I finished a pretty good book, The Science of Yoga by William J. Broad. I looked this up and Amazon reports that I ordered it back in September of 2014, so it sat on my nightstand for well over a year. :: sad emoji :: Once I got started I finished it in about a week, as it is very readable. Being stuck in some airports helped.
The author aggregates the scientific findings related to yoga in studies on health and fitness. People make all sorts of holistic health claims about yoga that are patently false, which is not necessary as there are many proven benefits (proven = found in numbers that are statistically significant, not anecdotal).
It turns out that yoga does next to nothing for your cardiovascular fitness, but a great many things for most of the rest of your body. So mix in some cardio work to get your heart rate up once in a while, do some yoga, and you should be good.
Much of the publicity that surrounded this book after it was published was caused by the reaction to the reporting of injuries. Yoga, like most exercise, can hurt you very badly, but people seemed particularly offended by the notion.
I recommend the book and, as always: you can borrow my copy.
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