HeartMath Inner Balance 30-Pin

I've had extensive education in biofeedback as part of my professional training, and I read about heart-rate coherence and its therapeutic applications awhile ago. A personal friend with an anxiety disorder is recently facing a major health issue, and it soon became clear to me that his anxiety was as much a threat to him as his physical health problem. Medications weren't working very well so, remembering my biofeedback training, I did some reading and suggested he try Heartmath's Inner Balance -- that it was worth a try(especially given Amazon's liberal return policies). After encountering some problems getting the sensor to work with the iPhone 5, he started using the device... and the results were amazing. Moments after completing his first session, a session begun at the onset of a mild panic, he told me "I had forgotten that it's possible to actually feel GOOD". Since then, he has used Inner Balance several times a day, and sometimes at night when he can't sleep. Sometimes it helps a lot, sometimes it helps a little, but he finds that it ALWAYS helps. While I certainly recognize that this won't be the case for everyone, I can on the basis of my friend's experience highly endorse this. I have used it myself and definitely feel the effects. The technology is very simple and, whereas it's frankly a bit shocking to me that a simple inexpensive sensor of this kind is being packaged and marketed and sold for $100 (this seems wildly expensive to me), it's been worth every penny to my friend, and I can personally attest to how much it seems to be helping. Whether his ability to access states of "inner balance" on his own has improved or not is unknown to me; what I can see is that, after doing a session, he always feels better, and often feels better for the rest of the day. Some days, he uses it several times a day; other days, not at all. It's definitely worth a try. If you're anxious, consider it.

Loved the product... when it worked. I purchased this device twice and both devices were tempremental. They worked well for a one week and 30% of the time thereafter which was incredibly frustrating AND ironic considering this device is supposed to teach you how to calm yourself. In fairness, I used a special adapter to plug it my iPhone 5 because this version is designed for the iPhone 4. The adapter might have something to do with the shoddy performance but that's still not excuseable. The adapter I mentioned works perfectly well with other non-Apple products and if this device is not compatible with an Apple iPhone adapter it should say so in the product description. I recently bought the iPhone 5 version and (fingers crossed) it's working just fine.

A simple, effective biofeedback device to help you get calm and stay calm. I like that there's nothing fancy to it and you can't cheat. If your not achieving coherence you wont get a little green light. This helps me stay focused. I can also choose how long I do it for, usually just a few minutes until I'm steadily coherent works for me. My only problem is that I don't use the device regularly enough, that's my fault only. Although, I find it a lifesaver when I feel anxious, upset, angry or even panicky, you'll get more long term results in building resilience and all round calm if you do it a couple times a day for a few minutes each time. Either way, I can recommend that it works!

I own and have played with a bunch of biofeedback and neurofeedback devices and was totally underwhelmed by the heartmath. I did some simple breathing exercises and got high coherence stayed in greed the whole time. The application does not scale difficulty based on where you are (really weird). After some playing around I found a setting that allowed me to increase the difficulty. I still do not quite understand what coherence is all about and why it is so important and more important how it is determined based on heart rate variability. I am googling it right now and there seems to be a good scientific basis for it. The feedback is really weak the green blue red dots on a circle is reasonably effective at telling you when to breath but is a very course feedback hard to tell if you are at coherence 7.0 and green or coherence 2 and green. I landed up using the last screen which shows the coherence graph over time. This was definitely more effective for me in terms of a feedback process but it has been shown in neuro and bio feedback studies time and again that the graph output of a variable is generally not great for training since our brains do not become engaged by this feedback. I am still a little confused as to what they are hoping to achieve with this device. Having said this all I love biofeedback devices and love a decent biofeedback device on your phone. I love the convenience of a simple ear reader and the size convenience compared to GSR (Galvanic skin response) etc devices, Great for carrying with you wherever you go. In summary I think this is great technology. I just think this is a poorly implemented application. Hopefully with time more and better applications will become available.

