The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards
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Acknowledgments
My thanks go first and foremost to the scientists and other specialists who made this book possible. Their courtesy and patience—in some cases over a number of years—helped illuminate a subject so murky and complicated that I despaired at times of figuring it out. Although I now question much about the culture of modern yoga, I hope that anyone who feels uneasy with my skepticism will nonetheless see my reporting as thorough and fair. As always with authorship, I alone am responsible for any errors or significant omissions.
Initially, I saw this book as a nine-month wonder in which I would pick the low-hanging fruit and go merrily on my way. Five years later, I have accumulated a large number of debts.
For early advice and encouragement, I offer heartfelt thanks to Joseph S. Alter, Charlotte Bacon and Brad Choyt, R. Barker Bausell, Carolyn Marks Blackwood and Greg Quinn, Ingrid and Walter Blanco, William C. Bushell, John Eastman, Jack England, Owen Gingerich, Ann Godoff, Daniel Goleman, John Horgan, Alan Lightman, Gary Rosen, and Patricia L. Rosenfield.
In Kolkata, I am much indebted to Ashim Mukerji of the National Library, to P. Thankappan Nair, the journalist mentioned in chapter 1, to Binoy Roy, the former librarian of the University of Calcutta, and to the obliging staffs of the Asiatic Society and the Bengal Academy of Literature.
In Mumbai, I battled monsoon flooding and dead taxicabs to laugh my head off with Madan Kataria and his good friends.
In Lonavla, special thanks go to Subodh Tiwari and Swati Deshpande of the Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute (Gune’s ashram) and to Manmath M. Gharote of the Lonavla Yoga Institute and his colleagues. In Bangalore, H. R. Nagendra came to my rescue. In Washington at the Indian embassy, Nikhilesh M. Dhirar and his colleagues worked hard to track down an unforthcoming fact.
Graciously over the years, Priscilla Walker lent her files and knowledge to unraveling the tale of Yogananda and Basu Kumar Bagchi. So, too, Katharine Webster helped with Swami Rama. Randi Hutter Epstein cast light on American yoga history.
For assistance in learning something of contemporary Tantra and Kundalini, many thanks to Bob Boyd, Michael Bradford, Joan Bridges, Jennifer Clark, Jana Dixon, Judy Harper, David Lukoff, Stuart Sovatsky, and Lisa Paul Streitfeld. Much gratitude as well to Ilse Mohn for a commercial insight and to Mary Roach for general intelligence on the relationship between sex and modern yoga.
Gene Kieffer lent his considerable resources to helping me better understand Kundalini in general and Gopi Krishna in particular.
Walter Blanco and James Anderson helped inspire the Muse chapter with their lively discussion of Sonny Rollins.
For acts of kindness and assistance, thanks to Angela Babb of the American Academy of Neurology, to Lynn Butler, Laura Tatum, Nancy Lyon, and Angelyn Singer of Yale University, to Dennis Campbell and Patricia Gallagher of the New York Academy of Medicine, to Linda Cuthbertson and Pamela Forde of the Royal College of Physicians, to Daniel DeBehnke and Terry Modrak of the Medical College of Wisconsin, to Janet Faubert and Myrna Filman of the Institute for Consciousness Research, to Daisy Franco of the American Medical Association, to Emil Frantík of the National Institute of Public Health in Prague, to Sharon Gardner of the University of Michigan, to Diane Gray-Reed of the Pacifica Graduate Institute Research Library, to Mary Guillemette of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, to Stephanie Hawthorn of the British Medical Association, to Derek Johnson of the Berkshire Medical Center, to Cindy Kuzma of the Journal of the American Medical Association, to Robert Love of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, to John McKenzie of Sumner McKenzie, to Renate Myles of the National Institutes of Health, to Natalya Podgorny of the Himalayan Institute, to Melanie Walker of the University of Washington, and to Susan Weill of Time magazine.
Calm at the center of the storm? Yes, thanks to Ellen Patrick of Yoga Sanctuary in Mamaroneck, New York, to Athina Pride of the Infinite Yoga Center in Larchmont, New York, and to Jessica Thompson of the Yoga Loft in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Franklin Shire was as much fresh breeze as yoga instructor.
