A moment of calm
Written by:
Dianne Edmonds Posted on 14 Mar 2014
Up pops the GPS for the Soul app just as I sit down with my Japanese green tea at the computer. Practicing a new level of ‘self care’ during the day where I pour from a pot and enjoy the flavour, instead of just making a quick teabag cup of green tea.
Often I ignore it, but this moment I decide to take the sensor test for the app, which when I first learned about it I was ‘sold’. It was a free app though, so nothing here to purchase to get started.
I put the sensor of my phone on my finger and then focus my breath towards the area of my chest, over my heart, directing my focus there. I was ‘balanced’.
This wasn’t always the case. There were many times just over a year ago when I took the sensor test and it told me I was stressed every time, even when I ‘tried’ to breath into my heart area. I’d take one of the guided visual imagery meditations with calming music and soothing or inspiring words, also provided free on the app, and still, not often able to get the message “you are balanced” without totally stopping everything else and really trying very hard to become calm.
I have trained myself over this past 13 months to listen more to my heart, to tune into the rhythm of my heart and to take ‘heart centred moments’ more often during my day. I learned this via the institute of Heart Math, who developed GPS for the Soul, and have been working with these techniques for over 40 years.
It was through the work of Dr Sara Gottfried and learning of ways to reduce cortisol levels (the main stress hormone) that I learned about the value of GPS for the Soul. It is one of many ways to bring down cortisol levels, and can be easily downloaded and used to train you to recognise what’s going on inside your body at different times.
“Heart breathing” can also be used when learned without using the app, to bring down stress levels and centre in to the heart of the matter in a situation, giving you a moment to hear the tune of your heart and what really matters to you in that given moment. It can change our responses with staff, clients, our children or partners.
Just take a moment to try it out for yourself. First put your hand over your heart and feel your breathing in that area. Aim to send your breath to that area under your hand, of your heart. Stay here for a moment, several breaths, or if you can, close your eyes and stay for a minute or two.
Take a moment or two of calm for you today, or better still, download the GPS for the Soul app and receive the daily reminder to tune in to you for a minute or two each day.
"Image courtesy of dan/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net".