The effects of meditation on our well-being are widely recognized, but lesser known are its role in improving our relationships and social connection. So, this week on Self-Improvement Atlas: The Personal Science Insights Podcast, host Marie Stella sits with functional medicine health coach Bridget Pennington to learn more. As principal health coach at Melbourne Functional Medicine, Bridget Pennington coaches patients, collaborates with practitioners and helps to design and rebuild the coaching offering, granting her the opportunity to spend several hundred hours coaching. With a passion for sharing tools and resources, she continues to develop journals, books, blogs, and resources that are available for free download or purchase. In this episode, Bridget Pennington sheds light on heart rate variability (HRV) that measures the variation in time between each heartbeat, essentially tracking the nervous system and how it reacts to not only the environment, but also to emotions and thoughts. She shares that tracking HRV can be extremely beneficial in informing an individual’s meditation practice, from techniques to frequency. Together, Marie and Bridget Pennington discuss the role of meditation and mindfulness in improving connection to society, and the importance of mindset in meditation practices. So, tune in today for a riveting conversation about how meditation can transform your mindset, and vice versa. Tools and resources mentioned in this episode:HeartMath: https://www.heartmath.com Visit Bridget Pennington’s work on the following platforms:Insight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/BeePenningtonWebsite: https://www.beepennington.com/  Connect with Bridget Pennington via the following platforms:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bee_pennington LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bridget-bee-pennington/  Produced by the Personal Science Labs, a division of LMSL, the Life Management Science Labs.  Explore https://lifemanagementsciencelabs.com/ to learn more about LMSL and visit https://personal.lifemanagementsciencelabs.com/ for more information about Personal Science labs. Follow us on Social Media to stay updated: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkzFBwo4woLyZTf2H7iBPg   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/personal.science.labs/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/personal.science.labs/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/PeScienceLabsTikTok: http://tiktok.com/@personal.science.labsLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/personal-science-labs/  You can also subscribe and listen to the show on your preferred podcasting platforms: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-improvement-atlas-the-personal-science-insights/id1648239031 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ABAXFGqBb74eVs6TDLQC6 Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c382490e-f526-418e-8a51-d07c7534a621/self-improvement-atlas-the-personal-science-insights-podcast iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/338-self-improvement-atlas-the-102784432/  Podbean: https://personalscienceinsights.podbean.com/ PlayerFM: https://player.fm/series/3401808   Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/self-improvement-atlas-the-per-4911252/episodes/recent