Good friends practiced the discipline of hearty encouragement and good cheer. Thanks to Jane Elkoff and Peter Gregersen, Rima Grad and Neil Selinger, Abby Gruen and Bob Graubard, Marnie Inskip and Dan O’Neill, Sophie and Tom Kent, Martha Upton and Peter Davis, Catherine and Stuart Wachs, and Sarit and Harry Wall.
Friends at the Larchmont Public Library—icons of professional courtesy and restraint—put up with years of hectoring. Many thanks to Frank Connelly, Paul Doherty, Nancy Donovan, Liam Hegarty, and June Hesler, as well as the many unseen hands of the Westchester Library System.
Colleagues at The New York Times offered advice, support, and considerable help in gathering papers and other materials. Thanks to Lawrence K. Altman, Pam Belluck, Toby Bilanow, Benedict Carey, Laura Chang, David Corcoran, Henry Fountain, Denise Grady, Erica Goode, James Gorman, Leslie Kaufman, Soo-Jeong Kang, Gina Kolata, Mireya Navarro, Tara Parker-Pope, David Sanger, Elaine Sciolino, Barbara Strauch, and Nicholas Wade. Thanks, too, Gina, for Ultimate Fitness.
A number of specialists, colleagues, and family members took time to comment on all or part of the manuscript and helped improve it in countless ways. Many thanks to Chris Arrington, Brenda Berger, Carole Anne Broad, Charles A. Broad Jr., Mary Broad, Christina Bryza, Bobby and Lindsey Clennell, Jane Elkoff, Daniel Goleman, Randi Hutter Epstein, Jane Keogh Kelly, Sharon Maier, Jarl Mohn, Luis Parada, Franklin Shire, Mark Singleton, Stuart Wachs, and Nicholas Wade. Special thanks to Jarl and Nicholas for thoughtful suggestions.
My illustrator, Bobby Clennell, teaches yoga in New York City, has studied with Iyengar in India, and has authored two yoga books of her own—The Woman’s Yoga Book and Watch Me Do Yoga, for children. She and her model, Lisa Rotell, performed the magic of turning abstractions into revealing images both instructive and elegant.
My agent, Peter Matson, offered encouragement, good advice, and unfailing good humor throughout the book’s ups and downs. I find myself ever more in your debt, Peter. Thank you.
My gratefulness to Alice Mayhew, my editor at Simon & Schuster, goes beyond words. Her thoughtful advice and relentless enthusiasm brought this book into the world. We’ve done other projects together but this one required unusual skill and sensitivity. Thank you, Alice—and thanks to your many gifted associates at Simon & Schuster, most especially Roger Labrie. Thanks also to publisher Jonathan Karp, Irene Kheradi, Nancy Inglis, Renata Di Biase, Julia Prosser, and Rachel Bergmann. No turn of phrase can express the depth of my gratitude.
Over the decades, I have learned to rely on Tanya Mohn, my wife, and my three children, Max, Isabelle, and Juliana, for endless support, forbearance, and love in this crazy process of book writing. Thanks, guys. You are my prana. And thank you especially, Tanya. You are not only my life energy but my ethicist and guru—among other roles. Your counsel and wisdom typically become the best parts of me. Namaste.
Finally, I’d like to honor the memory of Nancy, a much-loved sister lost to cancer. More than forty years ago she played an important role in getting me interested in yoga and pursuing it as a life discipline. For that, Nancy, you will always hold a special place in my heart.
William J. Broad
Larchmont, New York
November 1, 2011
Index
Note: Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations.
abdomen, healing, 147–48
abductor hallucis
muscle, 145
action-reaction cycle, 65–66
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog), 108, 108, 206
adrenaline, 90, 167
aerobic exercise, 53–54
and action-reaction cycle, 66
promotion of, 67
research on, 59–64, 66–68, 219
and yoga, xxix, 49–50, 55–58, 60, 63, 68, 69, 72
aerobics, coining of term, 53
Aghori sect, 15–16, 20
aging:
anti-aging therapies, 41
of cells, 43
and injuries, 130–31
life expectancy, 43–44, 220
and miraculous claims, 41
Agni Sara pose, 174–75, 183
alcohol, 202
alignment, 33
Alter, Joseph S., 29
American Association for the Advancement of Science, 61
American College of Chest Physicians, 130
American College of Sports Medicine, 49, 54, 67