Bonus Content
The Science of Yoga
Yoga is everywhere among the affluent and the educated. The bending, stretching, and deep breathing have become a kind of oxygen for the modern soul, as a tour of the neighborhood shows rather quickly. New condo developments feature yoga studios as perks. Cruise ships tout the accomplishments of their yoga instructors, as do tropical resorts. Senior centers and children’s museums offer the stretching as a fringe benefit—Hey, parents, fitness can be fun. Hollywood stars and professional athletes swear by it. Doctors prescribe it for natural healing. Hospitals run beginner classes, as do many high schools and colleges. Clinical psychologists urge patients to try yoga for depression. Pregnant women do it (very carefully) as a form of prenatal care. The organizers of writing and painting workshops have their pupils do yoga to stir the creative spirit. So do acting schools. Musicians use it to calm down before going on stage.
Not to mention all the regular classes. In New York City, where I work, it seems like a yoga studio is doing business every few blocks. You can also take classes in Des Moines and Dushanbe, Tajikistan.Once an esoteric practice of the few, yoga has transformed itself into a global phenomenon as well as a universal icon of serenity, one that resonates deeply with tense urbanites. In 2010, the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, began illustrating its parking tickets with a series of calming yoga poses.The popularity of yoga arises not only because of its talent for undoing stress but because its traditions make an engaging counterpoint to modern life. It’s unplugged and natural, old and centered—a kind of anti-civilization pill that can neutralize the dissipating influence of the Internet and the flood of information we all face. Its ancient serenity offers a new kind of solace.An indication of yoga’s social ascendency is how its large centers often get housed in former churches, monasteries, and seminaries, the settings frequently rural and inspirational. Kripalu, on more than three hundred rolling acres of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts, was once a Jesuit seminary. Each year its yoga school graduates hundreds of new teachers. And they in turn produce thousands of new yogis and yoginis, or female yogis.Even the White House is into yoga. Michelle Obama made it part of Let’s Move—her national program of exercise for children, which seeks to fight obesity. The First Lady talks about yoga on school visits and highlights the discipline at the annual Easter Egg Roll, the largest public event on the White House social calendar. Starting in 2009, the egg roll has repeatedly featured a Yoga Garden with colorful mats and helpful teachers. The sessions start early and go throughout the day.
© 2012 William J. Broad
The Science of Yoga
More than 5,000 years old, yoga is one of the world’s fastest-growing health and fitness activities. But just how valid are its claims to improve our bodies and minds? In The Science of Yoga, William Broad—a science journalist and a yoga practitioner for over 40 years—reveals what science says, spotlighting more than a century’s worth of research.
Broad presents the findings of a variety of researchers as well as doctors, healers, yogis and mystics. As we learn, yoga’s low-impact nature puts less strain on the body than traditional sports, increasing its appeal for young people and boomers alike. Recent studies indicate that yoga releases natural substances in the brain that act as strong antidepressants. Other studies show that yoga improves sex lives, enhancing not only feelings of satisfaction and pleasure but emotional closeness with partners. An authoritative 2010 study found that yoga matched or surpasses exercise in improving balance and mood, reducing fatigue and pain, and much more.
At the same time, Broad identifies several spurious claims made on yoga’s behalf, both by yogis and by various books on the topic. For example, for decades, yoga teachers have hailed the discipline as a great way to shed pounds. But it turns out that yoga works so well at reducing the body’s metabolic rate that people who take up the practice will burn fewer calories. A widely repeated claim that yoga’s deep breathing exercises bring more oxygen into one’s system is spurious. And doctors have found that certain yoga poses can result in serious injury, including brain damage. A selection of real-life “horror stories” from yoga practitioners are included.
The Science of Yoga offers a clear-headed review of a pastime with solid benefits and occasional risks.
Hardcover : 320 pages
Publisher: Simon And Schuster, Inc. ( February 07, 2012 )
Item #: 13-468857
ISBN: 9781451641424
Product Dimensions: 6.25 x 9.25 inches
Product Weight: 19.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Well Presented 
March 18, 2012
"The Science of Yoga" is well researched, always interesting, and full of valuable advice.
Reviewer: William R
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