Spirituality Studies 119 Lucie Chocholová Between Tradition and Fitness: Czech Yoga Instructors’ Understandings of Contemporary Yoga Practices Received February 10, 2026 Revised March 15, 2026 Accepted March 17, 2026 Keywords Yoga, spirituality, modern āsana-based yoga, yoga instructors, qualitative research This qualitative pilot study employs interpretative phenomenological analysis and group discussions to examine how Czech yoga instructors navigate the tension between yoga as a spiritual discipline and yoga as a predominantly physical or fitness-oriented practice. The findings reveal that instructors increasingly perceive yoga as an individualized practice, selectively incorporating spiritual elements according to personal orientation, market demand, and perceived instructor responsibility. Participants expressed ambivalence toward the proliferation of yoga styles and questioned the adequacy of professional training. Ultimately, the study illustrates how instructors negotiate authenticity, spirituality, and professional identity in a context shaped by globalization, consumer culture, and institutionalized instructor training. Mgr. Lucie Chocholová is a Ph.D. candidate at the Faculty of Sports Studies at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. She is the owner and lead instructor of her yoga studio in Brno that provides regular yoga classes for university students and the general public. She has professional experience in yoga instruction and instructor training with a focus on contemporary yoga practices and their pedagogical, ethical, and spiritual dimensions. Lucie can be reached at LuciChocholova@gmail.com. orcid.org Lucie Chocholová ←← A Nath Yogi, watercolor, 19th century. From the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUwMDU5Ng==