Breathing or visualisation exercises improve an archer's balance
1 study · 36 archers measured
The summary today
The question has a single study, and the answer points the way the claim does. Thirty-six Turkish novice archers aged 14 to 18, split into three groups of twelve, train twice a week for eight weeks; two of the groups add fifteen minutes of alternate-nostril breathing or of visualising the shot. The balance score, measured with an app on a 0 to 100 scale with eyes closed in five positions, rises by 13.7 points with breathing and by 15.1 with visualisation, with very large effects in both, and there is no difference between the two techniques (p = 0.562). The control group improves too, but less, and both intervention groups outdo it. Three things keep the claim at a low level. The groups were allocated in sequence, not at random. The balance measured is that of someone standing still with eyes closed, not that of an archer at full draw in front of the target. And the target score rises in the same groups, by 2.3 points over nine arrows with breathing and by 4.9 with visualisation, but the study does not check whether those who gained most balance also gained most points.
Also phrased as: "breathing and balance"; "visualisation and balance"; "standing still on the line through breathing"; "mental training and sway"; "alternate-nostril breathing and balance"
In practice
It is said that breathing and the mind hold the stance as much as the legs do: an archer who breathes well and has visualised the shot stands stiller on the line, while one who is tense or distracted sways more.
Evidence
-
2025
For Archers Published later
36 novice archers aged 14 to 18 in three groups of 12, eight weeks: the balance score from the Sway app (0 to 100, eyes closed, five positions) rises by 13.7 points with alternate-nostril breathing (d=2.29, p<0.001) and by 15.1 with visualisation (d=2.27, p<0.001); the control improves too (p=0.008). Across groups p<0.001, with both interventions above the control (p<0.001) and no difference between breathing and visualisation (p=0.562).
Effects of breathing and imagery exercises on postural sway and shooting performance in Olympic archers · Cansu Keskin, Ayşe Nur Tunali Van Den Berg
-
2025
Context Archers Published later
In the same study the score over nine arrows at 18 metres rises by 2.3 points with breathing (p=0.003) and by 4.9 with visualisation (p<0.001), while in the control it drops by 0.4 (p=0.508). The study does not relate the gain in balance to the gain in score.
Effects of breathing and imagery exercises on postural sway and shooting performance in Olympic archers · Cansu Keskin, Ayşe Nur Tunali Van Den Berg
Status history
- 2025 Reported The first and only study comes from a Turkish archery centre: thirty-six novices aged 14 to 18, in three groups of twelve, with eight weeks of training to which two groups add fifteen minutes of alternate-nostril breathing or of visualisation. The balance score rises by 13.7 points with breathing and by 15.1 with visualisation, on a 0 to 100 scale, with very large effects in both and no difference between the techniques; the control improves too, but less. Allocation was sequential, the groups are small and balance was measured standing still with eyes closed: a single study of this kind stays reported.
Related
Related articles
- How to breathe before you draw: what the studies have measuredHow much and how fast to breathe before the shot: measurements on the range, where the six-breaths figure comes from, and what changes for anxiety and score.
- Balance, core and proprioception: the training you never seeWhat balance and core exercises change in archers, which test is linked to score, and what shoulder position sense does and does not tell you.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). Breathing or visualisation exercises improve an archer's balance (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/breathing-visualisation-balance
@misc{campagna2026_respirazionevisualizzazioneequilibrio,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {Breathing or visualisation exercises improve an archer's balance},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/breathing-visualisation-balance},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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