William J. BroadCritiques

Must read for yoga-fanatics. Some section were very insightful, some were a bit more fluffy than I expected from a science journalist. Three and a half star.

7/9/22

'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 pracitioner, 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 dangeous-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 abut 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 curous 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 wirter at The New York Times, he has won every major award inprint and television as a science journalist. With Times colleagues, he has wice 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.

'William Broad is optimistic and hopeful in pointing the away to the future of yoga as a major force in preventing and treating disease.'-Gail Sheehy, author of Passages in Caregiving

'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 abut what youga 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 flows 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. Brad has not only thoroughly researched his topic, he has lived it.'-Alan Lightman, author of Einstein's Dreams

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

The book started out strong and talked about a lot of studies of various sizes, and took us quickly through the history of Yoga. Then in the last 1.5 chapters (maybe the publishers were rushing him?) he threw the scientific premise out the window and went into talking about personal experiences of various people. For example, the man who claimed to have magically learned German without ever having seen or heard it. Not only did he forget that the book was supposed to be about science at this point, he also forgot it was supposed to be about Yoga!

Despite this, I really enjoyed most of this book, and it really instilled in me the importance of putting ego and ambition aside and not trying to do poses I'm not ready for.

I recommend it to Yoga fans, I'm sure it would be boring to anyone else.

Summary of scientific findings:


Yoga can:

Slow your heart
Slow your metabolism
Reduce levels of stress and anxiety
Treat depression
Cause serious injuries and even death (especially certain poses)
Improve your sex life (It started as a branch of Tantra)
Treat some injuries (according to some Yoga Therapist MDs)
Restore movement in some parts of the body (according to some Yoga Therapist MDs)
Increase strength and flexibility

Yoga can't:

Prevent / cure cancer
Make you levitate
Stop your heart
Give you a proper cardio work out (At least not Sun Salutations and not Ashtanga yoga )


Finally, I want to point out that no type of physical exercise helps you lose weight, because I think that is a totally unfair criticism to lob solely at Yoga: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCtn4Ap8kDM

Generally, an interesting (and fairly quick) read highlighting the relatively small set of scientific research behind yoga and measuring it against the claims made by both traditional texts and modern "masters" of the practice. Both the health benefits and the risks are highlighted, and the author does a good job of balancing positive, negative, and indeterminate research. That said, the book is still generally positive toward the practice, and takes an almost idealist view of how science can help yoga become safer and part of a more mainstream (MORE mainstream?!) practice.

One thing I would have liked to have seen is some comparative insight in relation other practices that focus on stretching, flexibility and breathing, such as, for example, tai chi and qigong. Similarly to yoga, such practices have also received some limited scientific research that point to various benefits. It would be interesting to see which has more support for various types of health benefits, which might contain greater risks, and perhaps what types of conditions one might be better to practice over another. Perhaps there isn't enough research out there to draw such comparisons, but the author's apparent bias toward yoga seem to have trumped any thought of such a comparison regardless.

The only real annoyance I had with the book was in the epilogue. I agree with the author that more scientific study of the health benefits of yoga is warranted. That said, the implication that it must come at the hands of federal funding is absurd, especially considering a decent amount of the research the author cited in the book was not federally funded. In any case, scientists and science supporters need to get past the idea that government should provide funding for everything they want to study (or have studied). Set up a freakin' kickstarter, for crissake. Or dedicate proceeds from your book to support a study. There are plenty of ways to have scientific studies done without government support.

Anyway, the minor irritation noted above notwithstanding, the book is worth reading overall if you enjoy yoga, are thinking about doing yoga, or even are interested in health-related sciences in general.

This book impressed me when I first opened it and saw right-up-front, a page with a paragraph about each of the current yoga styles, and several pages with a paragraph about each of the major characters in the book, and a 7 page chronology from 1500 BC to the present. And, at the back there is a 2 page list of "Further Reading", which includes [b:Yoga for Arthritis: The Complete Guide|2534330|Yoga for Arthritis The Complete Guide|Loren Fishman|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347371477s/2534330.jpg|2541851]. The body of this book includes a lot about the author, [a:Loren Fishman|249983|Loren Fishman|https://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png].

