Breathing, Heartbeat, Rhyme

'Dirk Cysarz of Herdecke University is studying the relationship between breathing, heartbeat and rhymed poetry. Among the many biological clocks that control the human body, there are two that are vital: the Mayer waves (ten-second cycles of blood pressure fluctuation) and the breathing cycle (15 breaths per minute). These two vital clocks are not in sync, although one needs the other. Hexameter is the most classic of classic poetry, used by Homer as well as in other civilizations. Cysarz found that reciting hexameter poetry has the effect of synchronizing breathing and heart rate. Similar phenomena are known to occur during the recitation of the Catholic rosary and the "om" mantra. The cardiorespiratory synchronization is probably due to the specific breathing patterns required to recite the verse. So it might be that classic poetry was born because it "felt good" to recite it, and only later was also used to deliver a message.'

from Thymos, a newsletter of consciousness