getyouryogaon:

I finished reading William Broad’s The Science of Yoga this weekend and I think that it’s a book anyone remotely serious about yoga really needs to read.  I think that is especially true if you have read the New York Times article How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body that was derived from a chapter in this book so that you really can accept the point of that article in the greater context of Broad’s book.

Broad’s goal in The Science of Yoga is to take an analytical, scientific look at yoga beginning with claims of ancient yogis and through the physical and emotional benefits of yoga. He builds the case that if we are to expect yoga to be taken seriously for healing and a healthy lifestyle then we must rigorously test yoga’s claims and be honest about what yoga can or cannot do. 

He begins with a history of yoga and how it evolved from Tantra to a tool for Indian nationalism changing along the way.  This sets up two positions for him.  The first is that yoga is not static, but changing and adapting.  The Sun Salutation for example is relatively new, probably originating in the early 20th century and Iyengar modified Triangle pose pointing the front foot forward for a better stretch based on a modern understanding of anatomy.  The second it that the claims of yoga have been tested since the 1800s and once you debunk the claim that a yogi can go 40 days without food water and air then other claims are fair game as well.

For example, yoga does not speed up metabolism, it slows it.  Thus yogis may look younger, but also all things being equal yoga will lead you to gain weight not lose it.  Fast breathing pranayama does not increase the amount of oxygen in your blood, but it does reduce CO2, which causes the blood vessels to your brain to contract reducing the amount of blood that it receives.  As long as yogis repeat the myths of increased metabolism and oxygen we have to doubt that our teachers are really helping us in the best way that they can.

And that is the point of this book.  Yoga is powerful.  It can reduce blood pressure, it can elevate moods and your sex drive, it can heal people physically and mentally, but we must respect that power.  Yoga is an evolving practice so changing poses and sequences to enhance their benefits and reduce their risks should be obvious, not challenged.  I for one will not be continuing headstands unless I can take 95% of the weight on my arms and not more on my head.  I also will be watching how I twist and bend my neck in poses.  I have experienced the benefits of yoga and want more, but there is no point in ignoring the possible downsides of our practice.