An incendiary piece in New York Times, under the headline, “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body”, has upset the US’ usually chilled community of yoga-lovers. The article which appeared across several pages of the paper’s Sunday magazine alleged students and even “celebrated teachers” were injuring themselves “in droves” by over-ambitious and under-taught yoga moves.
The result has been acrimony, recrimination and a ferocious backlash from representatives of a US $5-billion-plus industry in America with some 20-million followers—five times more than 10 years ago.
Drivel, sensationalism, disgraceful hype, bizarre and misleading were just some of the criticisms posted online. After over 700 comments were posted on the New York Times website, there was no room for more.