HeartMath emWave2, Charcoal Gray

I'm sorry to all the cynical naysayers on the Emwave 1 page (most of whom seem like they need a serious dose of chill-out, my friends!). I think this thing is super-cool.Background: I'm almost 10 years sober and have done a lot of work meditating, and basically just developing a common-sense spiritual practice that includes stuff like The Power of Now.I just need something fun to sort of force me to sit and do the breathing thing. A motivator, if you will. If it looks cool and fun, all the better.Yes, this is a bit pricey, but in all fairness you can see the amount of serious work that went into this thing. The software that comes with it (which thankfully does work on my Mac -- was a bit worried about that) has tutorials and a really pro interface. It's fun to sit and watch it. (I realize I'm suddenly sounding like an ad, but this is a positive review, so!) It has "games" like the Coherence Coach, which I'm sort of half-assedly doing as I type this, which has relaxing music and a gentle voice leading you through relaxation techniques. I see three other games I haven't clicked on yet, one of which is a garden where color appears as you relax.Maybe this stuff wasn't in the Emwave 1; I have no idea. Just heard about it from a review on Stresseraser, which was the first device I was considering over Xmas.Okay, now I'm running the Garden Game. This is goofy and fun. Little twinkles as you change "coherence levels." Very relaxing.I also dig:1) Rechargeable. No batteries. I wonder how long the charge lasts, though. And now that I think about it, this could be a "con" if I'm traveling without a laptop. Maybe an adaptor would do the trick? Note to self: Need to find out. Anyway, still think it's a "pro."2) Ear clip! I didn't think this was a big deal until I started writing this review while using the device.Finally, I'd like to address the notion of "half-assed," which is how I'm using this device at this moment.Sometimes it's a good thing. Like most of us with chronic stress, I'm a hideous, horrible perfectionist. I read a negative review where someone was complaining that they would be about to "achieve" the highest rating and then would get stressed about getting there, which would lead to them "losing" the rating.This sort of thing (which I, too, am prone to ... I'm the one buying a stress-related machine, after all) underscores the idea that a machine alone can't help you relax. It has to be a tool in conjunction with "attitude" (or, if you don't object to the term, spiritual) work. I recommend The Power of Now and The Sedona Method. (Also AA, which has worked wonderfully for me.)Like the saying, "life is a journey, not a destination," relaxation is a process, not a goal.It's obsessive goal-seeking (and believe me I know all about this) that creates so much misery in our world today: living in and for the future, instead of celebrating what's happening at this very moment. Breathing in. Breathing out. Writing a goofy review on Amazon. Watching a 9-point field of Verdana letters expand as I click little keys on a little keyboard. The sound of traffic outside my window. My cat snoring behind me.This is what it's all about. Right now. And it's good.------(p.s. paid 150 for this on amazon, but now, only a few days later, see it's 228! i probably wouldn't have bought it for this price! it seems worth it, but just fyi guess i was lucky, and hope you will be, too!)---update 1/16 - actually using itI finally got around to using it the "right" (or most intensive) way, with the "healing hands visualizer," which is basically like one of the iTunes "visualizers", but which changes color based on your "coherence" level. Great if you don't mind a wee bit of New Age-y music and vibe.If you're more techno-music oriented, there's also a visualizer under "coherence coach" called water droplet that's nice. And there's an option to upload your own playlist.I guess one of my fears with this was that I'd never _actually_ use it, but it was a very relaxing experience. Really soothing, and I upped my first official "tracked" score by stopping looking at whether I was in "coherence" and simply thinking about happy memories.I think this is going to be an excellent way to renew my daily meditation practice.Still really happy with this purchase.---update 1/24 - stress to non-stressI had an interesting experience last night.Had a bit of bad financial news, so suddenly been stressed about money, but thought I was doing okay. Put on the emwave 2 before bed, and was shocked to see that, in fact, I was in "ALL-red" non-"coherence."Came over to the computer to plug it in, and saw my heart was, in fact, racing compared to previous sessions. I was in only 15% coherence (on "Low" challenge, no less!), where I'm usually 70-90%!Ran the "coherence coach."The interesting thing was, while the regular breathing helped to get me into coherence somewhat, it only REALLY started going down when I started replacing my fearful thoughts ("if I don't make money I'm what will I do, I'm screwed, etc.") with thoughts like "I've always been taken care of," "everything's always worked out," and better YET, REMEMBERING / PICTURING times of plenty and safety (which have always followed fearful times, one way or another: which proves everything works out).TinnitusThis is revolutionary for me. I'd also like to mention I'm also a tinnitus sufferer, although an audiologist told me not to talk about it because it gives in "energy." But I think it's more important to share helpful news. Like many, I've noticed when the ringing is "mysteriously" louder, looking back I can see stressful circumstances surrounding it (it'll even "turn up in volume" very noticeably after a stressful thought). This device reminds me that, while tinnitus may not be under my control per se, my reactions ARE under my control! Another thing I noticed after reading the reviews of StressEraser (which I was considering buying first), was that when I'm stressed, 9 times out of 10 if I check my breathing I'll see I'm actually "holding" my breath, essentially choking off my air supply!SummaryMy conclusion is that by practicing more positive thoughts, avoiding resentment and cynicism (even cranky reviews, "feedback" or forums online ... you know what I mean), paying attention to my breathing and replacing fearful thoughts with safe thoughts, I can minimize negativity that's "hiding in the background" -- i.e., I may THINK I'm "handling it," but physiologically my heart rate and breathing tell a different story.This is why I got this. To develop the PRACTICE of de-stressing.Re-ran the emwave with the positive thinking, and instantly went back to 88% coherence. Wows! (It also helps to not obsessively watch your "progress" ... just breathe and think positive stuff. When connected to the computer I'll even close my eyes some sessions so I can't see my coherence level, then look at "score" afterward. I seem to score as well or better like that.)If you get it, be sure to use the computer "coherence coach," and make those thoughts POSITIVE, it seems to be working!

