**6. HeartMath's Healthcare Practice**

HeartMath techniques and tools promote practical energetics, transform stress, strengthen resilience, and improve health. They typically emphasize heartfelt breathing in a ten-second cardio-respiratory rhythm, which facilitates RSA, rhythmic pulsation, and a focus on positive, renewing feelings [6]. Some traditional techniques include:

*Depletion to Renewal Grid* The visualization of an energy graph of the hormonal system along the horizontal axis and the autonomic nervous system along the vertical axis facilitates the limiting of the negative effects of stress hormones such as cortisol and the increase of healthy hormones such as DHEA.

*Heart Focused Breathing* is an effective, very brief meditation technique for slowing down fight, flight, and freeze reactions in order to focus on positive and renewing emotions, such as appreciation, peace, or love.

*Prep-Shift-Reset* assists in resetting the energy system and building resilience for the rest of the day.

*Freeze-Frame* consists in recognizing and "freeze-framing" any stressful feeling as if it were one static movie image, then practicing heart focused breathing, recalling a positive feeling, and finding a deep heart answer.

*Heart Lock-In* facilitates deeper levels of heart experience. This technique is similar to other heart-based meditation, prayer and contemplation methods such as the Prayer of the Heart and the Arka Dhyana Intuitive Meditation, which will receive further discussion shortly.

*Cut-Thru* addresses negative emotions triggered by situations, thoughts, and actions, and is typically associated with treating depression, anxiety, or anger [3].

*Coherent Communication* improves relationships by cultivating personal coherence, clearly apprehending the other's communication, and confirming the essence of that communication. When practiced regularly, coherent communication immediately increases empathy and Ubuntu and I-Thou relationships [44].

*Additional HeartMath (2020) tools* are freely available at: https://www.heartmath. org/resources/downloads/12-heartmath-tools/, accessed on 4 April 2021.

Biofeedback instruments that have been scientifically developed to provide heart rate variability and heart rhythm coherence include:

*The emWave2*, which gives readings of and feedback on heart rate, heart rate variability, and physiological coherence. The instrument can be handheld for field use.

*The emWave Pro* is a sophisticated coherence biofeedback program for use by professional specialists in education, psychology, medicine, etc.

*The Inner Balance* Application (app) for personal coherence training is available to iPhone or smartphone users who download HeartMath programs from the internet.

*The Global Coherence (GC) app* records mean coherence levels at individual, group and global levels. The app is freely downloadable from the internet. A HeartMath Pulse sensor provides biofeedback.
