Yoga Tourism in lives of Danes: A case study of potential transformations in the lives of Danish yoga practioners after yoga travelling
Author
Kaur, Maninder
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2013
Submitted on
2013-05-31
Pages
144
Abstract
Yoga-focused travel is growing across the West, including in Denmark, where tour companies and yoga schools market yoga holidays and retreats. This thesis explores the potential transformations that may occur in Danish yoga practitioners’ lives after traveling for yoga. It is a qualitative case study using semi-structured interviews with Danish yoga travelers as the primary data source, supplemented by participant observation at a yoga holiday meeting in a Copenhagen yoga center, observations of informants’ everyday practices during interviews, and an analysis of marketing messages on Danish yoga-travel websites. Participants were purposively selected for having traveled for yoga at least once, with additional recruitment via snowballing. The analysis draws on tourism literature on spirituality and theories of cultural tourism. Findings indicate that yoga travel can affect lifestyle, diet, residential preferences, self-care, relationships, and personality, but that the drivers are diverse: some changes arise from personal desires and deliberate effort; others from inspiration by local cultural practices perceived as “yogic” and carried home; and some participants regard life during yoga trips as more “real” yet make no subsequent changes. While travelers often frame impacts primarily in spiritual or transcendental terms, the study also considers broader explanations. Adopting a constructivist stance, the results are suggestive rather than conclusive and point to avenues for further research.
Rejser med fokus på yoga vinder frem i Vesten, også i Danmark, hvor både rejsearrangører og yogaskoler tilbyder yogaferier og retreats. Denne afhandling undersøger, hvilke potentielle forandringer der kan opstå i danske yogaudøveres liv efter en yogarejse. Studiet er et kvalitativt casestudie med semi-strukturerede interviews med danske yogarejsende som hoveddatakilde, suppleret af deltagerobservation ved et yogaferiemøde i et yogacenter i København, observationer af informanternes hverdagspraksisser under interviewene samt analyse af salgsbudskaber på danske yogaferie-hjemmesider. Informanterne er udvalgt målrettet blandt personer, der mindst én gang har rejst for yoga, og rekrutteringen er delvist sket via sneboldmetoden. Analysen trækker på turismelitteratur om spiritualitet og på teorier om kulturel turisme. Fundene peger på, at yogarejser kan påvirke livsstil, kostvaner, boligpræferencer, egenomsorg, relationer og personlighed, men at årsagerne er sammensatte: nogle forandringer udspringer af egne ønsker og aktive valg, andre af inspiration fra lokale kulturelle praksisser, som opfattes som “yogiske” og bringes med hjem, og nogle deltagere oplever livet under yogarejser som mere “ægte” uden efterfølgende at ændre hverdagen. De rejsende italesætter ofte effekterne primært som spirituelle eller transcendentale, mens afhandlingen også diskuterer bredere forklaringer. Resultaterne er vejledende snarere end endegyldige i en konstruktivistisk ramme, og der peges på behov for videre undersøgelser.
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