A qualitative analysis of individuals engaged in yoga practice in the context of spiritual quests: The case of Eskişehir

In the social context where the dynamics of modernization, urbanization, and individualization intersect, the meaning of religion and spirituality has transformed for individuals. Spiritual pursuits, which can be categorized within the framework of new religious movements, have emerged as a response to the crises of modern life and as a substitute for the spiritual void created by the growing distance from traditional religions. The meanings that individuals attribute to yoga within the dynamic of a spiritual quest have been evaluated from religious, economic, and social perspectives. In a study conducted in Eskişehir, in-depth interviews were held with 22 participants who had been actively practicing yoga for at least six months. The interviews were guided by a semi-structured questionnaire and carried out using the in-depth interview technique. Employing the grounded theory method, codes derived from the field's own dynamics and data were categorized, and the analysis was structured around four main themes. The participants' engagements and relationships with yoga were examined under the following themes. The first one is Spirituality, Religion, and Yoga, the second one is Collective Experience and Social Relations, the third one is Yoga and Social Judgments and the forth one is Economy and Yoga. In total, 42 codes and 14 categories were analyzed during the data evaluation process. Within the scope of the discussion, the participants' reconciliatory acceptance of the tension between the commercialization of yoga, its intersection with daily concerns, and its philosophical foundations became evident. At the same time, a strong sesee of spiritual affiliation led to firm resistance toward deviations from yoga's philosophical essence. These areas of discussion opened up space for engaging with prominent theoretical frameworks, including identity formation strategies, commodification of the body, forms of capital, habitus and field theories, power and surveillance relations, ontological security and the erosion within risk society, the culture industry, authentic identity, liquid modernity, emotional capitalism, and the society of the spectacle.