Book Review- The Science of Yoga

In western society, is a significant amount of discussion surrounding yoga and its benefits, risks, and applications. Is it a workout? Is it a lifestyle? Is it the ultimate restorative therapy, or are there risks associated with its practice? In The Science of Yoga, William Broad collects and reviews numerous medical studies about yoga dating from the late 1950s to the present day and originating from India to the United States. He frames his argument along six major yoga topics: yoga history and origins, yoga as a fitness tool, yoga for therapy or healing, risks of practicing yoga, yoga’s sexual benefits, and finally, yoga as a tool to enhance creativity. He concludes that yoga is all of these things to one person or another, and its role and perception in western society is at a crossroads.

According to Broad’s research, modern yoga has its foundations in many different fields, all of which converged over time to resemble what we know today. The introduction to his book contains a fascinating timeline of yoga milestones juxtaposed with Western medical milestones including the invention of penicillin, the first split of the atom, and mapping the human genome. He chose to begin the book with a discussion of history to illustrate that he is not the first to question the medical impacts of yoga. Instead, there has always been some wonder and suspicion of yoga beginning with the story of the wandering yogi (more closely aligned with tantric breathing practices than with contemporary asana) demonstrating his ability to slow his heartbeat in a tomb for 40 days and nights. Many of these studies began with Krishnamacharya in India. However, the most prolific and conclusive series of studies came from a scientific ashram hosted by Jagannath G. Gune. Founded in 1924, the ashram continues to the present. Trying to recreate the myth of the wandering yogi, this group tried (unsuccessfully) to entomb its volunteers with significant scientific monitoring. Today, there are much more advanced studies surrounding yoga and its benefits, with the help of advanced technology, but even these seem to reach inconclusive or contradictory results. In the future, it will be important to pay attention to the forthcoming medical literature to make a case for yoga and to continue to revisit and refine my teaching.

It's clear that yoga has all sorts of physical and emotional benefits. After a single practice people tend to feel more relaxed, more at ease. After several months and years practitioners notice a rise in mood, a drop in blood pressure and a drop in weight. But what are those causes those effects, and how are they measured? In most athletic activities, the level of exertion is measured in cardio logical output, or VO2 max. VO2 is the volume of oxygen used during exercise, typically measured through a mask and a series of sensors. While it is difficult to measure yoga this way due to the nature of the practice, a study out of Duke University accomplished just that, but determined that yoga still does not meet the minimum standards for cardiovascular endurance. In fact, a much later study performed in 2008 determined that yoga actually reduces the basal metabolic rate. The only sequence that proves to have true cardiovascular benefit is a Sun Salutation, which, as any Ashtanga practitioner will tell you, is no surprise. Though scientifically there is no rationale for the proliferation of lithe, bendy yoga bodies, it seems likely that the practice works at a level of awareness to regulate other physical characteristics.

Unlike the physiological elements of yoga, science has not yet statistically proven the practice's psychological benefits. Anecdotal evidence demonstrates that yoga is an effective treatment for conditions like depression or addiction, but like any therapy, those results are difficult to quantify. Despite these successes, does this give yoga teachers any additional responsibilities for the well being of their students beyond the care of their joints and energy? Some lives may really hinge on the ninety minutes that they have in the studio that day. This is where yoga goes beyond asana for me; it's not about what the sutras, the yamas and niyamas, or the meditation does for me, it's about how I can use those tools to elicit change or bring happiness to someone else. So while this book illustrates the value of yoga as a therapy tool and goes so far as to criticize the unregulated nature of yoga licensing, all of that confusion becomes irrelevant in the power of the practice.

Finally, the book focuses on yoga injuries far beyond the norm. While I am familiar with the usual aches and pains and the occasional pulled muscle, research and rising emergency room admission data indicates that serious yoga related injuries are on the rise. Two of these most troubling injuries are miniature strokes and paralysis. According to Broad, these injuries are the result of dangerous neck flexion and an accidental retention of CO2 during vigorous pranayama like kapalbhati. While I have been cautioned about the need to treat the neck carefully in inversions like shoulder stand or headstand, I never considered that stroke or paralysis might be a possibility.

Yoga is more than a graceful series and a carefully crafted sequence of asanas. William Broad's The Science of Yoga reminded me of how important asana will be in the relationship between student and teacher. The physical effects of yoga is the gateway to a connection between teacher and student in the short time they have together each class. It's also a transformational key to long term health, but not without some risks. Broad closes his book with a final thought about yoga being at a crossroads. His statement is a call to action for yoga teachers to take their education and their classes seriously, to lead yoga down the respectful, therapeutic path instead of the route of corporate marketing.

