The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards Read online

  “Yoga, an ancient practice with millions of modern practitioners, has been the subject of overheated speculation and grandiose claims; it has been dismissed without warrant as well, underappreciated by some who might well benefit from it. The Science of Yoga is a lucid and long overdue account of what scientists have found in their attempts to ferret out the truth about what yoga can and cannot do to heal and make better the body and mind. It is a fascinating and important book.”

  —KAY REDFIELD JAMISON, author of An Unquiet Mind and Touched With Fire

  “The Science of Yoga offers a riveting much-needed clear-eyed look at the yoga mystique. In this investigation, science journalist William Broad pulls back the curtain on the little-discussed world of yoga injuries and risks, while setting the record straight about the numerous potential benefits. Downward Dog will never look the same.”

  —DANIEL GOLEMAN, author of Emotional Intelligence

  “If this book doesn’t motivate you to practice yoga, nothing will. Broad sheds light on yoga’s health benefits and hoaxes, covering everything from headstands to hypertension, the vagus nerve to the YogaButt. Finally I understand why I feel so good when I do yoga. His lively exploration of its evolution from Benares to Beverly Hills f lows like any great practice should—with intelligence, good humor, and some mind-blowing insights.”

  —PRISCILLA WARNER, author of Learning to Breathe: My Yearlong Quest to Bring Calm to My Life and coauthor of The Faith Club

  “After reading The Science of Yoga, I am even more awed by the magnificent complexities of the human body and mind, and astonished that we can exert so much control over this invisible realm through the practice of yoga. Broad has not only thoroughly researched his topic, he has lived it.”

  —ALAN LIGHTMAN, author of Einstein’s Dreams

  “The Science of Yoga is a wonderful read that any yoga practitioner thirsting for authenticity should study carefully before suiting up.”

  —DAVID GORDON WHITE, author of Kiss of the Yogini

  IN THIS REMARKABLE BOOK ABOUT YOGA, William Broad, a lifelong practitioner, shows us that uncommon states are integral to a hidden world of risk and reward that lies beneath clouds of myth, superstition, and hype.

  Five years in the making, The Science of Yoga draws on more than a century of painstaking research to present the first impartial evaluation of a practice thousands of years old. It celebrates what’s real and shows what’s illusory, describes what’s uplifting and beneficial and what’s flaky and dangerous–and why. Broad illuminates how yoga can lift moods and inspire creativity. He exposes moves that can cripple and kill. As science often does, this groundbreaking book also reveals mysteries. It presents a fascinating body of evidence that raises questions about whether humans have latent capabilities for entering states of suspended animation and unremitting sexual bliss.

  The Science of Yoga takes us on a riveting tour of unknown yoga that goes from old archives in Calcutta to the world capitals of medical research, from storied ashrams to spotless laboratories, from sweaty yoga studios with master teachers to the cozy offices of yoga healers. Broad unveils a burgeoning global industry that attracts not only curious scientists but true believers and charismatic hustlers. In the end, he shatters myths, lays out unexpected benefits, and offers a compelling vision of how the ancient practice can be improved.

  WILLIAM J. BROAD has practiced yoga since 1970. A senior writer at The New York Times, he has won every major award in print and television as a science journalist. With Times colleagues, he has twice won the Pulitzer Prize, as well as an Emmy and a duPont. He is the author or coauthor of seven books, including Germs: Biological Weapons and America’s Secret War (Simon & Schuster, 2001), a number one New York Times bestseller.

  www.williamjbroad.com

  “William Broad is optimistic

  and hopeful in pointing the way to

  the future of yoga as a major force

  in preventing and treating disease.”

  —GAIL SHEEHY, author of Passages in Caregiving

  MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT

  SimonandSchuster.com

  •THE SOURCE FOR READING GROUPS•

  JACKET DESIGN BY MARLYN DANTES

  JACKET PHOTOGRAPH © PHOTODISC/GETTY

  COPYRIGHT © 2012 SIMON & SCHUSTER

  Also by William J. Broad

  The Oracle: Ancient Delphi and the Science Behind Its Lost Secrets

  Germs: Biological Weapons and America’s Secret War (with Judith Miller and Stephen Engelberg)

  The Universe Below: Discovering the Secrets of the Deep Sea

  Teller’s War: The Top-Secret Story Behind the Star Wars Deception

  Star Warriors: A Penetrating Look into the Lives of the Young Scientists Behind Our Space Age Weaponry

  Betrayers of the Truth: Fraud and Deceit in the Halls of Science (with Nicholas Wade)

  Simon & Schuster

  1230 Avenue of the Americas

  New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  Copyright © 2012 by William J. Broad

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Simon & Schuster Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition February 2012

  SIMON & SCHUSTER and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com

  Designed by Renata Di Biase

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Broad, William J

  The science of yoga : the risks and the rewards / William J. Broad.

  —1st Simon & Schuster hardcover ed.

  p. cm.