"Yoga Journal - the field's leading magazine, founded in 1975 - claims two million readers and identifies its audience as 87 percent women. It revels in their quality, citing high incomes, impressive jobs, and good education. A brochure for prospective advertisers notes that more than 90 percent have gone to college."
"The colorful pages of the magazine offer a vivid example of how companies target the demographic. Hundreds of ads promote skin-care products, sandals, jewelry, natural soaps, special vitamins and enzymes, alternative cures and therapies, smiling gurus, and ecofriendly cars. Each issue features an index to advertisers." (Page 3)

"I came to this book as a knowledgeable amateur. During my freshman year of college, in 1970, I got hooked on yoga because it felt goo and seemed to make me healthier in body and mind. My first teacher said it was important to do some - even a little - every day. That's alwasy been my goal, despite the usual struggle with good intentions. Yoga has become a good friend to whom I turn no matter how crazy my life gets" (Page 5)

Chapter 4: Risk of Injury: was initially scary, but I came to realize that it's just like running. Excess (either in time or intensity) is likely to cause injury. Still there are some poses where one should be cautious to avoid neck injury.

"In recent years, many people have learned to ignore the exaggerated claims and the unabashed gurus (with or without fleets of Rolls-Royces). They lift weights to build muscles and run to challenge their hearts even while pursuing yoga for flexibility and its other rewards. They are know as cross trainers. Their diverse workouts complement one another to produce a balance of benefits. (Page 95)

In this book, William J. Broad exposes the benefits and dangers of Yoga practice.

Yoga has had a long and tumultuous existence. From being started as a Hindu religious practice to gaining traction in the 20th century, Yoga has had a lot of press. Some of it has been good, some of it has been bad, and a bit of it has been terrifying and terrible. For instance, some of the poses that are meant to heal or aid in something do the opposite or can cause horrible physical injury.

Although there are people that say that Yoga is all you need to do to be actively fit, modern medical science has weighed in on those claims and quashed them pretty well. While the practice of Yoga calms the nerves and soothes people, it does not raise the efficiency of the heart or correspond to a level of activity beyond a slow-paced walk. The thing is, it increases the production of GABA, a neurotransmitter associated with Mood and stuff. So you will feel better. This is the main draw of Yoga. After all, there is more to health than rippling muscles and low body fat.

Mr. Broad is pretty thorough in his investigation, going to both sides and talking about the Science of Yoga. If you practice Yoga, this book might be worth your time. With any routine or workout, there are risks involved so don't let the statements in this book discourage you from doing things for your health.

This book is a must read for anyone curious about the science behind yoga. It was fascinating to find out what yoga can and can not do. I was surprised at how little research has been put into the benefits and issues of doing yoga but what has been proven jives with my own personal beliefs.

I was thrilled to read about the Oxygen Myth and how science has proven that the body's consumption of oxygen is not changed by breathing exercises despite what most of us have heard in yoga classes.

Yoga has many benefits such as making a person feel better about themselves but yoga can also cause injuries (in the most extreme cases strokes). I have been a yoga practitioner for 15 years and like the author, William J. Broad, I feel the benefits outweigh the risks.

The Science of Yoga gives practitioners permission to think for themselves, pointing out the good with the bad. Read the book, do your own research, know that you know your body best, and enjoy your yoga practice.

If you are a fan of thinking that the world is, by and large, safe and that we have weathered the storm of the cold war without any major apocalypses happening, then this book will shatter that thinking.

Broad and Miller look at the bioweapons programs of the US, Russia, and Iraq, and how bioweapons featured prominently in geopolitical posturing from the end of WW2 on. Along the way, they scare the bejeezus out of the reader, though with good reason.

We all know the stories about how close the world came to nuclear annihilation, and how many times we came that close. Well, we came much much MUCH closer to a biological apocalypse, and came that close many many more times. And since bioweapons don't have the cachet of nuclear weapons, the stories are relatively hidden. Up until this book, that is.

Nuclear weapons require a certain amount of expertise and equipment, and every intelligence agency in the world is on the lookout for suspicious transactions that could lead to nuclear weapons. But bioweapons are so easily concealable as agricultural or medical research that it is much harder to see whether the intentions of people doing that research are good or not. And bioweapons are no less deadly than nuclear weapons--in fact, they may be more so, especially with the advent of recombinant organisms that are resistant to conventional antibiotics or vaccines.

