Eastern Practices and Nordic Bodies

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.

• 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.

“This fine volume comprises twelve case studies on ‘Eastern’ practices in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. … This timely contribution to religious studies shows how ‘Eastern’ practices inform and influence Nordic societies in myriad ways, including ‘appropriation’ by the Protestant church.” (Gabriella Voss, Religious Studies Review, Vol. 50 (3), September, 2024)