  1. Hatha yoga. I. Title.

  RA781.7.B757 2012

  613.7'046—dc23 2011020408

  ISBN 978-1-4516-4142-4 (print)

  ISBN 978-1-4516-4144-8 (eBook)

  To Nancy

  In Memoriam

  There is no subject which is so much wrapped up in mystery and on which one can write whatever one likes without any risk of being proved wrong.

  —I. K. Taimni, Indian scholar and chemist, on the obscurity of yoga

  Thank you for purchasing this Simon & Schuster eBook.

  Sign up for our newsletter and receive special offers, access to bonus content, and info on the latest new releases and other great eBooks from Simon & Schuster.

  or visit us online to sign up at

  eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com

  Contents

  List of Illustrations

  Main Characters

  Styles of Yoga

  Chronology

  Prologue

  I Health

  II Fit Perfection

  III Moods

  IV Risk of Injury

  V Healing

  VI Divine Sex

  VII Muse

  Epilogue

  Further Reading

  Notes

  Bibliography

  Acknowledgments

  Index

  List of Illustrations

  Headstand, Sirsasana

  Extended Side Angle, Utthita Parsvakonasana

  Triangle, Utthita Trikonasana

  Locust, Salabhasana

  Sun Salutation, Surya Namaskar

  Hands to Feet, Padahastasana

  Corpse, Savasana
<
br />   Shoulder Stand, Sarvangasana

  Downward Facing Dog, Adho Mukha Svanasana

  Thunderbolt, Vajrasana

  Seated Forward Bend, Paschimottanasana

  Cobra, Bhujangasana

  Wheel or Upward Bow, Urdhva Dhanurasana

  Extended Hand to Big Toe, Utthita Padangusthasana

  Plow, Halasana

  Mountain, Tadasana

  Warrior, Virabhadrasana

  Spinal Twist, Ardha Matsyendrasana

  Bow, Dhanurasana

  Head to Knee, Janu Sirsasana

  Main Characters

  EZRA A. AMSTERDAM (1936– ). Cardiologist at the Medical School of the University of California at Davis. Led a 2001 study concluding that yoga improves aerobic conditioning.

  BASU KUMAR BAGCHI (1895–1977). Scientist of Indian birth at the University of Michigan. Found that advanced yogis could slow but not stop their hearts.

  KOVOOR T. BEHANAN (1902–1960). Yale psychologist born in India. Authored the 1937 book Yoga: A Scientific Evaluation.

  HERBERT BENSON (1935– ). Cardiologist at the Medical School of Harvard University. Found that meditators reduced their breathing, heart rate, and oxygen consumption. Authored in 1975 The Relaxation Response.

  T. K. BERA (1949– ). Director of research at Kaivalyadhama, the scientific ashram of Gune in the hills south of Bombay. Found advanced yogis skilled at slowing their metabolisms.

  GLENN BLACK (1949– ). Yoga teacher and bodyworker. Instructed at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York. Spoke openly of yoga injuries.

  THÈRÈSE BROSSE (1902–1991). French cardiologist. Showed that advanced yogis could slow their heart rate and blood flow.

  LORI A. BROTTO (1975– ). Sex researcher at University of British Columbia. Reported in 2002 and 2009 that fast breathing can result in sexual arousal.

  MAYASANDRA S. CHAYA (1953– ). Indian physiologist. Led team reporting in 2006 that yoga lowers the resting metabolic rate of practitioners and does so twice as effectively in women as in men.

  BIKRAM CHOUDHURY (1946– ). Yogi entrepreneur. Born in Calcutta and based in Los Angeles. Founded Bikram hot yoga. Set up hundreds of licensed and franchised studios around the globe.

  CAROLYN C. CLAY (1980– ). Sports scientist at Texas State University. Led 2005 study reporting that yoga has few cardiovascular benefits.

  KENNETH H. COOPER (1931– ). Physician who coined the term aerobics and advocated energetic sports. Reported few cardiovascular benefits from calisthenics, isometrics, and low-impact exercise.

  JAMES C. CORBY (1945– ). Physician at Stanford University School of Medicine. Led team reporting in 1978 that people in Tantric meditation undergo a number of physiologic arousals.

  INDRA DEVI (1899–2002). Actress turned yogini. Studied with Gune and Krishnamacharya. Taught in Hollywood, Russia, and Argentina. Popularized yoga in her 1953 book Forever Young, Forever Healthy.

  VIKAS DHIKAV (1974– ). Medical doctor at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi. Led team reporting in 2010 that men and women who take up yoga enjoy wide improvements in their sex lives.

  CTIBOR DOSTALEK (1928–2011). Czech neurophysiologist. Studied advanced yogis and reported that their brains exhibited waves of excitement indistinguishable from those of lovers.

  GEORG FEUERSTEIN (1947– ). Indologist of German birth. Authored or coauthored more than thirty books, including Yoga for Dummies. Served as editor of International Journal of Yoga Therapy.

  LOREN FISHMAN (1940– ). Yogi and physician in New York City who specialized in rehabilitation medicine. Employed yoga. Wrote books on yoga for arthritis, back pain, and other afflictions.

