Yoga Pathways to Wellbeing: Exploring Conceptualisations, Profiles and Mechanisms in Regular Ashtanga Yoga Practitioners

Abstract

Yoga is an embodied practice founded in philosophical frameworks intended for the evolution of different dimensions of human existence and optimal functioning. With a solid body of research demonstrating its positive impact on health and wellbeing, recent studies mostly using quantitative methods have shifted their focus to understand practitioners’ characteristics and the mechanisms yielding positive benefits. This thesis adds to these studies by exploring the pathways of yoga towards wellbeing by understanding how an international sample of regular practitioners within the Ashtanga Yoga (AY) tradition conceptualise wellbeing and yoga, examining differences and similarities in their wellbei..