본 연구는 호흡명상과 관련된 질문지 조사연구와 질적 사례의 두 가지 방향에서 진행하였다. 첫째는 현대 수행자들의 호흡명상의 치유적 효과에 대한인식조사이고, 둘째는 호흡명상이 감정조절에 어떻게 효과가 있었는지에 초점을 맞춘 영상관법에 의한 사례연구를 하였다. 첫 번째, 설문지에 대한 분석은 60개의 설문가운데 회수된 39개를 통계적방법과 질적 분석을 혼합하였다. 그 결과 대체로 전통적인 문헌연구와 일치하였다. 하지만 호흡명상의 치유적 효과에 대해서 알아차림, 주의집중, 고요와안정감, 맑은 마음, 감정조절, 이완, 통찰과 같은 다양한 관점을 제공하여 주었다는 점에서 차이가 발견되었다. 두 번째, 호흡명상은 왜 심리치유적 효과가 있을까에 대한 영상관법의 사례연구인데, 여기에 의하면 호흡명상은 다른 생각을 ‘방지’하고, 산란한 생각에서 ‘중심’을 잡게 하고, 올라간 기운을 아래로 ‘끌어내리고’, 마음의 다양한현상을 ‘관찰’하게 하고, 미처 깨닫지 못한 부분을 ‘통찰’하게 한다는 것이다. 호흡명상을 하게 되면 바로 이런 변화요인들이 심리치유적 효과를 가져다준다고 말할 수가 있다. 마지막으로, 논의에서는 이론적인 고찰을 하였는데, 호흡명상의 효과를 ‘접촉과 분리’의 메커니즘으로 불교심리학적 관점에서 설명하였고, 이것을 다시간단하게 서구의 심리학에서 개발한 생리학적 의미와 체계적 둔감화 등과 비교하였다.
Breathing meditation is a self-discipline that has been used for psychological healing not only in the Buddhist tradition but also in various other cultural areas. As many related studies are needed, many literary studies have been conducted, whereas field studies are lacking. This study was conducted as a qualitative approach based on two perspectives. First, questionnaire analysis was conducted to examine the healing effects of breathing meditation performed by modern practitioners. Second, a case study was conducted on Reflected Image Meditation (RIM) with a focus on examining the effects of breathing mediation on emotion control and the reasons for its effects. Forty questionnaires were collected and analyzed. Questionnaires were analyzed by mixing statistical methods and qualitative analysis and the findings were mostly consistent with existing literary studies. However, the study was useful in the sense that it provided various perspectives such as mindfulness, attention, tranquility and stability, clear mind, emotion control, relaxation and insight regarding the healing effects of breathing meditation. Secondly, according to the cases of Reflected Image Meditation (RIM) on the reason for the psychological healing effect of breathing meditation, breathing meditation “prevents” other thoughts, maintains “balance” in the midst of distracted thoughts, “brings down” elevated energy, allows for the “observation” of various phenomenon of the mind, and helps to gain “insight” into areas that have not been realized. Such factors bring about the psychological healing effects of breathing meditation. To answer the remaining questions, it would be necessary to conduct an extensive research study by sampling a large population on the effectiveness of breathing meditation. In addition, various types of qualitative case studies would be needed to understand the effects of breathing meditation. There is also a need to establish a psychological theory on the reason why breathing meditation is effective.