The Lived Experience of a Yoga Practice ‘Off the Mat’: Key Qualitative Findings from a New Zealand Study of Yoga Practitioners

Wendy L. Reynolds; Elizabeth du Preez; Nigel K. Harris

doi:10.29333/ajqr/14089

Wendy L. Reynolds ¹ ^* , Elizabeth du Preez ¹, Nigel K. Harris ¹

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AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 8, Issue 1, pp. 157-176

https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/14089

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Abstract

This study explored the influence of yoga on practitioners’ lives ‘off the mat’ through a phenomenological lens. Central to the study was the lived experience of yoga in a purposive sample of self-identified New Zealand practitioners (n=38; 89.5% female; aged 18 to 65 years; 60.5% aged 36 to 55 years). The study’s aim was to explore whether habitual yoga practitioners experience any pro-health downstream effects of their practice ‘off the mat’ via their lived experience of yoga. A qualitative mixed methodology was applied via a phenomenological lens that explicitly acknowledged the researcher’s own experience of the research topic. Qualitative methods comprised an open-ended online survey for all participants (n=38), followed by in-depth semi-structured interviews (n=8) on a randomized subset. Quantitative methods included online outcome measures (health habits, self-efficacy, interoceptive awareness, and physical activity), practice component data (tenure, dose, yoga styles, yoga teacher status, meditation frequency), and socio-demographics. This paper highlights the qualitative findings emerging from participant narratives. Reported benefits of practice included the provision of a filter through which to engage with life and the experience of self-regulation and mindfulness ‘off the mat’. Practitioners experienced yoga as a self-sustaining positive resource via self-regulation guided by an embodied awareness. The key narrative to emerge was an attunement to embodiment through movement. Embodied movement can elicit self-regulatory pathways that support health behavior.

Keywords: embodiment, habit, interoception, mindfulness, movement practice, qualitative, self-regulation, yoga.

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Citation

Reynolds, W. L., Preez, E. D., & Harris, N. K. (2024). The Lived Experience of a Yoga Practice ‘Off the Mat’: Key Qualitative Findings from a New Zealand Study of Yoga Practitioners. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 8(1), 157-176. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/14089

Reynolds, W. L., Preez, E. D., and Harris, N. K. (2024). The Lived Experience of a Yoga Practice ‘Off the Mat’: Key Qualitative Findings from a New Zealand Study of Yoga Practitioners. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 8(1), pp. 157-176. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/14089

Reynolds WL, Preez ED, Harris NK. The Lived Experience of a Yoga Practice ‘Off the Mat’: Key Qualitative Findings from a New Zealand Study of Yoga Practitioners. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2024;8(1), 157-176. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/14089

Reynolds, Wendy L., Elizabeth du Preez, and Nigel K. Harris. "The Lived Experience of a Yoga Practice ‘Off the Mat’: Key Qualitative Findings from a New Zealand Study of Yoga Practitioners". American Journal of Qualitative Research 2024 8 no. 1 (2024): 157-176. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/14089

Reynolds, Wendy L. et al. "The Lived Experience of a Yoga Practice ‘Off the Mat’: Key Qualitative Findings from a New Zealand Study of Yoga Practitioners". American Journal of Qualitative Research, vol. 8, no. 1, 2024, pp. 157-176. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/14089

Reynolds WL, Preez ED, Harris NK. The Lived Experience of a Yoga Practice ‘Off the Mat’: Key Qualitative Findings from a New Zealand Study of Yoga Practitioners. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2024;8(1):157-76. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/14089