Inner Balance is a portable device that interfaces with your iPhone or iPad. When you first open it, you might think, "I paid 100 bucks for this?" It looks rather unassuming, a simple standard Apple connector and a wire with a sensor that attaches to your ear to pick up your heart rate. (I understand you can get an adaptor to fit your iPhone 5.) In order to use the device you have to download the free app from the Apple App Store. What sets Inner Balance apart from other biofeedback devices is it doesn't just measure heart rate, it also measures heart rate variability. Your heart rate is always changing, beat to beat. Inner Balance has you breathe along with your choice of a couple of different graphic animations, slowing your breath and thus relaxing you into what they call coherence, a condition in which your heart rate variability becomes less erratic and in concord with a relaxed breath and emotional state. It also tends to slow your heart rate way down as you match your breath with the graphic animation. You have the choice of two graphic displays that give you feedback with changing colors, red for not being in coherence, blue for medium and green for high coherence. You can also choose your own image to look at while you breathe. Inner balance coaches you with words of encouragement-it also awards points for achieving states of high coherence. (I personally think the points thing is kind of lame, but some people love rewards so...) You can change breath rate, sounds (such as muting the award "dings",) and other stuff in the settings window. You can choose from 4 levels of difficulty if it gets too easy; I'm still on level 2. You can choose any music you want from your iTunes library. (I would suggest you resist the temptation to pick Guns and Roses greatest hits and instead find something slow and relaxing to breathe to.) There's even a page that gives you a wealth of data in real time: heart rate, a graph of overall HRV from the beginning of your session, frequencies of your HRV (I still don't know what this particular graph is telling me,) and a close up to monitor your current state. I found it most difficult to achieve states of coherence when looking at all this data. Sessions are saved and can be viewed to monitor your progress. HeartMath also gives you some tips and FAQs on a separate page. All in all, I find Inner Balance to be a useful tool for dealing with stress, and I especially like the fact that you can use it on the go. Two thumbs up!

Edit 9/27/13 When this device works, it's a fantastic aid to one's overall health. Unfortunately, I go through periods with a 95% "Sensor timed out" response. Sometimes I go days with it working fine, but the more I use it, the worse it gets. So I start up my iPod touch, connect the sensor (Yes! I'm checking the connections, and I modded the cover months ago to ensure there was no interference), and cross my fingers that it works. I can't begin to tell you how stressful this is. So unless you want to risk greatly increasing your blood pressure, avoid this product. I am not alone here either, as I have seen others with the same issue. Just use the Azumio "Stress Doctor" app. It's not nearly as precise, but at least it always works. Edit 1/18/14 A replacement was sent. I had asked if I could replace it with the lightning connector, and they said "Sure, not a problem". They didn't. New unit is working fine though. Wanted to give it a few months, because the original lasted a while before it started to fail. Very good at what it does, and if you use it long enough, you will feel tremendous results. Edit 5/23/14 Three devices, three failures. This product produces amazing results... when it works. However, it has caused me more stress than anything at this point. When someone gets this right, I will buy it. ------------------------------------------------- Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is taking the fitness world to new levels. Nothing (yet) is better for telling you how hard you should (or shouldn't) workout that day. This app uses HRV for a different purpose. Heartmath's aim is "Coherence". To bring your breath, heartrate, and emotions into coherence. For that it does a great job. What that does for you overall is hard to explain, and you may want to visit their site for more information, but I can tell you what it did for me. I use it when I wake up, for about 5 minutes, to start my day off feeling refreshed. However, the most dramatic observance I've made, is when doing the exercise for 10 minutes before sleeping. I use it in bed, and am ready to close my eyes as soon as I put my device down. Results? Out hard and fast! I've been getting the deepest sleep I've ever had in my life, night after night. This took about a week to get used to, as I was waking up refreshed with just 5 1/2 hours sleep, and great energy all day. This was too good to last, and I eventually settled on 7 1/2 hours, compared to my previous 9 I needed to feel refreshed. Alternatives include: Azumio Stress Doctor: This app uses the camera to detect your heart rate, and does a really good job at introducing you to coherence for just $5. Not nearly as detailed, and fairly easy to achieve "state". No difficulty setting, and you are only told if you are on or off. What I like about the Heartmath item, is you are given a very specific coherence number. For Android, there is an app called "Stress Releaser": It also uses the camera, and works ok. Again, not the same level of detail. Neither of the above two had the same effect on my sleep. It doesn't take much focus to achieve state in them, whereas Inner Balance shows your progress as you focus harder and practice more. I don't know how high it measures, as I haven't hit a limit yet. So far, I've gotten into the low 9's. For my use, I am only concerned with my Coherence number, and the HRV wave. I inhale at the bottom, and exhale at the top. By doing this, feeling my heartbeat, and focusing on relaxing, I'm able to achieve a coherence in the 8's, and have gone over 9. I don't think "happy thoughts" as recommended. I tried for several sessions with no changes. I'm so happy with the results I'm getting from this device, I ordered a second one for my kids. The only reason I took off a star is that this is iOS only, and I had to buy a $30 adapter to use it with my latest gen device. A few things I would like to see: Night mode. I use this before bed to put me in a deep sleep, I turn the brightness all the way down, but still... blue? It's the absolute worst color to be staring at before going to sleep. Also, it's a pain to have to go into settings every time. Maybe a couple of in app purchases. 1) I would like to use this with my Polar H7 bluetooth HRM (which I use with "Sweetbeat", an app that measures HRV for monitoring stress levels). I would think it would work. 2) HRV Stress test, for exercise purposes. Heck, it's believed HRV can be used to monitor aerobic threshold. Heartmath could be a leader, and use this app to be the first consumer product on that front. I would also love audio cues for when the HRV wave is a the bottom and top. Perhaps a low tone at the bottom, and a high tone at the top. I do not use the other tone, so I image users would have to be given a choice as to which, if either, was used. This would allow me to close my eyes, which seems to raise my coherence. Multiple profiles on one device please. Being able to sign in, and sync multiple devices... Though I could see where that one would be a pain, as it would require a lot of back end work and maintenance. And lastly, I would love to see a forum, so users could discuss how they are using this, and how different techniques are affecting their coherence. Ok, one more thing that I'm not really interested in, but would likely increase sales/usage... Some kind of gameification. A leader board, something. People love that stuff.