Book Review- The Yoga Club

The Yoga Club, by Cooper Lawrence is not actually a book about yoga so technically it doesn't belong on this blog. But, I was on vacation last week and that was the tome I happened to shove in my bag, so here we are.

Despite its title, The Yoga Club is actually about a group of three women and a gay man who happen to come to a costume party wearing identical costumes. After witnessing a murder at the house of the prominent mayor and an unfortunate incident with one of the women's zany tics, each member of this little group recieves a threat to their livelihood. As if that premise wasn't complicated enough, it turns out these four characters are on a collision course despite their different backgrounds and social circles. They are all in the same morning yoga class.

Yoga features prominently in this book as a mechanism to get the group to meet and convene about their challenges. In the end, the relationships grow strong enough that they really don't need yoga to communicate, but it seems to help anyway. 

Because there is a lot going on in this story, it is hard to give a really concise synopsis without revealing too much of the plot. So, I will close this book review by saying The Yoga Club is a fun, mischievous tale that's perfect for passing the time on the beach or on a plane, but don't expect it to deepen your practice. Also, as an added bonus, if you follow today's celebrity obsessed pop culture, you may see a few names that you recognize.

Book Review: Balancing Acts

Sweeter than soft serve frozen yogurt with gummy bears, Balancing Acts by Zoe Fishman is the ultimate beach read (or in my case, a waiting room of the studio read).

The story follows four women living in New York during 30-something decade of their lives. All four women were casual acquaintances at their ten year college reunion, and decide to commit to a six week yoga class taught by one of their own. As yoga often does, each of them begin to get in touch with their genuine selves, and work to find happiness in their lives.

Charlie (I love androgynous names!) is a former high-powered Wall Street executive whose former relationship broke her down enough to cause an entire life shift. She owns the fictional yoga studio, aptly named Prana and serves as the instructor for the duration of the course. Her premise is the foundation for the whole novel, but I feel that she is the least developed in comparison with her other friends.

Naomi was my favorite character. A single mom with an eight year old son, she didn't technically graduate with the other girls but still earns her living working as a graphic designer. Her struggles are evident, well defined, and intertwining. Her story really allows the reader to feel a connection, with her concerns about her son's relationship with his father, her health, and her journey to reclaim her former passion for photography.

Bess is cast as the uproarious character who has the opportunity to present the greatest conflict in the story. A tabloid journalist with dreams of CNN, she decides to join the yoga pact with the ulterior motive of writing about the premise of "having it all". Although she originally intended to criticize the women for not sticking to their dreams, she soon has a change of heart.

Finally, Sabine is an overworked editor who wishes she could be a full time writer. While I can empathize with Sabine's challenges, I had the hardest time getting under her skin. Like the other women, she has her doubts about the men in her life, but during the group chapters she seems very transparent.

The book is certainly a first novel. I loved the premise, I just wish the characters had a bit more substance. Although each woman is diverse her career, upbringing, and story line, I had a hard time distinguishing one from another in my mind. It's like each of their stories has the same common elements: man trouble, career trouble, and a fear of having lost all the inertia they felt in college. Additionally, I wish Bess' article was given more prominence in the conclusion of the book (no spoilers here, never fear!)

If you're a yoga newbie or a fan of chick lit, you would enjoy this novel. It's light, frothy and fun- each class Charlie introduces a sequence of asanas that are so well written that you could practically take the class along side Bess, Sabine, and Naomi.

Book Review- Yoga Bitch

Engage your bandhas and open up your chakras, Suzanne Morrison’s Yoga Bitch: One Woman's Quest to Conquer Skepticism, Cynicism, and Cigarettes on the Path to Enlightenment is certainly not a sacred text. As the title indicates, it is an autobiographical examination of an experimental time in the author’s life.

At twenty five, Suzanne reached the proverbial fork in the road of life. Just shortly after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, she begins to address her fears: change, loss, and death.Tired of living in her childhood home in Seattle with aging parents and grandparents but unsure of her decision to move to New York with her longtime boyfriend, Suzanne drowns these troubles in cigarettes, cocktails, moody literature, ironic jokes, and yoga. With the help of her yoga instructor, Indra, Suzanne decides to take a break from these tough decisions and embark on a two month teacher training in Bali.

