One of the really cool things about having an Oura Ring is the data I get from my meditation practice. Do I do anything with the data? No. Does the data tell me if I had a good meditation? No.
But what it does provide is tangible evidence of how my meditation practice affects my body. One particular metric is heart rate variability (HRV).
HRV is the beat-to-beat variation in the time intervals between consecutive heartbeats. It reflects autonomic nervous system balance, with higher HRV generally indicating greater parasympathetic resilience and adaptability to stress, and lower HRV correlating with physiologic strain, illness, or reduced recovery capacity.
During the day my HRV isn’t great, as you can see in the first screenshot from my Oura app. But when I meditate, it increases nearly 5-fold.
Pretty cool to see, right? Meditation affects the entire body in so many ways, in addition to its powerful effects on one’s mind and consciousness.
May all beings be freeeeee!
