Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Neuroscience
  • About
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Psychology of Religion

Sacred meaning in motion: How spiritual body movements affect our emotions, according to recent study

by Eric W. Dolan
December 7, 2023
in Psychology of Religion
(Photo credit: OpenAI's DALL·E)

(Photo credit: OpenAI's DALL·E)

Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
Follow PsyPost on Google News

The way we move our bodies and the sacred meanings we attach to these movements can significantly affect our emotions, according to new research published in Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. This insight sheds new light on how simple actions, when imbued with sacred meaning, can enhance positive emotions and reduce negative feelings.

In various religious and spiritual practices, specific body movements and postures are integral parts. For example, the fluid motions in a Sufi’s whirling or the disciplined postures in a yogi’s practice are believed to be more than mere physical activities; they are seen as pathways to higher emotional and spiritual states.

Building on this age-old wisdom, recent psychological research has begun to explore how these physical movements might affect our mental state. Past studies have hinted at the potential of body movements to influence creativity, mood, and even our perception of social concepts like race. However, what was less understood was how the meaning we attach to these movements plays a role in this dynamic.

“Body movements are common in many religious and spiritual settings. Research on embodiment often examines the type of body movements people do (for example, fluid vs. nonfluid body movements) and the way body movements impact cognition and emotion,” said study author Paige A. Freeburg (@paigeafreeburg), the Lab Manager for the Laboratory on Social and Affective Neuroscience at Georgetown University.

“I was interested in understanding not only the effects of the types of movements people do but also the effects of the meaning people give to body movements. To what extent do actual body movements themselves, the meaning behind body movements, and the interaction between body movements and their meaning shape cognition and emotion?”

In the study, which was conducted at Sarah Schnitker’s Science of Virtues Lab at Baylor University, the researchers recruited 422 participants through an online platform, ensuring a diverse representation in terms of gender, age, race, and religious affiliations. The study was designed to observe two primary variables: the fluidity of the participants’ movements and the sacredness of the meaning they ascribed to these movements.

Participants were divided into groups and asked to perform simple tasks: drawing six lines. Some were instructed to draw these lines with fluid motions, while others were guided to use nonfluid, more angular motions. In addition, half of the participants were asked to imbue these actions with sacred meaning — to connect the act of drawing with something spiritually significant to them, like “God,” “humanity,” or “the universe.” The others were asked to focus on more mundane aspects, like hand-eye coordination.

The researchers measured various emotional states of the participants, including positive and negative emotions, mood, and self-transcendent positive emotions, which include feelings like gratitude and compassion. They also assessed creativity and race conceptions (e.g., “I believe physical features determine race”), although these were not the study’s primary focus.

The researchers found that participants who performed fluid movements experienced more positive emotions compared to those who made nonfluid movements. But, more interestingly, those who ascribed sacred meaning to their movements, regardless of their fluidity, reported even higher levels of positive and self-transcendent positive emotions. They also experienced fewer negative emotions.

“We found that attributing sacred meaning to arm movements led to greater experiences of positive and self-transcendent positive emotions (and lower negative emotions),” Freeburg told PsyPost. “This study highlights the importance of taking into account not only the type of body movements people do but also the meaning people give to body movements.”

“For the sacred meaning manipulation, there were no statistically significant differences in any affective or cognitive outcomes between participants who chose a theistic sacred term (e.g., ‘God, ‘a higher power’) and participants who chose a nontheistic sacred term (e.g., ‘humanity,” ‘the universe’),” she noted. “It didn’t matter what participants found to be sacred; as long as something meaningful to them was associated with the arm movements, positive emotions were elicited. This is a step forward in acknowledging a wide range of religious and spiritual experiences in research.”

On the flip side, the study didn’t find significant effects of movement fluidity or sacredness on cognitive outcomes like creativity and race conceptions. This was contrary to what some previous research suggested, highlighting that the relationship between body movements and cognitive processes might not be as straightforward as once thought.

“Contrary to previous research, we did not find that fluid arm movements led to more fluid thinking,” Freeburg said. “This could be because we a) had a larger sample size than previous research, b) used online participants instead of college students, and c) varied our methodology from previous research.”

Interestingly, these effects on emotions were somewhat influenced by the perceived difficulty of the drawing task. Nonfluid movements were rated as more difficult than fluid ones, and when this difficulty was taken into account, the impact of fluid movements on positive emotions and mood diminished.

There are some caveats to consider in interpreting these findings. First, the study’s movements were limited to arm movements and drawing lines, which are relatively small and simple actions. It’s unclear if more complex or whole-body movements would yield similar results. Additionally, the study’s design, while innovative, focused on short-term interactions. The long-term effects of these types of embodied actions in religious and spiritual settings remain unexplored.

