Eastern Practices and Nordic Bodies

This volume explores the reception, development and construction of Eastern practices in the Nordic countries. The focus is on spirituality, medicine and healing from a lived religion perspective. Besides a geographical focus on the Nordic countries and their characteristics, this collection examines the embodied practices aligned with different expressions of religiosity, alternative medicine, spirituality and healing practices. By addressing questions about how so-called Eastern practices are embodied, spread and materialized, the contributors shed light on a cultural change in Nordic societies regarding religious, spiritual and alternative health practices, that are sometimes at odds with the dominant medical discourse about life-threatening diseases and other types of conditions.

Focuses on spirituality, medicine and healing from a lived religion perspective Examines the practices aligned with expressions of religiosity, alternative medicine, spirituality and healing practices Sheds light on a cultural change in Nordic societies regarding religious, spiritual and alternative health practices

Autorentext

Daniel Enstedt is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Katarina Plank is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Karlstad University, Sweden.

Inhalt
Introducing Eastern Practices and Nordic Bodies.- Part I Embodiment, Movements, and Practices.- Catharsis in the Spruce Forest: Osho Meditations and Therapy at a Spiritual Retreat in Norway.- Getting Past the Ego: Modern Advaita and the Cultivation of a Nondual Habitus.- Modern Yoga and the Nordic Body: Between Authenticity and Cultural Appropriation.- Kirtan: Music, Emotion, and Belonging in Finnish Holistic Spirituality.- Art of Living and Transcendental Meditation: Eastern Practices for the Scientifically Minded Westerner.- Part II Aesthetics, Nature, and New Contexts.- Embodying Qi in the Nordic Countries: The Healing Practices of Zhineng Qigong.- Aikido's Spirituality and Transplantation in the Nordic Countries: Spirituality in the Asian Martials Art.- Towards Watery and Vibrating Bodies: Finnish Bodies Learning Tibetan Sound Healing.- Meditation and Other New Spiritual Practices in the Church of Sweden.- Acem and the Psychology of Meditation: The Inner History of a Living Practice.- Shinrin-Yoku in Sweden: The Political Significance of Embodiment and Sensory Attention in Nature.- Starving the Animal Within: Vegetarianism as Spiritual Development and Eastern Wisdom in Early Swedish Theosophy.