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Energy Healing - Part 5: Coherence and Healing - How Synchronizing Heart and Brain Fields Influences Energy Therapy
- Greg Dea
- May 11
- 4 min read
Updated: May 11
Introduction
When clients say they feel “instantly calmer” around certain practitioners, or that “something shifted” in the room before any touch occurred, it’s tempting to dismiss it as placebo or imagination. But science tells another story.
What Is Coherence?
Coherence refers to an optimal state of synchronization and order between body systems—especially between the heart, brain, and breath. In a coherent state:
- Heart rate variability (HRV) becomes smooth and sine-like
- Brainwave rhythms (alpha, theta) sync with cardiac rhythms
- The autonomic nervous system shifts toward parasympathetic dominance (McCraty et al., 2009)
The Human Biofield and Entrainment
Every heart generates an electromagnetic field detectable several feet from the body (via magnetocardiogram). Brainwaves generate fields too, though weaker.
These fields interact —a phenomenon called physiological entrainment.
Studies show:
- The more coherent a practitioner’s state, the more likely a client’s HRV and emotional state will synchronize (McCraty & Zayas, 2014).
- Touch amplifies the entrainment effect, but coherence begins before contact—via field-to-field interaction.
The Brain on Coherence
Coherence also shows up in brain function:-
Alpha coherence reflects relaxed, focused attention.
- Theta-gamma coupling supports deep integration, emotional insight, and memory reconsolidation (Canolty et al., 2006).
Practitioners in a coherent brain-heart state may inadvertently facilitate shifts in their clients’ neural activity—promoting downregulation, clarity, or emotional release.
Why It Matters in Therapy
Whether you call it energy healing, attunement, or presence, coherence changes the therapeutic environment:
✅ It increases trust, parasympathetic activation, and safety
✅ It allows fascia, fluids, and breath to reorganize spontaneously
✅ It amplifies all other healing mechanisms (touch, grounding, electrostatic interaction)
Coherence, Entrainment, and Fluid Flow in Therapeutic Presence - is it magic, is it energy healing or is science now able to explain what's happening?
In the video below, I demonstrate and narrate what I experience during a moment of deep coherence while working with a client.
As I settle into a coherent heart-brain state — through breath, stillness, and intentional focus — I begin to observe a shift in my own internal fluid flow: a sense of wave-like movement, settling, expansion, then a burp - this is a tell - a sign of gas movement - sometimes the internal fluid flow is fluid (a gurgle or swallow or trickle) and sometimes it's gas.
I always check if this change in behaviour in me has "entrained" into the client's autonomic nervous system - if their nervous system changes behaviour, I ask, "is it possible that their musculoskeletal system also changes behaviour?" This is a feedback loop based on the curiosity: Q. have I entered a state that is at least towards coherence?
Q. if I have, has this thing called entrainment occurred?
Q. if MY body has just exhibited a behaviour consistent with fluid/gas flow, is that representing a change in behaviour of the nervous system?
Q. Is the parasympathetic system active via the vagus nerve influencing MY organs?
Q. if my body has changed, is entrainment of my coherence happening to the client?
Q. could their autonomic nervous system also change it's behaviour?
Q. could this show up as a change in other systems, such as their MSK system?
This moment illustrates the phenomenon of entrainment: where a coherent electromagnetic field generated by one individual influences the physiological rhythms of another.
In this case, the client's breath, tone, and fluid responsiveness begin to reflect the rhythms initiated by the practitioner’s state of internal coherence.
Initially, I’m not guiding the client with cues or mechanical touch—only holding space through intentional presence and physiological regulation.
Research indicates that what occurs is:
A shift into psychophysiological coherence (synchronized HRV, breath, and focus)
A biofield-level interaction where electromagnetic rhythms begin to synchronize
A visible or palpable change in the client’s tissue tone, fluid dynamics, or breath rhythm
This is one of the five mechanisms I teach in my Lymphatic & Visceral Manual Therapy (LVMT) framework, offering a scientific basis for what many refer to as "energy healing."
Cultivating Coherence as a Practitioner
You can train your own coherence with:
- Heart-focused breathing (inhale 5s, exhale 5s)
- Meditative intent (gratitude, compassion, curiosity)
- HRV biofeedback tools (e.g., HeartMath Inner Balance)
The more coherent your system, the greater your field stability—and the more therapeutic influence you exert before touch even begins.
Coherence as the Fifth Mechanism of Energy Healing
In this series, I introduced the idea that science is catching up to explain what appears to be energy healing. Then I elaborated to explore:
5. Finishing in this article to explore what science has come to understand as coherence and field entrainment
Coherence ties them all together. It modulates autonomic tone, electromagnetic communication, emotional safety, and internal rhythm. It’s the glue that makes the other mechanisms land.
References
Canolty, R. T., Edwards, E., Dalal, S. S., et al. (2006). High gamma power is phase-locked to theta oscillations in human neocortex. Science, 313(5793), 1626–1628. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1128115
McCraty, R., Atkinson, M., Tomasino, D., & Bradley, R. T. (2009). The coherent heart: Heart-brain interactions, psychophysiological coherence, and the emergence of system-wide order. Integral Review, 5(2), 10–115.
McCraty, R., & Zayas, M. A. (2014). Cardiac coherence, self-regulation, autonomic stability, and psychosocial well-being. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1090. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01090
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