Investigation into breath meditation: Phenomenological, neurophysiologic, psychotherapeutic and sport psychological implications

Abstract

This integral heuristic phenomenological investigation records participants’ experiences of a single session of breath meditation with special reference to psychotherapy and sport psychology. There were 8 participants, 4 men and 4 women, with mean age of 45 years and age range from 31 to 62 years. Various breathing patterns and related consciousness transformations were revealed in all experiential breath meditation descriptions and their associated neurophysiologic signatures, which indicated predominantly alpha wave and sensory motor region activity. Psychotherapeutic and sport psychological findings indicated that breath work facilitates many healing ingredients, with many athletes viewing breathing exercises as the most useful tool learned. Integrated findings strongly endorse the value of breath work. Further research and practice in the area is recommended.

Keywords: Breath meditation, phenomenology, neurophysiology, psychotherapy, sport psychology.