Listen to Your Heart - Go with It

Sometimes you hear your heartbeat. you can almost always take a pulse reading and the chest strap with wrist display wireless fitness equipment does an excellent job of collecting data and displaying an array of information. For about $20 in parts this receiver (exploded view) allows headphone, earbud, or other audio connection monitoring of each heartbeat.

This is the most powerful feedback tool I have experienced. It is a surprizing advance in a pursuit. The following text was posted earlier at QuantifiedSelf:

RE: suggestions for simple data vizualization tools?

Keep it simple and real time, except for long term trends on more complex questions or issues. Sonification of HRV is my target. Got interested before cardiac ablation resolved atrial fibrillation and continue exploring with a simple Polar monitor and attachments based upon the Polar Heart Rate Module - RMCM01.

SuperCollider programming is still developing, but my real-time heart beat in my ears turned out to be a terrific feedback instrument. Never much for exercise groups or formal equipment, going with the flow of the tick of my heartbeat lets me explore movement in new ways. Walking down the street now has dance elements woven into the internal visualization of body and mind state. Bliss is remarkably easy to recognize and propagate - shifts in attention are markers for a drifting state that is absorbing on many levels. Having this tool allows for lots of tiny experiments with interesing results.

This is a much smaller second version. The first had two AAA batteries. With 6 hours on the battery I'm considering slimming down the other unit. The other end of the plastic plumbing fitting can take a larger battery.

Update 9/20/11
Wore a Polar Chest Transmitter and display watch to a dental appointment. Encouraged by a NuCalm System experience, noise isolating earbuds were used with the audio pulse unit. No science here, but I've had pain, panic, and problematic dentistry and relaxing was never this easy. I neared sleep twice. There was a mouth block disabling jaw movement witb a dam and local numbing for a root canal. Not bliss, but focused calm with a reminder pace.