Therapeutic yoga for spiritual well-being and life skills: Yogis’ perception in Nepal and Thailand
Nepalese Culture June 3, 2026 DOI: 10.3126/nc.v19i01.94910 (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractYoga practice enhances spiritual well-being and life skills among professional practitioners. In-depth interviews with twenty-one trained yoga practitioners in Nepal and Thailand revealed that yoga promotes heightened self-awareness, sustained stillness, focused attention, moral sensitivity, detachment from materialism, a sense of sacredness and connectedness, and felt closeness to God. Improvements in life skills include emotional regulation, clearer decision making, conflict resolution, social empathy, and resilient coping. The findings suggest yoga functions as a traditional therapeutic tool supporting holistic health.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 21 |
| Population | Professional trained yoga practitioners in Nepal and Thailand, including yogis and instructors from Asian and Western backgrounds |
| Intervention | yoga practice |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Closeness Perception Pandemic Qualitative research |
| Key finding | Yoga practice promotes spiritual well-being and life-skill development, including heightened self-awareness, emotional regulation, and a sense of connectedness. |
Abstract
This paper examines how yoga practice enhances spiritual well-being and life skills. With growing interest in non-pharmacological approaches to maintaining health, especially amid environmental changed and pandemics investigating yoga’s role in holistic health is timely. A qualitative design used in-depth interviews with twenty-one professional trained yoga practitioners in Nepal and Thailand. Participants included yogis and instructors from Asian and Western backgrounds who attended yoga session and school while travelling in Thailand and Nepal. Findings indicate that yoga promotes personal spiritual well-being and can be function as a traditional therapeutic tool that supports life-skill development. Core benefits linked to enhanced spiritual well-being include heightened self-awareness, sustained stillness, focused attention, moral sensitivity, detachment from materialism, a sense of sacredness and connectedness, and felt closeness to God in whom they have faith. Improvements in life skill that follow include emotional regulation, clearer decision making, conflict resolution, social empathy, resilient coping. This study offers theoretical and practical contributions regarding how authentic traditional yoga practice foster spiritual well-being and leads to physical and supports psychological health.