  JASON K. Y. FONG (1962– ). Neurologist at Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong. Led team reporting in 1993 that a practitioner suffered a major stroke. Warned that stressful poses can cripple or kill.

  MAKRAND M. GORE (1960– ). Senior researcher at Kaivalyadhama, the scientific ashram of Gune south of Bombay. Studied how long advanced yogis could endure an airtight pit.

  ELMER GREEN (1917– ). Psychologist at the Menninger Foundation. Studied how Swami Rama used his mind alone to redirect blood flow and how students used relaxation to foster states of creative reverie.

  JAGANNATH G. GUNE (1883–1966). Indian yogi and educator. Began what is considered to be the world’s first major experimental study of yoga in 1924 at his ashram south of Bombay. Guided the field’s development for decades.

  MARSHALL HAGINS (1957– ). Physical therapist at Long Island University. Participated in 2007 study that found yoga fails to meet the minimum aerobic recommendations of medical and government groups.

  STEVEN H. HANUS (1954– ). Physician at the Medical School of Northwestern University. Led team reporting in 1977 that a yoga practitioner suffered a major stroke after doing the Shoulder Stand.

  B. K. S. IYENGAR (1918– ). Yogi innovator. Studied with Krishnamacharya. Authored the 1965 book Light on Yoga, a global bestseller. Originated a precise style practiced around the world.

  EDMUND JACOBSON (1888–1983). Physician at the University of Chicago. Taught patients how to undo muscle tension as a way to lift moods and promote healing. Authored the 1929 book Progressive Relaxation.

  VIRGINIA E. JOHNSON (1925– ). Sex researcher at Washington University in Saint Louis. Coauthored in 1966 Human Sexual Response. Documented long orgasms in women.

  K. PATTABHI JOIS (1915–2009). Yogi innovator. Studied with Krishnamacharya. Founded style known as Ashtanga, after the eight rules of spiritual living in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.

  CARL JUNG (1875–1961). Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology. Pioneered the academic study of kundalini, a yogic state characterized by strong body currents, especially up the spine. Warned in 1938 that the experience could result in madness.

  SAT BIR KHALSA (1951– ). Yogi and neurophysiologist at the Medical School of Harvard University. Directed many investigations of yoga, including its ability to promote sleep and reduce stage fright in musicians.

  BARRY KOMISARUK (1941– ). Sex researcher at Rutgers University. Studied the nature of the human orgasm and women who can think themselves into states of ecstasy.

  GOPI KRISHNA (1903–1984). Kashmiri mystic. Spoke and wrote openly about his kundalini arousal. Characterized the experience as sexual in nature and a source of creativity.

  TIRUMALAI KRISHNAMACHARYA (1888–1989). Guru to modern gurus. Taught yoga in Mysore, India. Trained a number of gifted students who spread modernized yoga around the globe.

  WILLIAM H. MASTERS (1915–2001). Sex researcher at Washington University in Saint Louis. Coauthored the 1966 book Human Sexual Response. Documented fast breathing as a regular part of sexual arousal.

  TIMOTHY MCCALL (1956– ). Doctor and medical editor of Yoga Journal. Authored in 2007 Yoga as Medicine. Recommended that general yoga classes avoid Headstands because of the risk of injury.

  RINAD MINVALEEV (1965– ). Russian physiologist at Saint Petersburg State University. Led team reporting in 2004 that the Cobra position raises blood levels of testosterone, a primary sex hormone in men and women.

  WILLIBALD NAGLER (1929– ). Physician in Manhattan at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Described in 1973 a case study in which a stressful pose resulted in a major stroke.

  ANDREW NEWBERG (1966– ). Neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. Reported in 2009 that yoga activates the right brain—the side associated with creativity.

  DEAN ORNISH (1953– ). Physician known for promoting lifestyle changes to fight heart disease. Reported evidence in 2008 that yoga can lengthen cellular life spans, implying that it may fight aging.

  PATANJALI (C. 400 CE). Ancient guru. Compiled Yoga Sutras, a collection of aphorisms about spiritual living. Urged cleanliness, good posture, breath control, ethical restraint, concentration, and meditation.

  N. C. PAUL (C. 1820–1880). Indian medical doctor schooled in Calcutta. Performed what is regarded as the world’s first scientific study of yoga
. Authored the 1851 book A Treatise on the Yoga Philosophy.

  LARRY PAYNE (1944– ). Yoga teacher and therapist in Los Angeles. Served as founding president of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Coauthored the book Yoga for Dummies.

  DALE POND (1955– ). Health-care specialist who investigated mystics. Helped found the Institute for Consciousness Research, a Canadian group that studied kundalini as a source of creativity.

  PAUL POND (1944– ). Physicist turned mystic investigator. Helped found the Institute for Consciousness Research.

  JOHN P. PORCARI (1955– ). Exercise physiologist at the University of Wisconsin. Participated in 2005 study that found vigorous yoga produced few aerobic benefits.

  SWAMI RAMA (1925–1996). Yoga celebrity. Came to the United States from India in 1969. Underwent scientific testing in 1970 at the Menninger Foundation and displayed mental control over blood flow.