Looking to the future, the researchers suggest that further studies should explore a wider variety of movements and contexts, including larger and more holistic body movements that are common in many religious and spiritual practices. It would also be beneficial to examine the long-term effects of these movements and to expand the research to include a more diverse range of participants and settings.

“The sample is primarily White, female, and non-Hispanic,” Freeburg said. “Furthermore, the body movements were small and limited to the arm, so any effects were likely short-lived. Future research should investigate the effects of movements that involve more of the body (e.g., dancing) and thus may be more potent and long-lasting.”

The study, “Meaning Behind the Movement: Attributing Sacred Meaning to Fluid and Nonfluid Arm Movements Increases Self-Transcendent Positive Emotions and Buffers the Effects of Nonfluidity on Positive Emotions“, was authored by Paige A. Freeburg, Patty Van Cappellen, Juliette L. Ratchford, and Sarah A. Schnitker.

TweetSendScanShareSendPin1ShareShareShareShareShare

RELATED

Religion did not protect against racism’s harmful psychological impact on Asian Americans amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Mental Health

Religious attendance may not boost mental health, long-term study finds

June 19, 2025

A new study analyzing 18 years of UK survey data found that attending religious services doesn't consistently improve mental health. While previous research suggested benefits, this large-scale analysis found mostly no effect—and sometimes even slightly worse mental health symptoms.

Read moreDetails
New study identifies another key difference between religious “nones” and religious “dones”
Psychology of Religion

Millennials are abandoning organized religion. A new study provides insight into why

June 16, 2025

A new study finds that many young Americans are walking away from organized religion—not because they’ve lost belief, but because their values around authenticity, justice, and individual autonomy conflict with the teachings and politics of religious institutions.

Read moreDetails
Poor sleep may shrink brain regions vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease, study suggests
Political Psychology

Christian nationalists tend to imagine God as benevolent, angry over sins, and engaged

June 14, 2025

Christians who believe God is benevolent, engaged, and angered by sin are more likely to support religious nationalism, according to a new study. This worldview was also associated with conspiracy mentality and xenophobic attitudes.

Read moreDetails
The dark psychology of how people get drawn into cults
Psychology of Religion

The dark psychology of how people get drawn into cults

June 12, 2025

The series Sirens plays cult life for laughs—but beneath the humor lies a disturbing truth. A psychologist explores how real-world manipulation tactics, from isolation to dependency, mirror the show's plot and reveal why leaving a cult is anything but simple.

Read moreDetails
Brain connectivity maps shed light on the synergistic effects of meditation and psilocybin
Psychedelic Drugs

Psychedelic experiences can both cause and resolve spiritual struggles, study suggests

June 12, 2025

A new study has found that people frequently described both relief from spiritual tension and the emergence of new spiritual struggles following psychedelic use.

Read moreDetails
Ayahuasca entity encounters linked to lasting religious belief changes, especially in men
Ayahuasca

Ayahuasca entity encounters linked to lasting religious belief changes, especially in men

June 8, 2025

A new study suggests that vivid encounters with perceived entities during ayahuasca experiences are associated with reduced atheism and increased spirituality, particularly among men. Before the experience, men were less religious—but gender differences disappeared afterward.

Read moreDetails
Individuals with bipolar disorder face increased cardiovascular risk, study finds
Psychology of Religion

Sex after faith: Study reveals how ultra-Orthodox disaffiliates struggle with sexuality

June 6, 2025

A new study sheds light on how ultra-Orthodox Jews who leave their religious communities face confusion, trauma, and vulnerability when navigating sexuality in secular society, often lacking the cultural knowledge needed for healthy relationships and sexual well-being.

Read moreDetails
Psychedelics linked to religious disaffiliation—but not spiritual change—in large-scale study
Psychedelic Drugs

Psychedelics linked to religious disaffiliation—but not spiritual change—in large-scale study

May 13, 2025

Psychedelics are often described as spiritual tools—but do they change people’s religious beliefs? A large new study found that while psychedelic use was associated with religious disaffiliation, it did not cause lasting changes in religiosity or spirituality over time.

Read moreDetails

SUBSCRIBE

Go Ad-Free! Click here to subscribe to PsyPost and support independent science journalism!

STAY CONNECTED

LATEST

Exposure to heavy metals is associated with higher likelihood of ADHD diagnosis

Eye-tracking study shows people fixate longer on female aggressors than male ones

Romantic breakups follow a two-stage decline that begins years before the split, study finds

Believing “news will find me” is linked to sharing fake news, study finds

A common parasite not only invades the brain — it can also decapitate human sperm

Almost all unmarried pregant women say that the fetus resembles the father, study finds

New neuroscience research reveals brain antioxidant deficit in depression

Scientists uncover kidney-to-brain route for Parkinson’s-related protein spread

         
       
  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
[Do not sell my information]

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy