Destress With emWave, the Personal Stress Reliever
Many of us use meditation, yoga, and daily exercise to decrease our stress levels and provide a way to relax during our often busy and hectic schedules. But setting aside the time can be difficult, as can trying to adjust your patterns on your own. The emWave Personal Stress Reliever was developed after 15 years of research correlating the links between the heart, brain, stress, and emotions. This new device claims to balance your emotions, create energy from stress and help prepare you for taxing episodes, tasks, meetings, and appointments. We think this is quite a commitment from such a little tool. We decided to put it to the test and see if in fact, we became more sure-footed and laid back.
The emWave works by measuring the subtle changes in your heart rhythm, with the goal of training you to shift out of stress and into coherence. It has an infrared sensor which measures the evenness of your heart beat. In this case, coherence being the optimal word for stress free. More coherence=less stress. In sports terms, we refer to this as being in the “zone”. And though it might not clear the worries from your mind, it does seem to ease some of the tension.
After looking at such a small and easily totable device, we figured the strength must indeed lie inside. The emWave is portable and can easily fit in the palm of your hand. It works by streaming colorful LED lights that makes it possible for you to see your coherence level increase as your stress decreases and you gain greater control over your mind, body, and emotions. Of course, you have to work with the machine, not against it, and it does take a bit of practice.
This device might seem overly complicated at first glance, so we recommend you follow the instructions and watch the included CD. The emWave isn’t necessarily hard to follow, but is far more obvious after reading what it is intended to do and the process. We highly recommend you watch the online tutorial The emWave Experience, which takes approximately 30 minutes and is designed to enhance your emWave experience but also is a good tutorial into the product for those who might be skeptical.
A definite benefit of the emWave is being able to attach it to an ear monitor which allows you to use the product without touching it. One of the most useful ways to use this mode is as a sleep companion. It is easy to follow the blinking lights in the dark and you can fall asleep much easier once you’re breathing has settled down. On the other hand, the blinking lights will likely distract any partner, so we suggest using a pillow since there does not appear to be a way to turn them off.
The emWave is equipped with a few different modes. In the basic mode the unit has a panel of lights that indicates a breathing pattern for you to track. This pattern is not the actual feedback, but a suggested breathing rate. In the Heart Rate mode (HR) it monitors your heart while actively giving you feedback. In any of the modes you choose there is another light that changes color depending on whether or not you are considered to be in “coherence”. The device comes with 4 challenge levels, brightness controls, an ear monitor, accumulated scoring, an advanced user mode, a rechargeable lithium battery with charger, and a coherence technique CD.
In an EmWave session, we were able to regulate our breathing while focusing on a positive emotion. And, generally, if you’re able to control your breathing and emotional state, you won’t need the tool- but it’s a great stepping stone (like training wheels) to some level of calm. You won’t find instant inner peace, but it is said to be useful for depression, anxiety, weight management, and for learning how to make a positive experience out of any negative vibes. You can purchase online at Amazon for around $150- the price of one shrink session.
