We invite you to start on a journey to improve your Inner Balance and the alignment between your heart, mind and body using HeartMath techniques, which have already benefited hundreds of thousands of people. On this journey, you will gain improved well-being, vitality, clarity of thought, access to your heart's intuition, and a more balanced response to stressful situations and challenges.

This version of Inner Balance can be installed on iPod touch® 3rd, & 4th Generation, iPod touch 5th Generation, iPhone® 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S, iPad®, iPad 2, iPad 3rd Generation and iPad 4th Generation, iPad Air running iOS 6.1.

The app also requires the HeartMath Sensor for iOS. The original sensor for 30 pin connectors has been discontinuted. Lightning sensors are still available at the HeartMath Store. You may also find sensors available through various other retail locations or HeartMath Distributors, Coaches, and Trainers.

First Launch

When launching the Inner Balance app for the first time, it will display a quick overview of its elements. At the end of the overview you may choose whether to continue to see the overview on each launch or not.

Following the overview, you will also see a set of cards explaining the gestures available. You will be asked to use these gestures to move to the next card. A gesture can be a tap to start a session, double tap to stop, slide to change views, and so on. At the end of this short tutorial, you will see the option to disable this feature on each launch. Navigation between sections in a tab is generally done by swiping the screen. The major views of Inner Balance are controlled through the tabs at the bottom of the screen.

Help

To access Help at any time, tap and hold the screen or tap the icon.

Getting Started

Please attach the sensor to the charge port of your iOS device, and clip the ear pulse sensor to the center of your earlobe. Now tap once to start your session!

If mood selection is on. it comes up first . Please see Settings on the next page to turn this off.

There are several different screens that are active during a training session. You may select between them. Their layout will differ somewhat between iPhone and iPad.

The top of the screen initially shows your pulse then switches to your Heart Rate Variability (HRV) pattern. HRV will show a smooth rhythm, when you are in the state of Coherence* or Inner Balance. The small dot below the HRV rhythm indicates your Coherence Level, red for low, blue for medium, and green for high. The colored display in the center of the screen helps you pace your breath to increase your coherence. The red, blue and green squares on the border of the circle are added every 5 seconds and show you how much time you have spent in low, medium, or high Coherence.

Coherence is the degree of order, harmony, and stability occurring in your autonomic nervous system and higher brain centers. A more coherent HRV pattern reflects efficient or optimal function, which is related to the ease and flow of energy and information flow in your nervous system, and between your heart and brain. An erratic, incoherent HRV pattern reflects stress and energy drain. The HRV or heart rhythm pattern informs the brain how the heart and body feels and affects brain centers involved in decision-making and your ability to maintain composure, especially in challenging or stressful times.

Coherence is not just relaxation. It is the synchronization of the activity in the parasympathetic and sympathetic branches of the nervous system. It reflects a calm, yet energetically present and aware state. The practice of heart coherence with the Inner Balance app facilitates mental functions. It opens more access to your higher intelligence, and improves focus, creativity, intuition and decision-making. After being in Heart Coherence, we perform better! We feel more confident, positive, calm, yet energized.

Change Any of Your Settings to Customize

Access the settings by tapping the icon in the upper left of the screen.

Session Settings

Sound Effects Volume
Coherence Change Only
Music Volume

Choose your own soundtrack to enhance your Coherence while running sessions

Challenge Level

Four levels represented by number of stars

Breath Pacer Speed

This is the speed of movement of the mandala in screen #1, the chaser in screen #2 and the Mini Breath Pacer on the bottom of the other screens. For most people, a setting of one breath cycle every 10 seconds is most effective at increasing heart coherence.

My Inspiration

Choose a photo that evokes positive or good feelings from your library to display and motivate you.

Session Display Options

This section is where you can toggle on or off these three features:

Coach
Mini HRV
Mini Breath Pacer

Mood Selection Visibility

There are three options that can be toggled on or off to control the pop up: Before a Session, After a Session and On New Journal Entry

Reminders

Set Reminders for daily or weekly to receive this notification "Take a moment to create your Inner Balance"

Social Media and Sharing

Click this icon in the upper right corner of your screen to access Social Media and share comments on Facebook, Twitter or Email.

