Achieving Sustainable Consumption through Spiritual Practices

Abstract

In a world strapped for resources, sustainable consumption (SC) involves a set of practices aimed at well-being for all. Spiritual practices such as yoga can both drive and inform SC in terms of making links to one's own everyday consumption. Such practices have already made a difference in the health and medical fields. However, they have far more benefits than the maintenance of physical health. Many spiritual methods have well established frameworks and methods to help individuals develop both their inner selves as well as their relationships with others. Authentic practice of yoga is one such method. In this paper, the
authors of the study, who are long time practitioners in the yogic and Buddhists traditions, develop a model based on holistic yoga teachings and show how it can be used to make more mindful decisions and thus drive sustainable consumption behaviors. They also provide additional triangulation perspectives on the practices of spirituality and sustainability through their own personal introspective reflections and suggest future research directions in this area.