Body and Breath - Yoga Shop Talk

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Yoga shoptalk, January, 2003

I notice that you make occasional references to evolution in your book Anatomy of Hatha Yoga, so I assume that you accept Charles Darwin's theory of how life evolved on our planet. Is this correct? And if the answer is yes, what is your opinion on the idea of "intelligent design," which has been gaining political currency in the past year? Finally, how does all this connect with your view that yoga is a science?

Answers: If we are looking at Darwin's theory as he originally presented it, your first question is a little thorny, since inconsistencies of the theory with new data have emerged in the past ten years. It is now plain, for example, that evolution was not particularly gradual, that the processes of change implied by the phrase "natural selection" have become questionable, and that Darwin's theory will sooner or later have to be greatly modified in order to be consistent with new data and survive in some form. But such is the fate of all theories and of the scientists who propose them, a scientific "natural selection" of living and dying theories, as it were. This takes nothing away from Darwin's efforts, of course, and he remains one of the great figures in the history of science. Therefore I'm going to suggest that the short answer to your first question is yes, Darwin's theory, at least in its general brushstrokes that the non-professional is aware of, is still alive and well. And if we are looking at Darwin's theory of evolution in comparison with proposals of "creationism," there is no contest. Creationism is not science. It is religion.

"Intelligent design" is a catchy and seemingly innocuous phrase that has a long history. (For more information and background, go to Google's www.refdesk.com and search intelligent design.) The idea connotes the validity of a "higher intelligence," and is at least in part a back-door effort to bring quasi-religious discussion into the public schools of the United States. I say bring it on, for my part. It's a good example of an idea for which one may argue that there is prima facie evidence, but which is also a perfect example of an idea that is not testable in the scientific sense. In other words, no experiment can refute it, just as no one can refute that angels, ghosts, and fairies are at this very moment flitting around your living room arguing with one another. As in the case of all non-scientific ideas, you either have to accept the concept of intelligent design, reject it, or shrug your shoulders. In my personal opinion, students should be exposed both to scientific ideas that can be tested and to the wealth of non-scientific ideas (including myths and faith-based religious concepts) that cannot.

Yoga, as it happens, contains elements of both science and non-science. There is a constant theme in yoga of experimenting, testing, and not taking the validity of statements from teachers for granted. For all testable concepts, please don't fail to put them to the test. For one of many examples (page 65), check the efficacy of the standing hamstrings-quadriceps thigh pull for relaxing the hamstrings. And for the many examples of teachings in yoga that are by nature not scientifically testable but that are part of the tradition, such as yoga philosophy, the "energy" concept of prana, views of life, death, and rebirth, the concept of "elements" (earth, water, fire, air, and ether), and of the hierarchy of body, pranic sheath, mind, buddhi, and "universal consciousness," you may find such ideas useful as working points of view, especially in regard to developing a personal practice of yoga. In any event, dismissing them out of hand is not in the general spirit of the arts and sciences; it is helpful to keep an open mind toward all points of view. Enjoy art and music, balance the study of science with reading of fiction, and keep current on culture in general, including the thoughts and doings of trend-setters such as Anna Nicole Smith, Michael Doonesbury, and other worthies.