I've been practicing meditation for about 1 1/2 years to help me deal with stress, anxiety and to improve overall focus. I've always been interested in biofeedback, but have never actually had any experience with it until I used this product. Not only did I get to practice a form of biofeedback by using this product, but I'm also offered the privacy and convenience of using this wherever and whenever I want. I've used this device 1-3 times/day for the past few months and I feel like it really benefits my meditation sessions. I notice that when I'm feeling stressed or overwhelmed, it clearly shows up as erratic heart waves when viewing the sessions on my Macbook. I also noticed that my coherence scores start to decline when I use this less device less frequently. My coherence scores also tend to coincide very consistently with my feelings of overall well-being. When I'm not feeling that great, my coherence score will show it, and vice versa. I've noticed that it's easier to get a better coherence score (higher percentage in the green) when I use deep belly breathing, aka diaphragmatic breathing. It's widely known that belly/diaphragmatic breathing has physical & mental health benefits, but it's interesting to see how this type of breathing can have an immediate effect on your heart rate variability. I also noticed that your score is not only influenced by your breathing, but also by your thoughts and your feelings of overall well-being. You can see almost instant changes in heart rate variability by changing your thoughts from those of stress to thoughts of peace, love and gratitude. In realtime on my laptop, I can see my heart rhythm go from erratic waves (red zone) to long, smooth waves (green zone), just by focusing on positive thoughts and emotions. I've also practiced focused meditation (focusing only on my breathing and trying to eliminate all other thoughts) while using the Emwave, and have had some of my highest coherence scores using this technique.I typically use this for about 10 minutes, usually right before going to work. I also try to make it a habit to use it 1 or 2 hours before bed. Overall, I'm very pleased with this device and I love the simplicity of use of both the device and the program for your PC which keeps a detailed log of ALL of your sessions. It even keeps the sessions that you have while you're not directly connected to your computer, and updates your log, while still keeping everything in chronological order by date & time. You can also delete selected sessions if needed.My only complaint is that the hands-free ear sensor stopped working after about 1 month. It would cost about $30 to replace it through the HeartMath website.Overall, I would highly recommend this product to anyone looking improve overall well-being, reduce stress, or enhance meditation.

My biggest complaint is that this was shipped alone in a box with no receipt for the purchase. That does create a headache for providing proof of purchase to the company when you have issues like I am on several computers. The dates of the sessions will be all the same and from 1966. Not really good. The ear clip works well but is very fragile. The thumb sensor is difficult to tell how well it is working. The unit operates differently than the very small manual shows as far as setting tings like sound and brightness. It is a fair device, and I guess what you'd expect for only 150. Worth a shot. Customer service from the company is excellent, although after having to reset the device, my computer recognizes it as "new" each time I want to transfer data. Still some significant bugs in the system.

I think this item is useful but waaay overpriced for what it does. I saw another review about the lights doing the exact same thing no matter what. I have tested this also and found it really does do the same thing no matter how anxious, stressed when used mobile. The computer hookup and heartbeat scale are very useful though.It makes it kind of FUN to practice deep breathing - but again a hefty price for that.I will continue to work with it. Haven't used daily or committed to it . I bought back in Sept. 14 and used regularly for a couple of months. I bought it for on-the-go and the features I like are on the computer hook up only!