By strange coincidence(?!), TIME has an article on "Yoga" in its current issue. (October 2007). That fits in perfectly with the "Post New Age" theme of this blog, and the first post.
True:
"Amy Toosley was standing in a split pose when her yoga instructor gave her leg a little prod. "I heard the loudest pop I've ever heard, and the instructor said, 'Ooh! Good release, huh?'" Toosley recalls. "Not really--I could hardly walk." With her hamstring muscle snapped, Toosley, 32, avoided yoga for the next three months, and almost a year later, she is still in pain."
Never do more than you are capable. Never hold a position. Always relax after each exercise. No yoga teacher in the world will be able to judge whether you are over-compressing or over-stretching.
False:
"The truth is, yoga, regardless of the form, doesn't offer a comprehensive way to get fit. According to a study by the American Council on Exercise, a national nonprofit organization that certifies fitness instructors and promotes physical fitness, dedicated yoga practitioners show no improvement in cardiovascular health. It's not the best way to lose weight either. A typical 50-min. class of hatha yoga, one of the most popular styles of yoga in the U.S., burns off fewer calories than are in three Oreos--about the same as a slow, 50-min. walk. Even power yoga burns fewer calories than a comparable session of calisthenics. And while yoga has been shown to alleviate stress and osteoarthritis, it doesn't develop the muscle-bearing strength needed to help with osteoporosis."
If the American Council of Exercise (sic) thinks that burning calories is the prime aim of exercise, then I guess that we are pieces of carbon. Yoga (actually "asana") exercises will show an effect in conjunction with diet, reduced stress, and proper sleep.
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