.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi effect

The results found in New York and New Delhi that I mention above reveal that only a fraction of a population needs to be in heart coherence to influence the whole. And I mean only a fraction. 

1% in fact. 

To put that into context, the population of New York is 8.8 million. 

1% of 8.8 million = 88,000. 

That's about 15,000 people less than the number of people that squeeze into watch the super bowl final. 

This phenomenon is known as the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi effect after he discovered its power in 1960. After years of meditating, he predicted that if just one percent of a population practiced group meditation it would produce measurable improvements in the quality of life for the whole. 

So, he brought his community together and they started to measure the effectiveness of their practice on their direct environment. What they discovered turned out to be one of the most profound and uncanny social experiments of all time.

People in the surrounding areas didn't exactly know that a group of people was meditating on peace but their city's crime rates fell by 16%. As you can imagine, after learning of their impact, the meditators were thrilled!

So, after seeing the fruits of their efforts, Maharishi and his community continued to meditate and record their results. During their time, they repeatedly proved that one percent of a population can create measurable improvements in the quality of life for the whole population.

What transpired 

As word slowly began to spread across the world, the meditator's achievements were well received and even revered by all who heard them. However, it took another 56 years for groups outside of India to trial it in their own home countries. When they did, however, they also produced similarly impressive results. 

One notable study from 2007 - 2010 documented that the national homicide rate dropped by 21.2% during that period, with a larger group of 206 US urban areas recording a massive 28.4% drop in murder rates. 

Since then, other smaller and far less eye-watering studies have been recorded. One everyday-like study showed that when four people sit together around a dining table and three out the four are in heart coherence, the fourth will naturally synchronise to the strongest energy field and become coherent too. 

That's the power of living with an open heart. Open hearts invite other hearts to open.

It really doesn't take long to get into a state of heart coherence either. Sometimes only a few breaths is all it takes. However, the longer we can stay there, the more coherently our cells, heart, brain, and organs can communicate as one unified organism. 

As one unified organism, communication then quickens so we can often feel more connected, open, and loving during day-to-day life. 

So, if you are facing difficulty, stress, anxiety, fear, judgement, pain, or just want to become more grounded in the present moment, this simple breathing pattern can be a great tool to carry with you wherever you go. 

And the best part about it is that no one even needs to know that you're doing it. It can be your own silent superpower that you carry with you wherever you go.

So, stick an imaginary nose over your heart space and breathe in a rhythm of choice. 

There's nothing to lose but plenty to gain!