Using the Settings Icon, you can select which session metrics you wish to share by toggling on or off:

You will need to be logged on and in some cases allow specific access to share.

Run A Session

Detail Session screens plot the Coherence Over Time, Pulse, Heart Rate, HRV Rhythm, and the Power Spectrum. You will also find (unless disabled in settings) a small breath pacer in the form of a moving ball at the bottom of the screen.

These are the screens you can slide through while running a session on your iPhone:

The two screens to the right above display a number of metrics for your training. The Score Board includes Coherence, Length and Achievement. Coherence, in the purple section, is your current Coherence Score. This is a measure of the degree of Coherence in the heart rhythm pattern. A Coherent heart rhythm is a stable regular repeating rhythm resembling a sine wave at a single frequency between 0.04-0.24 Hz (3-15 cycles per minute). The scoring algorithm continuously monitors the most current 64 seconds of heart rhythm data and updates the score every 5 seconds.

The more stable and regular the heart rhythm frequency, the higher the Coherence Score. Scores range from 0-16. Typical scores range between 3.0 -6.5, but values as low as 0.0 and higher than 10.0 are not uncommon. With practice and regular use you will begin to notice your normal Coherence Score Level and how it fluctuates when you have more or less focus and when you experience greater levels of Inner Balance. Use your score range as your guide to setting the Challenge Level and Achievement Goal.

The pink section is the length of your Session. The Orange section shows your Achievement. This is the sum of your individual Coherence Scores during the length of a session. It can be improved by achieving higher Coherence Scores and the length of time spent in Coherence during the session. It is the total of all Coherence. The scoring algorithm updates your Coherence Score every 5 seconds during an active session and adds them together giving you a sum which is called Achievement on the app displays. You may want to set a daily Achievement Goal for yourself. An Achievement Score of 300 points per day is a good place to start. This could be accumulated in a single session or split across two or more sessions depending on your schedule or preferences.

Also on the detail screens you see these graphs right below the Score Board.

HRV is Heart Rate Variability. This is the normally occurring beat-to-beat changes in heart rate. Analysis of HRV is an important tool used to assess heart-brain interactions and autonomic nervous system dynamics (function, synchronization and balance). HRV is considered a key indicator of aging, cardiac health, resilience and overall well-being.

Coherence Over Time. COT charts your Coherence Scores over the entire length of the session. The chart is updated every 5 seconds with each new score. The background of the chart reflects the Coherence Level Thresholds for the current Challenge Level Setting; red = low, blue = medium, green = high. When you achieve higher levels of Coherence Scores, the plot window will auto scale and the red and blue portions will get smaller.

Pulse data is collected from the sensor and shown on the Pulse graph. The beats per minute of your heart are also displayed right below this chart.

The Spectrum graph displays a mathematical transformation of the heart rhythm data into its frequency components. The slowest (low) frequencies are shown on the left hand side of the graph and faster (high) frequencies on the right. As the heart rhythm becomes more Coherent the frequency distribution becomes more concentrated into a signal peak. The Spectrum is updated every 5 seconds.

Stop a Session and Review

To stop your session, double tap. When the session is stopped, you will see this summary view below. It is similar to the detail of the History views below.

Review Your History

Select the History Tab to access your session history. You can select from the list of your sessions to see its detail view.

The Coherence Score displayed in the History view is an average of the Coherence Score throughout the entire session. It will differ from the last Coherence Score displayed in the Session view.

Journal

The Mood Selection Visibility is controlled in Settings. You can choose the emoticon that matches your mood. You can have it prompt you, when you start a session, stop a session or enter a new Journal entry. If you do not select an emoticon, gray icon will display.

On the Journal tab, you can add, edit or delete Journal entries to document your journey and moods. Use the icon in the upper right corner to add new entries. Tap the Edit Entry button to add text.

HeartCloud Tab

Select the HeartCloud tab to get more information on the science, products, and HeartMath Techniques. This section is updated regularly via the Internet, so you need an Internet data connection to use it. After using it the first time, the latest information will be cached.

