Mind-Body Connection in Meditation: New Study Links the Breath to Free Will

by Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN

According to a recent study by a group of Swiss researchers, breath means more than simple respiration – it is actually linked with the ability to make choices by exercising free will. This research is so groundbreaking because it is another proof-point that attention, when connected with the breath, activates the circuits of the mind-body connection.

In the study, these researchers correlated free will with a term called, “Readiness Potential.” According to the study’s results, “Voluntary action is a fundamental element of self-consciousness,” and “participants initiate voluntary actions more frequently during expiration… Our findings demonstrate that voluntary action is coupled with the respiratory system and further suggest that the RP is associated with fluctuations of ongoing neural activity that are driven by the involuntary and cyclic motor act of breathing.” In other words, participants were more likely to exercise free will in decision making when they were breathing out.  

For thousands of years, breath has been the most widely used object of focus in meditation. Breathing in and out, we become present. Why? You can’t take a breath in the past. It’s impossible to take a future breath. So - all we can do is breathe in this very moment, right now. However, going deeper, the in-breath can also be differentiated from the out-breath as more than a respiratory direction.

What is less known is that breath stimulates different areas of the human Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS), which is designed to prepare us for “fight-or-flight” during times of danger or threat, is linked to the in-breath. The Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS), which is the part of our nervous system dedicated to “rest-and-digest,” where we relax and repair, is linked to the out-breath. Both “fight-or-flight” and “rest-and-digest” serve a critical purpose in protecting us and keeping us well. Focusing on the breath as an object of meditation, we are able to gently stimulate both the SNS and PNS, back and forth, in a gently rhythm, to balance out “rest-and-digest,” with “fight-or-flight.” 

Please make time for your own mindful wellbeing on a daily basis. It can be as simple as breathing in… and out… What’s good for you is also good for all those you love, all around you.