Spiritual processes in individuals performing yoga

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of spiritual processes in individuals practicing yoga. The population of the study consists of individuals practicing yoga in Turkey. The sample group of the study consisted of 434 female participants (n=434) who were determined by purposive sampling method, lived in different cities and received online yoga training. In this study, 'mixed research method' was used, which is the method of using qualitative and quantitative research methods together in the research. In the quantitative part, the intrinsic spirituality (IS) scale developed by Ekşi, Kardaş, and Koçoğlu (2018) and the spiritual orientation (MY) scale developed by Kasapoğlu (2015) were used. In the qualitative part; semi-structured interview technique was used. The quantitative data obtained were evaluated in SPSS 26.0 package program. According to the results of the normality test, independent sample t test, one way anova and linear regression analysis were used as parametric tests. For the analysis of qualitative data, content analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel program. According to the findings, there was no significant difference between IS and MY scores according to marital status, occupation, education level, income level and practicing sports other than yoga. While there was a significant difference between IS and MY scores according to the age variable, there was a significant difference in IS scores, but not in MY scores according to the duration of practicing yoga. According to the results of regression analysis, it was determined that intrinsic spirituality is a predictor of spiritual orientation. Since it is a mixed study, the qualitative part supports the quantitative part. As a result, it can be said that practicing yoga supports spiritual orientation and makes positive changes in the sense of spirituality.