Suzanne narrates the curriculum of her teacher training, lingering  to analyze her own attitudes towards this new experience. While some activities are  easy  to understand (her challenges with meditation, her own body image, and endless sun salutations), others are unexpected and feel a bit unusual to both Suzanne and the reader (morning urine drinking rituals to prevent “the Bali belly”, bringing in a priest to  exorcise a phantom blender, and later a possessed mop).

Despite the obvious use of anecdotal story telling to induce  a comic effect,  Suzanne’s story is actually a good companion to the teacher training . Whether intentional or not, the narrative humanizes several of the yamas and niyamas, and presents characters that are foils for other limbs of yoga.  While Suzanne and her roommate’s struggles are firmly grounded in their challenges with the yamas, and niyamas, the yoga instructor they idolize is eventually humanized by these same tenets. In the following  paragraphs I will demonstrate how various plot elements teach  the reader as well as Suzanne about yoga philosophy and the sacred texts.

The teacher training is meant to be a secluded and purifying experience, and it attracted all types of students. Suzanne and her roommate, Jessica, though both  initially committed to this austerity, or tapas, found themselves tempted and giving in to temptation several times throughout the course of the training. At  first they are  resigned to their beans and leafy greens at all meals, which is an exceptional struggle for Suzanne. Allowed access to email to communicate with their families, Suzanne receives an email from her sister indicating “If she came back as one of those holier than thou plant eating yoga bitches, she’d strap her down and feed her steak and whiskey.” Eventually kicking the cigarette cravings with sweat in the tropical Bali climate, a night out during a town holiday provides a simple  temptation: sugar.

Jessica and Suzanne often practiced walking meditation together, and often these walks took them through the local village. Stopping by a  small restaurant to  refill their water, they casually spot a coconut milkshake on the menu. After several minutes of discussion and rationalization (Is this really a milkshake? Maybe it is more like a smoothie), they succumb to temptation and each order one. And another, and another. And a brownie sundae to top it off.  Waking early the next morning and suffering through a brutal asana practice, they vow never to resort to this temptation and even confess it  to their instructors. Incidentally, the instructors dole out punishment in the form of more walking meditation, which puts Suzanne and Jessica on the path to temptation again and again.

On a personal level, Suzanne’s greatest struggles relates to the niyama, santosha. Santosha means contentment, and this is a challenge for all Westerners. In fact, Suzanne’s motivation for going to Bali and enrolling in the teacher training is primarily because she was not content; she was unhappy with her physical self and lacked confidence in the future of her relationship. Throughout the asana portion of her studies, she constantly compares herself to the grace and skill level of her classmates, and the perfect body of  their instructor, Indra. She describes her body in negative physical terms and holds Indra as an idol, an ideal. Contentment with our physical selves is a challenge for everyone, but it can be especially hard in yoga when there’s a variety of body types to covet.

Suzanne struggles with spiritual contentment as well was physical. During an afternoon practice, she experiences something like a seizure, which  Lou, one of the instructors, is quick to characterize as a kundalini rising. Though she is initially elated, thinking perhaps she’s reached enlightenment and can be content with that one moment. Eventually this contentment fades into desperate longing. With every pose, she seeks out that feeling, only to fall short every time. Emotions tend to be even more fleeting than physical conditioning, and so Suzanne’s frustration becomes more pronounced when she cannot re-attain her kundalini rising. She expresses concern at having “peaked too early”, but eventually resigns herself to the process, to walking the path and hoping enlightenment comes her way again.

Though Suzanne never attains true contentment, how many of us can say that we truly do, for a sustained period of time? The story closes with her pursuit of other spiritual rituals; hugs from Amma and experiments with a hallucinogenic root. Though she continues to live her life knowing her faults in this niyama, her yoga teacher training experience did help her find contentment in her relationship. She was able to finally confront the nagging feeling that her current boyfriend was just a path to  the right man, and her novel ends with their wedding and life together.


So even though this novel is unconventional and often downright irreverent, it is a perfect illustration of the yoga journey. Each yogi faces these challenges every day, and  yogis can come from any background whatsoever. The vegan, organic product consuming spiritualist and the sulking, drinking, cigarette craving satirist  are of equal worth and on their own path towards the yoga lifestyle. Overall, I found this book to be a laugh inducing and thought provoking companion to my own experiences during the teacher training, helping me level set my own challenges in the voice of another.