Adding to this problem is the fact that, ever since the fall of the Soviet Union, scientists who have expertise in making bioweapons and distributing them have been unemployed and their facilities have lost state protection. This has led to a black market where rogue states and organizations can essentially buy talent and expertise to make bioweapons, and I fear this will lead to something very bad happening in the future.

But there is hope. The book also details the efforts of both the US and Russia to curb the spread of bioweapons. While there is still research going on, it seems to be better monitored, and I hope this trend continues through the rest of the century.

Overall a very good read about something I didn't know much about before.

The author tried to give a balanced view of yoga. The benefits of yoga is in personal transformation, which might not necessarily be measurable by science. While this is known to yoga practitioners, the general public still look towards statements issued by "authorities" to guide them in their choices. And the current "authority" of the day is "science".

I did enjoy the historical development of yoga, which gives a good perspective to understand the way things are now.

This is a great book for people who aren't geologists or archeologists or ancient Greece scholars to read and enjoy and still feel like you understood some of the science behind the scenes.

This is a great book for people who aren't geologists or archeologists or ancient Greece scholars to read and enjoy and still feel like you understood some of the science behind the scenes.

This is a fascinating and thought-provoking expose that is just as relevant today as when it was published. As a scientist myself, I can attest to the truth of what the authors have written both about the idealistic representation of science in academia and the reality of how it is practised. Broad and Wade demonstrate how the actual practice of science frequently departs from the neat process taught in high school and college courses, and how the intended safeguards of peer review and replication frequently fail to catch errors or outright fraud. The examples themselves are engaging and often amazing in their egregiousness, making for a fast and entertaining read.

What is fascinating to me is that, having witnessed many of the issues inherent in the way academic success depends on publication, and having seen firsthand how rarely experimental replication of the findings of others is attempted, and how the peer review process can fail, I continued to view science as a whole through rose-colored glasses. This attitude is just what the authors describe, and while it is understandable that scientists cling to this idealized view, this book is a necessary step in facing up to the reality so that the system can be improved. For, as the authors point out, science today is not an altruistic pursuit of truth, but a career fraught with ambition, pressure, and a rigid hierarchy. Scientists working within such a system are, like any human beings, prone to err, and a better system of regulation would help prevent mistakes and deception such as described in this book.½

Honest, scientific and open-minded. Loved the author's prose and read the book in three weeks. As a yoga beginner I am really glad I read this book, it may have helped me avoid a serious injury. Just as I was reading the chapter about the risks I was attempting the Plow or Halasana posture. I felt my finger tip tingling a couple of times. The day after I heard a crack sound on my neck, most fortunately without major consequences. But it sounded like a good warning. Yoga has inumerous rewards but it certainly has risks. I will neither attempt the Plow nor the Shoulder Stand anymore. Just keep it safe and enjoy!

This is an excellent overview of what we actually know about yoga, as opposed to what claims are made about yoga. The author is himself a yoga practicioner, and also a scientist. He interviews the people who do the research, doctors, physical therapists and presents clear examples of what we know and what we don't, why certain studies are stronger than others, and where there is room for future research. He flatly debunks some popular yoga health claims and cautiously endorses others. He also gives an overview of the history of modern yoga, especially as it has developed in the US. Strongly recommended for anyone interested in improving their health through a yoga practice.

This book's subtitle says 'The Risks and Rewards'. Unfortunately, more than half of the books looks at injuries and risks in an alarming way, although there is little (or no) statistical evidence for it. Then, in the epilogue, the author apologetically states that there are actually more rewards than risks (?). As a passionate reader (and practitioner) of yoga, I found this book amateuresque, with no direct references throughout the book (they are all squeezed at the end of the book, and most of them cite the sources as 'anonymous'). The pompous title has nothing to do with the content. This book is poorly referenced, generalizes based on assumptions and is logically flawed. But, at least it's a start in trying to see yoga from a (intended) science perspective. There is definitely more to be done in the future.½

