Written by the New York Times science writer William Broad, the book explores the origins, the history and myth, and the science of yoga, it's hipness, rise in the early 20th century, as Indians, mostly Hindu took its roots, cleaned it up by excluding much of the sexuality and magic, emphasizing the healthful aspects and connecting it to Indian pride in its culture, a rebuke to the Englishness that had dominated the country for centuries. It's interesting how its roots are filled with charlatans, magicians entertainers and the likes, with an emphasis on heightened sex life, things like that. But in the 20th century, it began to gain credence among the elite, who cleaned it up, made it more pristine, less sensual, and added a healthy component to it, though the downside, the injuries, are mostly ignored. One myth I want to mention; yoga does not increase oxygen flow through heavy breathing; rather it increases carbon dioxide which then lessens the oxygen flow to the brain, inducing a light handedness or flow that many experience. Interesting.
Besides the history, the book goes into great depth about the claims by various yogis, especially that yoga is an aerobic exercise, that it's all one needs to be physically fit. Broad goes through all the data, the claims, scientific and otherwise, and summarizes it as thus: "yoga equally or surpassed exercise in such things as improving balance, reducing fatigue, decreasing anxiety, cutting stress, lifting moods, improving sleep, reducing pain, lowering cholesterol, and more generally raising the quality of life. It did all of the above except benefit physical fitness." In other words, to be physically fit, one needed aerobic exercise, the type where one often gets out of breath. Thus, it seems that weight lifting, aerobics, and yoga in combination would seem to be the best method for staying fit, physically as well as mentally. In popular culture, however, this does not seem to be a 'known fact' as yoga continues to claim it lens it self to physical fitness.
He then goes into injuries, how yoga seems to ignore them, making it seem as if it has no problems. From his data, it seems as if its mostly people who overdo things, not that yoga invites injuries. Be careful with the neck and back and don't hold poses for too long. There have been strokes during class, too, but I am not sure they can be attributed to yoga or a certain pose.
The next chapter deals with healing, and gets immediately at the crazy ads that suggest yoga can cure almost anything; no data to back things up, just a guru who seems to be getting rich. So be aware of charlatans, promising yoga can cure your cancer or heart disease. That being said, yoga can make a difference in the quality of life, can help with things like arthritis, various kinds of pain in all parts of the body, but it is no panacea. Tests have shown that it can reduce pain, rebuild muscle or tone in some areas. He likens the charlatans, what they sell, to religion, and fears its a real danger to yoga. Ultimately, he believes only science and careful use of test results will keep yoga pure.
Finally, we get to 'divine sex,' the claims about the power of yoga to increase sexual desire, make it more intense. It's mostly a myth, though feeling healthier, more supple, putting your self through various postures may stimulate the erogenous zones and effect sexuality, depending on the person. One scientist found that after various yoga poses, many putting pressure on the pelvis and other erogenous areas, showed an increases in both male as well as female testosterone. That's about it for the science of sex and yoga though the sexy myth of yoga still attracts many practitioners.
Creativity and yoga do seem to go together, as many artists use it to calm their anxieties, to get in touch with themselves and find that at times, and for some, it leads to increased creativity. They liken it to the alcoholism of the many writers in the 1920's, which also slowed down the brain and seemed to lead to some creativity. Yoga and alcohol seem to do the same thing, affect the GABA biochemical factor, which seems to calm, but in different ways, yoga being, of course, more healthy. The yoga practice of mindfulness and slowing down seems closest to a state which encourages creativity, a right brain activity. Researchers showed greater activity in the right hemisphere, where creativity seems to reside, after yoga activity. Broad ends with a discussion of Kundalini (an advanced, even extreme form of meditation) some thing I do not quite understand but for people who experience it, a kind of an inner flash of understanding and insight, it changes their life, moves them in new directions, and its likened to a rewiring of the brain, changing the person and their personality completely.
The epilogue looks at yoga in the future, sees it at a critical juncture, needing to couple with scientific research if it wishes to become mainstream. He does not doubt that it has healing aspects, can be an inexpensive form of health care, saving literally billions of dollars if we can get the money to do the research to back up claims. Beyond a doubt it seems to do the following: treat arthritis, insomnia, diabetes, depression, fatigue and chronic pain and many other other things. These are just the most valid results besides the most important, it makes you feel good, healthy, more relaxed and centered, more in control, less anxious. Couple it with meditation, something he just touches upon though it has great value and the idea of mindfulness, paying attention to the moment, yoga has a great potential for the world and its greater health. But the charlatans must be flushed out; yoga needs to back up its claims, perhaps lessen the commercial aspect of the hip yoga centers, which promise all kinds of change. Hot yoga is an example though he does not pan it. He suggests we need a Yoga Education Society, YES, to act like the AMA, to sort out what works, what doesn't, and perhaps even formalize a doctoral program for yoga instructors. As it is, almost anyone can call himself a yoga instructor.
Overall, the book was mildly interesting, mostly as it debunked myths and made clear that there is some value to the whole person in yoga, even if it's only 'feeling good' after a session. Personally, I like the idea of focusing my mind on exactly what I am doing, how I am breathing, where my back muscle seems to be easing, a form of mindfulness, I guess. And I think this carries over to other parts of my life, enjoying the moment, the now, as opposed to looking forward to the end of something, or backward, with regret.
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