De-Stress Your Day by Using the Freeze-Frame Technique

Meditation isn't for everybody. The HeartMath Solution was written by Doc Childre and Howard Martin in 1999, to teach readers a method of getting in touch with their inner wisdom in a manner that will not disrupt the flow of their busy days. Our hearts are not the machine-like organs we have been led to believe they are. They contain as many neurons as many of the subcortical portions of our brain, which means that they have the ability to process information apart from the commands received from the brain. So to say, we have a "brain in the heart" (The HeartMath Solution, page 10). The rhythms of the heart have a an entrainment effect on the rest of our body systems, which means the heart controls the rhythm of our entire bodies. This explains why we sometimes feel things without logically understanding why, because the heart has processed information apart from the brain and is sending signals to the body to behave accordingly.

Doc Childre and Howard Martin want us to harness this power of the heart to gain control of our thoughts and emotions, so we may live our lives free of stress caused by over-thought. One of the techniques they teach is called the Freeze-Frame Technique, which is a short way to bring clarity into a stressful situation by tapping into the heart's wisdom and intuition. It only takes a minute! The steps are as follows:

1. Catch yourself when you enter a state of distress. Freeze-Frame it.
2. Try your best to bring your focus to your heart. Your thoughts and emotions may still be racing, but let them become the background noise. The authors recommend "breathing through the heart" to help you focus your awareness there.
3. Summon a pleasant memory. Pick one that is fun and happy. Try to relive that memory, feeling what you felt when you were experiencing it.
4. Ask your heart for a more efficient solution to the situation at hand, one that will reduce future stress.
5. Listen to your heart's response.

Your heart's answer may not come right away. The first time I successfully applied this technique, it took half an hour for my heart to give me its answer. By that time, I had almost written off HeartMath as a bogus solution. I let my mind wander off and slowly the answer to my problem dawned on me. It really didn't feel that different from my normal musings; it's not as if I heard an out-of place whisper from some other source. The difference was in the feeling that accompanied it. The solution came with acceptance, peace and compassion. More often the thoughts from my brain result in conflicting emotions. Childre and Howard also argue that the Freeze-Frame exercise is better suited to the modern world of constant hustle. Meditation, though powerful in its right, is often only useful when there is plenty of time to devote to it. Abrupt interruptions during meditation - something very likely to happen in the workplace - often have a jarring effect upon the interrupted. The tools of the HeartMath Solution are meant to avoid this particular pitfall.

I found this technique to be very useful, applying it whenever I could. What's important to note is that you don't need to keep following these steps verbatim to get the same effects. You will eventually learn to harness your heart's wisdom at will.

Source:
Author/Artist - Doc Childre and Howard Martin
Page Title - The HeartMath Solution
Site Title - www.heartmath.org