Lessons from the Heart
In a time of so much noise, one of our biggest challenges is to find signal. In a sea of information - what is meaningful, what is true, what is clarifying? The question of what we choose to center is an important one. Luckily, we have to listen no further than our own heart to hear something vital.
Let us consider what the physiology of the heart might teach us about love and connection.
The heart is the vital center of our physical body, ever sending and receiving the life blood of our being. The potential action of all cells in the body depends on a phenomenon we would do well to acknowledge: depolarization. As charged particles exchange across the membrane of a cell, the electrical gradient shifts, triggering a cascade of events that allow cells to do their work. Without exchange, the membrane becomes a wall, polarity escalates, and the environment becomes hostile to healthy and coordinated life. The next part is just as important: the gradient inverts, the ions efflux, repolarizing the membrane to allow the cycle to occur again. The ebb and flow of ions, the collection and powerful release of blood from the heart, the trade of oxygen and carbon dioxide within the lungs, the breath in, the breath out - all a rhythm and a dance reflecting the universal principle of exchange.
The muscle cells within the human heart are special. Unlike smooth and skeletal muscle cells, their features allow them to synch together. The lub-dub of a healthy heart is a song of coordinated depolarization and the harmonized opening and closing of the valves that maintain the fluid boundaries within the chambers. Heart cells are also special in that they will beat on their own. However, the rate, rhythm, and strength of a heartbeat is a conversation (another exchange) between the nervous system and the heart itself. We can tune into and read this conversation when we measure heart-rate variability.
By design, the heart is a powerful, steady, and receptive organ. What better seat for the uniting and harmonizing force of Love to reside within the body? On a day when we will see hearts everywhere, let us remember what the physiology of the heart tells us about depolarization, receptivity, and vital exchange. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Cultivating Inner Space
At a time when so much emphasis is placed on social distancing, how often do we consider how much space we give to our thoughts and emotions? Space is the universal complement to form. It is what allows forms (bodies, thoughts, emotions, objects) to move. The natural expression of form is movement, for we see in all things that when there is not enough space to move or enough space between moves, things get compressed, tense, and are not able to express with ease or health.
Observe, for example, your breath. Physiologically, breath happens when your body creates space within. As the main breathing muscle (the diaphragm) activates, it pushes down on the contents of your abdomen. This lowers the relative pressure within your rib cage. So long as your are open air naturally flows from the relatively higher pressure outside your body through the respiratory channels to the lungs, which fill and expand within the rib cage. With effortless effort normal exhalation is simply the process of the pressures reversing. Consider the moment of transition between the inhale and exhale of your breath. This transition can be an intentional pause as a way to create space within your mind and body. The yogic practice of pranayama offers many techniques to intentionally move your breath as a way to cultivate a stillness of mind.
With regard to the heart, we can measure how the time between beats reflects the balance and adaptability of the nervous system. The heart does not beat consistently like a metronome, but has a unique cadence in each of us. In many respects our relationship to space physically, mentally, emotionally, and environmentally is reflected in the state of our heart rate variability. For instance, we can measure whether someone is physiologically in fight/flight (sympathetic) mode, whether their body regulates well and balances between fight/flight and rest/recuperate (parasympathetic), and how well someone uses the energy they have available to maintain health and function.
There is a profound and intimate relationship between the breath, the heart, and the nervous system. They are reflections of each other as well as reflections of our state of being. To connect with them, to feel what they are communicating, and to support their ability to function are the space-honoring goals of my chiropractic practice. Life depends on the balance of movement and stillness. Stillness is derived from space and the quiet formless peace therein. It is the silence between the notes, the space within the synapse, and the room we choose to give to our thoughts and emotions that makes all the difference. The space we give others and ourselves is different than distance. Space is the medium through which connection is made, whereas distance implies a forced separation. They may look similar, but the feeling and the intention behind the feeling are quite distinct. At a time when so much emphasis is placed on how distant and separated we seem to be, make space your ally, allow yourself to slow down and calm down, and remember to find and celebrate the connections that are (everywhere).