HeartMath was envisioned and inspired by Doc Childre more than 28 years ago to help people reduce stress and become who they really are. HeartMath techniques and tools teach people to connect with their inner intuitive guidance and heart intelligence. HeartMath's discovery of the state of internal Coherence, where the heart-brain and nervous system come into balance and alignment has been researched and independently validated by physiologists, psychologists, and medical doctors across numerous institutions. Increasing Coherence and developing compassionate heart-based living benefits not only the health and well-being of individuals, but improves relationships and increases the efficiency of organizations.

Appendix

Achievement Score: The sum of your individual Coherence Scores during the length of a session. It can be improved by achieving higher Coherence Scores and the length of time spent in Coherence during the session. It is the total of all Coherence. The scoring algorithm updates your Coherence Score every 5 seconds during an active session and adds them together giving you a sum which is called Achievement on the app displays. You may want to set a daily Achievement Goal for yourself, an Achievement Score of 300 points per day is a good place to start. This could be accumulated in a single session or split across two or more sessions depending on your schedule or preferences.

Heart Coherence: Coherence refers to your internal order or harmony. Increased Coherence enables better balance, greater health, and new levels of creativity, resilience and productivity.

Coherence Indicator: The small colored circle near the top of the Session View. Reflective of your state of Coherence over the last 60 seconds, it indicates your current state of Coherence. Green for High, Blue for Medium and Red for Low.

Coherence Score: A measure of the degree of Coherence in the heart rhythm pattern. A Coherent heart rhythm is a stable regular repeating rhythm resembling a sine wave at a single frequency between 0.04-0.24 Hz (3-15 cycles per minute). The scoring algorithm continuously monitors the most current 64 seconds of heart rhythm data and updates the score every 5 seconds.

The more stable and regular the heart rhythm frequency, the higher the Coherence Score. Scores range from 0-16. With practice and regular use you will begin to notice your normal Coherence Score level and how it fluctuates when you have more or less focus and when you experience greater levels of inner balance. Use your score range as your guide to setting the Challenge Level and Achievement Goal.

Coherence Score Guide

0.5	basic good beginner level
1.0	good
2.0	very good
3.0+	excellent

Challenge Level:These settings are thresholds for the levels of Coherence that determine if you are in low (red), medium (blue) or high (green) Coherence. There are four different Challenge Levels; 1, 2, 3, and 4. As your Coherence Score rises you shift from one range (low, med or high) to the next. The Coherence Score threshold between the three ranges is gradually increased at a rate of 15% for each higher Challenge Level 1 ‐ 3 and 30% between 3 ‐ 4.
The following table and figure shows the threshold setting for each Challenge Level. Coherence and Achievement Scores are not affected by the Challenge Level Setting.

Coherence Over Time is a graphical display that charts your Coherence Scores over the entire length of the session. The chart is updated every 5 seconds with each new score. The background of the chart reflects the Coherence Level Thresholds for the current Challenge Level Setting; red = low, blue = medium, green = high. When you achieve higher levels of Coherence Scores, the plot window will auto scale and the red and blue portions will get smaller.

Coherence Ratios: A session summary of the amount of time, as a percentage of the total session length, in each of the three Challenge Level ranges. For example, in the session below the Coherence Ratio Display shows 2 low, 5 medium, and 93 high. This score will be affected by your challenge level settings.

Heart Rate Variability (HRV): The normally occurring beat-to-beat changes in heart rate. Analysis of HRV is an important tool used to assess heart-brain interactions and autonomic nervous system dynamics (function, synchronization and balance). HRV is considered a key indicator of aging, cardiac health, resilience and overall well-being.

Power Spectrum: A mathematical transformation of the heart rhythm data into its frequency components

The slowest (low) frequencies are shown on the left hand side of the graph and faster (high) frequencies on the right. As the heart rhythm becomes more Coherent the frequency distribution becomes more concentrated into a signal peak. The Spectrum is updated every 5 seconds. For a more in-depth explanation please see:

http://www.heartmath.org/research/science-of-the-heart/heart-rate-variability.html

For additional support, please see the HeartMath Knowledge Base at:

Support: http://support.heartmath.com

Or, send your question in email to Technical Support Send Mail