I visited the ruins of the sacred Delphic Oracle a few years ago. It is a truly beautiful place hidden between magnificent surroundings.
Since then, intrigued by all the mysteries surrounding these Classical ruins, I have been looking for a short but relatively complete introduction to what the Delphic Oracle was all about.
I found what I needed in W.J. Broad’s “The Delphic Oracle”. William J. Broad is a science journalist and senior writer at The New York Times. He is a Pulitzer Prize winner and has also been celebrated with an Emmy and DuPont Award.
His book is a slim, popular – scientific, overview of the history of the Oracle since the earliest times, around 1000 BC until it’s destruction by the Christian punks of Saint Constantine.
It also describes the exhumation of the ruins, nearly 20 centuries later, in 1893 , by the members of the French Archeological School and how these people were disappointed not to find the legendary crack, described by Plutarch, in the floor of the holiest of holies. Through that crack, as one well knows, intoxicating fumes (the holy pneuma) would dizzy the Sybil, who would then utter oracular words that the God Apollo spoke through her.
The core of Broad’s book however relates how two scientist, geologist Jelle de Boer ( a specialist in plate tectonic ) and archeologist John Hale, search for and do find the chasm, the geological fault that runs under Apollo’s temple and through which indeed a hallucinogenic vapor, ethylene, a sweet smelling anesthetic that produces euphoria and excites the nervous system, emanated in the heydays of the Oracle.
It is a captivating story in the “Indiana Jones” style and very interesting to see what new insights develop when two scientists, specialists in different fields, work together.
What I did not understand is why Broad in the last chapter of his book starts a rant against scientific reductionism, the position which holds that a complex phenomena, like the Oracle, can be explained in terms of scientific causality.
It is as Broad is scared of having “debunked” the Delphic Myth for us and that for this sin the Chtonic Python would come after him.
So much for a scientific journalist !½

I would have been much better off just reading an abbreviated article on the findings of the team at Delphi. That was really the only interesting part of the book to me. It was a very long book to get to a very anti-climactic ending.
However, this is just my taste - if you're very interested in geology, archaeology, or ancient history, you'd probably like this book.

I didn't find this book very readable. I'm not a big fan of nonfiction so that may be why. I feel like the beginning of the book could use better organization and perhaps renaming the first chapter from Health to. History.

The best chapter by far was the Risk of Injury. Reading this book wasn't a total loss, but wasn't my cup of tea.

Some parts were interesting, like how yoga compares to cardiovascular exercises (it doesn't really; its strengths are elsewhere), its positive impact on depression, and how it can both cause and treat injuries. But mostly the writing was dry, disjointed, and bogged down in too much detail. But at least I've finally finished this after over six months of avoiding it.

This book is a must read for anyone curious about the science behind yoga. It was fascinating to find out what yoga can and can not do. I was surprised at how little research has been put into the benefits and issues of doing yoga but what has been proven jives with my own personal beliefs.

I was thrilled to read about the Oxygen Myth and how science has proven that the body's consumption of oxygen is not changed by breathing exercises despite what most of us have heard in yoga classes.

Yoga has many benefits such as making a person feel better about themselves but yoga can also cause injuries (in the most extreme cases strokes). I have been a yoga practitioner for 15 years and like the author, William J. Broad, I feel the benefits outweigh the risks.

The Science of Yoga gives practitioners permission to think for themselves, pointing out the good with the bad. Read the book, do your own research, know that you know your body best, and enjoy your yoga practice.

The Science of Yoga takes a clear look at the history, myths, science,lies, the dangers, and wonderful possibilities of the healing power of Yoga. I love William Broads' futuristic possibilities of the Yoga world if they respond as he seems to think they should, to the need for change. Future Yoga can be in the medical mainstream, comprehensive studies have continued, yoga doctors are accepted members of the establishment, as are their gentler therapies. Classes are taught by certified instructors whose training is as rigorous as physical therapists...... I love this dream.½

I've been practicing yoga in the Iyengar school since 1978. I was a physics graduate student when I started and have been working in engineering since I got my Master's degree. Reading I. K. Taimni's book with the same title as William Broad's was a real turning point in my life. Broad's book, however, was rather disappointing.

Is anyone surprised that yoga has great potential for helping people along with great potential for harming people? I suppose there is a lot of blindness around, on both sides of the question of the value of yoga. What is more interesting there is that blindness itself, rather than its object. Hmm, Joel Kramer's work, such as the book The Guru Papers, wasn't mentioned in Broad's book.

The subject of Broad's book is really vast. What we have here is just a few small tastes, an appetizer. Perhaps it will motivate folks to look a bit deeper. But this is also a very difficult subject.

