Hello! Lately, I’ve been up to a lot! I’ve been having a fun but busy summer growing some raised beds, going on adventures, and taking long walks in the park. Between all of that, I have been prioritizing yoga to help maintain my mind, body, and spirit. I’ve also been setting a reading goal for myself, and my latest read has been this detailed book called “The Science of Yoga: The Risks and Rewards” by William J. Broad.
The book serves as an evidence-based audit of yoga. He has practiced yoga himself his whole life, and he wanted to go through more than one-hundred and fifty years of research to reveal what is actually backed by science and what is a myth. Often, these myths are capitalized on in the yoga world. “Do this slim yoga, and you’ll lose fat fast!” As confident as these claims are, they have been misconceptions produced by the industry to make more money. Ultimately, yoga works, but not for the reasons the industry claims.
Hollywood yoga, as I like to call it, has long sold yoga as a fast, easy way to shed pounds. However, in the grand scope of yoga, asanas, the yoga practice, is only the physical part of yoga. Yoga that focuses on aesthetics will rarely allow you to achieve true yoga, as it is nothing without its ethics and self-realization. This book explains how the opposite is what is true, based on science. Now, the very thing that makes yoga feel good, the deep calm, works against calorie burn, not for it.
He sought to find out if yoga alone was enough to keep you fit. He revealed a study that was done where two researchers, Ross and Thomas, looked at 81 previous studies comparing yoga to other forms of exercise. Yoga can do a lot for you, as in the study, it was just as good, if not better, in areas like balance, stress, pain, sleep, and mood. There was one area where yoga fell short: actually getting your heart pumping. Yoga is not intense enough to get your heart beating and cannot provide your body with cardiovascular conditioning. When your heart is not getting stimulated the same way as a more intense form of exercise, it is not impacting your metabolism in a way that sheds pounds. In fact, yoga triggers the relaxation response, which can actually lower resting metabolic rate.
One of the studies mentioned in the book that provides concrete evidence of yoga slowing down the metabolic rate involves locking a man in an airtight box so he would have limited oxygen. They wanted to see if yogis could slow their bodies down enough to survive on very little air. For 8-10 hours, this man sat in this box, and they found that his basal metabolic rate (baseline rate that keeps your organs running) halved through breathwork and deep relaxation.
In addition to this deep relaxation and slower metabolism, this means few calories are burned at rest. If you do not notice this, you will continue to eat at your normal rate while the body is burning fewer calories, creating more weight gain. Yoga practitioners and teachers should be transparent with their students about the benefits and the realities of yoga. This doesn’t mean doing yoga will make you gain weight or not reach your fitness goals; it’s body awareness and prioritizing your diet.
Thank you for reading my post today! I highly recommend reading this book or searching out common yoga myths to truly strengthen your practice and your relationship with yourself. It’s okay to go into yoga with no expectations of what you look like now or what you will look like in the future. Peace is priceless at the end of the day and truly understanding yoga and how it works in the body is a proactive way to deepen your practice. Also, I’d like to note that yoga is about much more than just looking good on the mat. It’s about Yama’s (ethical restraint toward others), the way we treat our communities. It’s about Pratyahara, allowing you to turn your attention inward. Ultimately, it’s about Samadhi, total enlightenment, the whole goal of yoga. It’s not about your figure; it’s about your stature. Namaste.
References:
The Science of Yoga” by William Broad (book)
Anand, B.K., Chhina, G.S., & Singh, B. (1961). “Studies on Shri Ramanand Yogi During His Stay in an Air-Tight Box.” Indian Journal of Medical Research, 49, 82–89.