from the heart and cardiovascular system tothe brain are a major contributor in establishing the dynamics of the familiar baseline pattern orset point against which the current input of now is compared.A striking example illustrates the extensiveness of the influence of cardiac afferent input onemotional experience as well as the operation of the mismatch mechanism. Research shows thatpsychological aspects of panic disorder are actually frequently created by an unrecognizedcardiac arrhythmia. One study found that DSM-IV criteria for panic disorder were fulfilled inmore than two-thirds of patients with sudden-onset arrhythmias. In the majority of cases, oncethe arrhythmia was discovered and treated, the symptoms of panic disorder disappeared(Lessmeier et al., 1997). When the heart rate variability patterns of such an arrhythmia areINTEGRAL REVIEWDecember 2009Vol. 5, No. 2plotted, the erratic, incoherent waveform appears quite similar to the heart rhythm patternproduced during strong feelings of anxiety in a healthy person. Because the sudden, large changein the pattern of afferent information is detected by the brain as a mismatch relative to the stablebaseline pattern to which the individual has adapted, it consequently results in feelings of anxietyand panic.The above example illustrates the immediate and profound impact that changes in the heartsrhythmic activity can have on ones emotional experience. In this exampleas is usually thecasesuch changes occur unconsciously. One of the most important findings of our research,however, is that changes in the hearts rhythmic patterns can also be intentionally generated.This shift in the hearts rhythmic patterns is one of the physiological correlates of using theHeartMath positive emotion-based coherence-building techniques, which couple an intentionalshift in attention to the physical area of the heart with the self-induction of a positive emotionalstate. We have found that this process rapidly initiates a distinct shift to increased coherence inthe hearts rhythms. This, in turn, results in a change in the pattern of afferent cardiac signalssent to the brain, which serves to reinforce the self-generated positive emotional shift, making iteasier to sustain. Through the consistent use of the coherence-building techniques, the couplingbetween the psychophysiological coherence mode and positive emotion is further reinforced.This subsequently strengthens the ability of a positive feeling shift to initiate a beneficialphysiological shift towards increased coherence, or a physiological shift to facilitate theexperience of a positive emotion.While the process of activating the psychophysiological coherence mode clearly leads toimmediate benefits by helping to transform stress in the moment it is experienced, it can alsocontribute to long-term improvements in emotion regulation abilities and emotional well-beingthat ultimately affect many aspects of ones life. This is because each time individualsintentionally self-generate a state of psychophysiological coherence, the new coherentpatternsand new repertoires for responding to challengeare reinforced in the neuralarchitecture. With consistency of practice, these patterns become increasingly familiar to thebrain. Thus, through a feed-forward process, these new, healthy patterns become established as anew baseline or reference, which the system then strives to maintain. It is in this way thatHeartMath tools facilitate a repatterning process, whereby the maladaptive patterns that underliethe experience of stress are progressively replaced by healthier physiological, emotional,cognitive, and behavioral patterns as the automatic or familiar way of being (McCraty &Tomasio, 2006).Coherence and