In the wake of the Sunday New York Times Magazine’s excerpt read ’round the yoga world from Times’ senior science writer William Broad’s upcoming book, The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards, the yoga community has let its voice be heard, loudly and passionately.
From blogs across the cybersphere to a radio interview on an NPR-affiliate station, yogis have weighed in on what most seem to feel was an unfair portrayal of yoga that exaggerated its risks while barely acknowledging its many benefits. Now the same paper that stuck a figurative stick into the hornet’s nest has given over its Opinion Pages to the debate, with respected leaders in the field, including Yoga Journal’s own Editor in Chief Kaitlin Quistgaard, sharing their perspective on a practice enjoyed by an estimated 15 million people. “The real value of yoga beyond its physical and mental benefits, is the opportunity it offers to know yourself,” Quistgaard writes in “No Apologies Are Needed.” “Yoga students come to the mat as we are — with all of our imperfections. And yes, that means with our vanity, our ego, our unskillful decisions and often with a willingness to take a good look at ourselves and work fiercely toward changing attitudes and behaviors that we can see aren’t working.”
