The Science of Yoga

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    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
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    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

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 StateUniversity. 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 ManoharLohia 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