The Science of Yoga

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    Two pages later, the book goofed again. After reminding the reader that yogic breathing “brings more oxygen into your system,” Dummies raised a red flag. “Don’t be surprised,” it warned, “if you feel a little light-headed or even dizzy.” That explanation, of course, went to the repercussions not of adding oxygen but of blowing off carbon dioxide, which can result in blackouts. It was another missed opportunity for understanding.
    The trend culminated with the description of a breathing exercise that, the book assured, would “treat your body with oodles of oxygen.” All the body’s cells, it emphasized, “will be humming with energy and your brain will be very grateful to you for the extra boost.”
    Payne’s book also managed to misrepresent one of the most fundamental ways in which yoga affects the human body. As we have seen, scientific investigators, starting in the nineteenth century, established that a defining characteristic of yoga—perhaps the defining characteristic—is how it can slow the body, the mind, andthe overall metabolism to foster tranquility. Paul focused on hibernation, Behanan on the “retardation of mental functions,” Bagchi and his colleagues on the “extreme slowing” of respiration and heart rates, Bera and his colleagues at Gune’s ashram on lowered metabolism, many scientists on the body’s parasympathetic brake, and Benson on wide physiological drops that led to hypometabolism. Yes, a few breathing styles—such as Bhastrika and Kapalbhati—can excite. But overall, they are the exception, not the rule. As the team of Indian scientists in Bangalore reported, the regular practice of yoga causes the resting metabolic rate to fall.
    This physiological fact of life has an obvious social proof. Yoga has won a global following not because of some ostensible ability to zip people up but by its demonstrated power to slow them down. It has proved extraordinarily effective at undoing urban stress and the tensions of modern life. The reason yoga studios are so ubiquitous in big cities is because they are a great antidote to big cities.
    Payne, citing no evidence, declared that the physical truth lay precisely in the opposite direction. Yoga breathing, he stated, “steps up your metabolism.” He felt so confident about the claim that later in the book he generalized the energizing effect to the discipline as a whole. Practicing yoga, he asserted, will “boost your metabolism” and “helps you step up a flagging metabolism.”
    His misinformation helped pave the way for credulous authors to come, including Tara Stiles, the former model who authored Slim Calm Sexy Yoga. He gave the myth new energy.
    Dummies took the muddled thinking about physiology and, like Stiles, applied it to a sensitive issue of personal appearance. The metabolic rise, Payne assured his readers, could aid their realization of one of the obsessive goals of modern life—maintaining a slim figure. The heightened metabolic state, he declared, was “the best manager of weight increase.” His claim was remarkable. By implication, the word “best” put yoga above dieting, exercise, walking, general fitness, and wise nutrition as a means of burning calories and controlling weight. And, lest readers forget, he reiterated the slimming claim. Yoga postures, he said, “keep the rolls off your midriff.” The discipline, Dummies stressed, “helps you shed surplus pounds.”
    That said, the pseudoscience of Payne on oxygen and metabolism comprised only a smallpart of his book. Most of his advice lay in standard postures and tips, anecdotes and encouragement. Photo after photo showed him—athletic and good-looking—going through the poses and helping students. Interestingly, he devoted the majority of the book to what he called “Health Maintenance and Restoration” but made few direct claims for healing.
    It sold. Starting in 1999, Yoga for Dummies went through at least fourteen printings—far more than most yoga books. It became a standard reference for beginners. And, almost magically over the years, the point size of the font on the cover that announced Payne’s Ph.D. grew larger.
    In 2000, he traveled to Davos, Switzerland, and the World Economic Forum. He was, as a Samata news release put it, the first yoga teacher to address the group—a gathering of more than two thousand world leaders. The notables included Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, Bill Gates and the novelist Umberto Eco.