Broad tells us about the delicate routing of blood vessels into the skull at its juncture with the spine. A sharp bending there could interfere with blood flow, leading to a stroke. This has been observed, we learn here. But that much is not really enough to work with. Most folks ought to know that there are better and worse ways to practice headstand and shoulder stand. In headstand the real question is not so much how much weight is on the arms, as discussed here, but whether the neck is kept long. If somebody lets their neck to collapse in headstand... but this distinction isn't even mentioned in Broad's book. Similarly, in shoulder stand, the cervical spine should be kept long, should keep its natural curve. The big bend is where the cervical spine meets the thoracic spine, not where it meet the skull. Again, this is not mentioned in Broad's book.

Broad tells us in his epilogue that the goal of his book is really a transformation of yoga. Well, he tells us that yoga is always evolving. The point of the book is more to steer that evolution, to bring science and yoga closer together, to improve the positive value and effectiveness of yoga. He admits that science cannot fathom the full potential of yoga but still, as far as science can go, it has the power to steer yoga in a positive direction.

So far so good, perhaps, but it really misses half the story,and maybe missing half the story leaves a half story that is not altogether free of danger. The limits of science are not merely an inability to fathom the potential of yoga. Science itself introduces distortions. Science has the potential to steer yoga wrong, to amplify its potential for harm. Broad mentions the distinction between science and scientism but doesn't dig into that problem at all. Science is just as capable of persistent error as any other institution. Certainly science has the capability of freeing itself from such error, but then so do other institutions.

Broad talks about the evolution of yoga and the need to steer that in a positive direction. What he misses is the evolution of science - not the catalog of facts and theories generated by science, but evolution of the institution of science, its methods and practices, its character, its relationships with other institutions. These too evolve and require constant effective steering if science is to continue as a vital and positive force in human society.

Science works best when it is dealing with inert objects, or at least with unconscious systems. Yoga is all about conscious action, aware action. Science doesn't have effective methods for dealing with systems that exhibit will and freedom. Yoga could be the difficult topic that drives science to evolve, to transcend its present limits.

The science of yoga indeed has the almost miraculous potential that Broad outlines in his epilogue. But that potential could well be more in the transformation of science, the development of a science that is capable of studying a discipline such as yoga. What kind of science might a science of yoga be? Surely yoga must evolve, too, to engage in such a partnership.

If science and yoga could learn to dance in a mutual exploration and expansion, leading each other to every vaster freedom of experience... what a bright future awaits! But how to realize that potential? That is a daunting challenge! But what else is there to do?!

Excellent book on the pros and cons of doing yoga. Broad gathers all relevant research over the last century with regards to yoga and yoga practice and assembles it in a comprehensive, interesting and easy to read book.

I found this book very valuable; it has encouraged me to continue with yoga, but also encouraged me to change my practice -- and my attitude --- to reduce the risks of injury. Both of those are big benefits, for me at least, and I would strongly recommend this book to other yoga practicioners, especially the older ones. That's not to say that the book won't infuriate a lot of people. Some of the reviews on Amazon are very negative, and an excerpted chapter in the "New York Times" magazine stirred up a hornet's nest. Still, I think it's well worth reading.

First, Mr. Broad reviews the development of yoga as currently practiced in the US -- which is certainly not the only yoga there is. His interests are practical, however, and his likely audience is mostly American, so the focus makes sense. He dispels a good deal of the misty ancient aura surrounding yoga, stressing the relatively modern emergence of asana based yoga as practiced in the US.

Next, he discusses the very real physical benefits of yoga. After that, he looks at some of the non-benefits, examining claims made for yoga (it's a great way to lose weight, for example) that he argues are overstated or flat out wrong.. Then, he writes about the mental/emotional benefit of yoga; here, the evidence in favor of yoga as a major mood- lifter is very impressive.

Next, he writes about the risk of injury in yoga. This is the chapter that was published in the Times, and it stirred a major furor. I think his level of alarm may be a bit overdone (given the number of yoga practicioners in the US, and the number of major injuries he suggests, the rate looks very low). Still, caution is appropriate -- I know from my own history that you can hurt yourself doing yoga, and if this book makes more practicioners and more teachers more careful, that's great! Ahimsa!!

The rest of the book covers several topics that I found less grippping, among them healing and sex (I am an old lady).

All in all, I think this book raises important questions for yoga practicioners. They aren't the only questions, and the answers may be debateable, but the discussion is worthwhile.