Bliss Out with emWave, Stress Relief System for Mac
7:41 am, August 5th, 2009, Nicole Martinelli
- This is your brain on stress: results from an emWave test session show erratic breathing patterns and low concentration.
Ready to head-butt your Mac from the onslaught of everyday annoyances?
Use it for something better: emWave is a handy stress reducer just released in a Mac version that charts your heart rate and trains you to relax.
It’s the brainchild of Doc Childre, who founded a company called HeartMath in 1991 to create medi-gadgets for people seeking relief from stress and looking for greater mental clarity.
What is it?
Billed as a “Stress Relief System,” it promises big but comes in a small package. You get an ear sensor for your heart rate that plugs into a USB key and a software program that monitors your heart rhythms and breathing, plus a CD training guide. Initially unimpressed, after taking emWave through its paces for 10 days, I’m convinced nirvana may be something other than a band.
Details and full review after the jump.
- emWave’s USB key with the pulse sensor plugged in.
The goal of the gadget is to coach you into a zone called “coherence,” defined as a highly efficient state where all the systems of the body work together in harmony. A breathing pacer gets you going steady, while you concentrate on pleasant memories and feelings centered around your heart.
Thought the Heartmath literature bases the mind-heart connection on scientific research, for analog meditators the concepts behind emWave will sound familiar — concentrating on the heart and good feelings owes a lot to Buddhist metta meditation, for example.
Meditation teachers often give the basic instruction to “watch the breath,” the advantage of the computer-assisted version is that you can literally watch your breath on screen, see when you’re getting in the zone and then train yourself to stay.
- The program’s coach feature let’s you “watch your breath” while listening to relaxing music.
How does it work?
You install the emWave software, then plug in the USB key. Your pulse is measured through the ear sensor, it clips on your lobe and plugs into the USB key. Hit start on the opening screen and once it gets a steady reading on your heart rate, you’re off.
The minimal set-up — unlike the intriguing but complex brain training systems explored in the excellent “Mind Wide Open” – means that with enough practice, you might be able to use it traveling or, if you have some privacy in the office, to calm down after particularly nasty conference calls.
As someone who has tried to relax through meditation only to find myself obsessed with what’s for lunch, I was curious to give a computer-assisted method a spin.
- emWave’s clip-on ear sensor.
Mac integration is seamless, my only minor gripe is the taped one-hour training class available from the website (you can follow live, too) is in Mac-unfriendly .wav format.
emWave will set you back $299 — at $10 a donation, around seven months of weekly meditation class – but if you don’t gel with it, there’s a 30-day refund policy.
What’s it like?
My first session with emWave wasn’t a quick fix, however. The earpiece pinched like an ill-fitting clip-on earring and bell-tolling sounds the program makes to let you know which zone you’re in (low, medium or high) just increased anxiety.
Staring at the screen, watching my heart rate (erratic from being both jet-lagged and cranky) didn’t induce relaxation.
Final result after 10 minutes: 33% spent in “low” zone, 31% in medium and 36% in the optimal high zone. (This result is normal, the manual cautions that first sessions may be spent in 100% low zone.)
The second session, a day later, I muted the program sound, put some new-agey relaxation music on iTunes and closed my eyes. Doing it this way, I doubled the high zone (66%) while the medium zone was 21% and low zone just 13%.
Your training goal is to reach a session with 100% high zone “coherence.” Being able to see the results and knowing I’m more likely to find 10-15 minutes a day at the computer rather than a silent place to sit, convinces me that over time emWave could become a useful daily practice.
Later practice sessions using the coherence coach feature — essentially a breath pacer and relaxing music — got me nearer to 100%; both the ear sensor and graphic display became less annoying.
A second opinion: A male friend who had never meditated for a minute took a spin and immediately “scored” much higher than I did. The only instructions I gave were to let the ear piece monitor his pulse for about a minute before slowing down his breathing. 10 minutes later, he had a 56% high rating, 35% medium, 9% low — and a smile on his face. (emWave automatically saves your results in a progress report and can track multiple users.)
Summing up, emWave would be a good bet for the stress challenged who:
– don’t have easy access to a meditation class or are put off by traditional techniques
– prefer a scientific approach, like to see results
– enjoy video-games (three are included, in one your “good” breathing powers a hot-air balloon around the world.)
– don’t have time to sit in meditation but spend plenty of time sitting at a computer
If you’ve tried it, let me know about your experience in the comments.
Posted by Nicole Martinelli in News, Reviews, Software | Comment on this article
If you enjoyed this article:
Subscribe via RSS or email, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter
My dad is really into heartmath, and has one of these kits. Unfortunetely it is an older one so it doesn’t work with mac osx, but we also have a smaller one that works without a computer. To get a higher “score” you want to feel like you are “breathing” through your heart, and also think about fun times you have had or people you enjoy spending time with.
