Master Thesis “Sensing yoga experiences of India” 31/05/2017 Anastasija Karnauhova Tutor: Martin Trandberg Jensen Aalborg University, Copenhagen Master Program in Tourism Number of characters: 165.174 1 Executive summary The main topic of this thesis is (SIT) special interest tourism – yoga tourism, and how it is experienced through our bodies and five basic human senses – sight, taste, hearing, touch and smell. These are explored through the literature review and highlighted with a possible gap between existing data and possible research. The aim of this thesis is to explore the multi-sensuous nature of yoga tourist experiences in two Indian cities Rishikesh (North) and Goa (West). The research is conducted with mixed method approach which includes semi-structured interviews and an online survey. In order to discover the role of senses in tourist experiences, this thesis philosophical view is pragmatic, in the sense that different data can help build the entire picture and that there may be multiple realities in the end. Furthermore, data collection includes different ethnographies such as: audio and visual representation. In this research, author is used as a practitioner/researcher due to the experiences and inspiration gained through travels for yoga purposes. Therefore, in order to bring more creative elements to this research, it is supported only with own photos from the two field trips to India in 2016. Analysis is conducted in accordance to main research question, exploring each sense in yoga practice and its experience. Through the analysis of empirical findings, gathered in chosen yoga destinations, thesis is supported with discussions of the research results and its value for readers. Finally, it finishes up with conclusions that overall yoga usage will continue to grow, but it will become more focused on such complex phenomena of sense scapes. Further elaborations of this research in regards to expanding the knowledge within multi-sensuous experiences are shown in the end of the last chapter. Most of the additional materials are added in the appendices section and also available on online storage platform dropbox.com Keywords: yoga tourism, senses, embodied tourism, multisensory experiences, India yoga tourism, research methodology, multiple senses. 2 Table of Contents Executive summary ........................................................................................................................................... 2 Chapter 1 - Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 6 1.1 Purpose of the project .............................................................................................................................. 7 1.2 Research question .................................................................................................................................... 8 1.3 Research objectives ................................................................................................................................. 9 1.4 Research Plan ........................................................................................................................................ 10 1.5 Structure of the thesis ............................................................................................................................ 10 1.6 The place of yoga in the research .................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 2 – Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 12 2.1 Yoga as a research method .................................................................................................................... 12 2.2 Research design ..................................................................................................................................... 14 2.3 Research philosophy .............................................................................................................................. 15 2.4 Ontology ................................................................................................................................................ 15 2.5 Epistemology ......................................................................................................................................... 16 2.6 Research strategy ................................................................................................................................... 17 2.7. Data collection ...................................................................................................................................... 18 2.8. Primary data collection ......................................................................................................................... 19 2.9. Interviewing methods ........................................................................................................................... 21 2.10. Questionnaire ...................................................................................................................................... 22 2.11. Target and sampling ........................................................................................................................... 23 2.12. Field book and observation................................................................................................................. 24 2.13. Secondary data collection ................................................................................................................... 24 2.14. Limitations .......................................................................................................................................... 25 2.15. Delimitations ...................................................................................................................................... 25 2.16. Realiability ......................................................................................................................................... 25 2.17. Criticism ............................................................................................................................................. 26 Chapter 3 - Literature review........................................................................................................................... 27 3.1 Yoga tourism literature .......................................................................................................................... 27 3.2 Multisensory tourism literature ............................................................................................................. 36 Chapter 4 - Theoretical frameworks ................................................................................................................ 43 4.1 Non-representational theories. ............................................................................................................... 43 4.2 Special interest tourism (SIT) ................................................................................................................ 45 4.3 Suppliers of SIT ..................................................................................................................................... 46 3 4.4 Consumers of SIT .................................................................................................................................. 46 4.5 A senses-based model ............................................................................................................................ 46 4.6 Embodying tourism ............................................................................................................................... 47 Chapter 5 - Analysis of the empirical findings ................................................................................................ 48 5.1 Visual ethnography of yoga tourists (Sight) .......................................................................................... 49 5.2 Sound and video ethnography (Hearing) ............................................................................................... 56 5.3 Materiality and yoga experience (Touch) .............................................................................................. 59 5.4 Scents of yoga experiences (Smell) ....................................................................................................... 62 5.5 Taste of yoga experiences (Taste) ......................................................................................................... 63 5.6 Interviews .............................................................................................................................................. 66 5.6.1 SEEING .......................................................................................................................................... 67 5.6.2 HEARING ...................................................................................................................................... 67 5.6.3 TOUCHING ................................................................................................................................... 67 5.6.4 SMELLING .................................................................................................................................... 68 5.6.5 TASTING ......................................................................................................................................