We live in a stressful world. As such, there is a growing interest in techniques for decreasing stress and enhancing well-being. Meditation and mindfulness are some of the practices that many are using to achieve these goals; accordingly, scientists have been studying the bio-social effects, especially related to heart rate variability (HRV) and other measures that affect well-being.  Indeed, many forms of meditation focus on the breath, but Heart Rhythm Meditation  (HRM) is one of the few forms of meditation that focuses on the full breath. The full breath is particularly important because the vagus nerve is stimulated more intensely by the full breath than by the normal spontaneous breath. The vagus nerve also activates the parasympathetic nervous system promoting a more calming response. Hence, the full-breath form of breathing used in HRM differentiates it from other meditation techniques, and is the is the focus of this study, which examines, in part, the effects of HRM on vagal activity, as measured by heart rate variability (HRV).

HRV as a measure of vagal tone is certainly not the only assessment of the value of meditation practice. Many studies show that meditation of various types helps people manage stress and increase their overall well-being and quality of life.  While there have been studies that examine the effects of going through various kinds of meditation programs using different types of meditation, thus far there have been no published studies examining how practicing HRM and its use of the long, slow, full, rhythmic breath, affects either HRV or overall well-being. Hence, the purpose of this mixed methods study is two-fold: 

1. (a) to examine how the practice of Heart Rhythm Meditation (HRM) affects vagal activity as measured by heart rate variability (HRV); and 
2. (b) to examine how it affects participants’ well-being both by measuring changes in their well-being scores using validated inventories, and through qualitative interviews of the perceived effects of HRM.  

After exploring the background literature and scientific studies that explain how breath influences vagal tone, this report goes on to explain the details of the methodology, and the findings of the study. 

This mixed methods study began by recruiting participants for the study once it was approved by the Institutional Research Review Board at Penn State University.  There were 74 participants who signed a consent form that agreed to participate in the study based on particular criteria, which included agreement to the following: (a)  taking a six-week course to learn the practice of HRM; (b) engaging in a daily meditation practice for a period of 10 weeks (70 days); (c) having their heart rate variability read through EKG technology at the beginning and end of these 10 weeks; (d) agreeing to take two validated well-being instruments (the WHO-5, developed by the World Health Organization; and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Survey or WEMWBS) at the beginning and end of the study; and (e) agreeing to participate in a focus group interview or to answer the questions of the focus group in writing to examine their perceptions of how the practice affected their well-being.  These participants, along with any others interested in doing so, took an online zoom course in HRM for 1 hour and 15 minutes each week for 6 weeks. The course was  taught by a member of our study team (Dr. Charles Palmer), who has 10 years of experience of teaching HRM. These sessions were also made available to course participants if they missed a session. 

Quantitative data collection began when participants visited the research laboratory to have their initial HRV measures taken through EKG technology.  At this visit, they also filled out the WHO-5 and WEMWBS, both validated quantitative questionnaires measuring different aspects of well-being, which provided initial well-being measures.  Participants began recording the minutes spent meditating following the third class.  Forty-eight subjects came for the second recording session 10 to 13 weeks later (depending on when they could be scheduled), and filled out the well-being instruments for the second time; 26 subjects did not return and were assumed to have withdrawn from the study.  The qualitative data collection process, which consisted of the focus group interviews or written responses to questions exploring meditators’ perceptions of how the meditation practice affected their overall well-being and quality of life took place approximately two weeks after their final HRV reading.  Because we were interested in their perceptions of how the meditation practice affected their lives overall, only those who meditated an average of at least 10 minutes per day were specifically asked to participate in the qualitative data collection process.  35 participants did so.

The report describes the data analysis procedures, and the findings in significant detail.   The overall findings of the quantitative data showed that the effect of the practice of HRM on vagal activity approached statistical significance, and the trend indicates that doing the daily HRM practice for 10 to 20 minutes per day does indeed affect vagal activity.  Further, the more time spent meditating the greater the effect on vagal activity. The fact that technically it did not meet the traditional measure of statistical significance of p < .05 (which means that the result will occur by chance less than 5% of the time) is probably due to the small sample size (by statistical standards).  An increase in well-being scores for those who did the meditation between 10-20 minutes per day over the 10-week period did meet statistical significance.  An analysis of the qualitative data and participants’ perceived effects of HRM on their lives of those who did the meditation indicated three primary inter-related themes of findings: 

1. the positive effects of HRM on stress and well-being; 
2. the development of a more expanded sense of self; and 
3. an increased awareness of the interconnection of the body-heart-emotions. 
4. An emerging fourth theme is that those with prior experiences with meditation had significantly deeper experiences. The quantitative and qualitative findings are discussed in great depth in the report, along with the implications of the findings and suggestions for further research.

The study contributes to the emerging research base that has captured the interest of scientists and others in the past few years on the effects of contemplative and other practices on vagal activity (as measured by HRV), and well-being. It provides evidence that heart rhythm meditation, with its emphasis on the heart and the full breath, can be counted as one of the effective contemplative practices that can enhance one’s vagal tone, well-being, and overall quality of life.