I have 20 years invested into training people to have peak experiences using flow coaching, meditation, yoga, diet modification, and behavior modification. I first heard about Heart Math almost 10 years ago when I was learning about pranic healing and the twin hearts meditation. I was reintroduced to this technology from Dave Osprey at BulletProof Executive. I thought well, if this guy has spent over $300,000 bio-hacking his body and mind and claims Heart Math tools are some of the most important bio hack tools he has ever used well, I'm game. And what a game changer. I have consistently used the HeartMath IOS for the past 3-months and have noticed tremendous improvements in my heart rate variability coherence levels. I practice only 1x a day for 15 mins. I'm already on the highest level setting and looking forward to maxing out the percentage. The benefits I have received are: greater emotional control and resilency to stress and emotional triggers. greater emotional flexibility to get back into coherence when I fall out greater level of inner peace and joy throughout my day deeper sleep than ever before overall improvement in my wellness. The science behind the technology is rock solid with over 25 years of peer reviewed studies and research. And the organization itself is extremely helpful and dedicated to changing the world's stress level by global heart coherence. I have been meditating regularly for 14 years and find this an amazing instrument to validate and/or assist others with greater levels of emotional mastery and inner peace. Love it love it love it.

Wanted to love this because it is a cool concept... unfortunately functionality is lacking in too many key areas. making this a complete waste of money -1 star - ear sensor does not pick up heart beats below 40 bpm... making this product useless when your resting heart rate reaches this zone. -1 star - ear sensor is very sensitive to motion. Even with shirt clip attached trying to walk with this usually stops tracking -1 star - "No sensor found" error... once session interrupted its annoying to have to unplug and re-plug ear sensor. Product randomly works and gets errors more times than it works fo me. -1 star - program does not work in the background so session stopped if u answer phone or text Customer service is great but cant compensate for dysfunctional product