William, on August 5th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Another benefit of longer term usage? Improved health.
After years of practicing a variety of meditations, I’ve personally used it and used it with psychotherapy patients for over 5 years– but for the past 3 years have been conducting a study using it with cardiac patients over a 6 month period (they commit to practicing quick coherence at least 10 min twice a day).
I cannot even begin to tell you some of the amazing positive changes in health we have seen– aside from decreased anxiety/stress, etc. It’s all about this method really focusing on balancing the autonomic nervous system: that’s what reaching coherence really does and then longer term your body adjusts and resets lowering it’s sympathetic drive (the drive responsible for the stress response and increased blood pressure, pulse rate, etc.).
I’ve practiced other meditation and/or relaxation while hooked up and it doesn’t lend the autonomic balance that the HeartMath’s technique does.
It really is amazing technology!
Enjoy!
becky, on August 5th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Thanks Nicole!
As someone practicing vipassana and somatic meditations for over 30 years, and as a teacher of meditation and somatic tracking, you’ve piqued my interest! The simple biofeedback loop makes so much sense in helping people track the relation of inside to out!
I’m most curious about the neuroscience implications of emWave vis a vis the role of volition or attention in navigating “coherent” awareness. Seems like a truly viable, alternative tech solution to otherwise receiving “direct transmission” from more traditional technological sources.
Here’s to creating coherence the 21st century way!
Synaptically yours,
Dr.G.
Publisher, http://bodiesinspace.com
Founding Director, The George Greenstein Institute, dedicated to creating a sustainable future with whole brain learning and creative juice!
Dr. M. A. Greenstein, on August 5th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Nicole, I loved the way you gave the simple highlights and details of the emWave MAC. I use the tools I learned from it, especially the coherence technique, right on the freeway (eyes open no computer).
Thanks for caring about the MACaroons. Michael
Michael Webster, on August 6th, 2009 at 11:44 am
I just got mine a few days ago and I really like the games cuz they’re so immediately responsive to your coherence score it does have that video game feel. I don’t have the longest attention span but so far the games help me stay in coherence. I think i like the hot air balloon game you mentioned the best – you really do go all over the world, and the graphics are very cool looking, very colorful. I like the other 2 games too – in one u start w/a b&w meadow then the higher your coherence score the more colors appears, leaves on the trees, flowers, animals, etc. and in the other you have this empty pot and your trying to fill it with gold and eventually a rainbow as well. Overall I’m really enjoying it.
Thanks
Emma
emma428, on August 6th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
I just tried installing the HeartMath program on my Mac which has the new “Snow Mac” operating system upgrade. It doesn’t work! This company needs to publish an upgrade to this software!
Larry Pesta, on August 29th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Larry,
Sorry, you ran into this issue. Apple was a little quicker with their release than expected.
If you install on Snow Leopard, the installer should provide the correct KEXT for Snow Leopard. If you upgraded, you will need to remove the existing emWave KEXT, and run the kernel installer provided in the bundle.
An update currently in QA will do this automatically, and will proved a number of additional features. It should be out this week, if we do not find any show stopper bugs.
One caveat is that you need to be running a 32 Bit kernel – the current default mode for OS X Desktops. We are investigating, why our KEXT is not loading with the 64 BIt kernel. Alas, the documentation in this area is sparse, so we are not sure, when we will have the fix. But we will find one
If you run into issues, please contact our tech support, so we can help you.
Harald Striepe, on August 31st, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Just a follow up: I guess, you talked with one of our engineers, and there was a spurious installer error message we are investigating, but the product is working.
Harald Striepe, on August 31st, 2009 at 4:41 pm
We are right now testing a solution for the 64 bit kernel. We expect to make the update available with the rest of the changes later this week.
Harald Striepe, on August 31st, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Were can i get the emwave update? I’m not able to install emwave mac with snow leo. or were can i find this kernel installer, what’s it’s name in the package?
thank you!
Felix, on September 15th, 2009 at 12:12 am
Sorry, it took so long to to back here to see your message. I hope, you contacted our support in the meantime.
Snow Leopard gives an incorrect error message at the end of the install. The product is actually installed correctly. On first launch, it will check for updates.
The updates includes a bunch of new features, and a new KEXT that works on all systems from 10.4 up, including running in K64 under Snow Leopard.
– Harald
Harald Striepe, on September 27th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
I bought this about a month ago. This is a good product. I’ve meditated for many years. What I like about it is, especially in the evening when I am tired, if I drift off I get the immediate feedback.
Michael W, on October 27th, 2009 at 7:03 pm