We’re calling it now: 2012′s best Non-Controversy (Nontroversy?) of the Year is going to New York Times Magazine’s excerpt of “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body.” The item in question ran over the weekend; part of a book by yogi William J. Broad, who claimed that people can get seriously hurt or injured or dead from practicing yoga. Notice the word “can” in the title. Yoga can wreck your body. Not “Yoga Will Wreck Your Body.” It’s a subtle distinction that most of the article’s readers seemed to have missed.

Instead of saying “Namaste” and moving on with their lives, yoga disciples are coming out of the woodwork to decry Mr. Broad as a traitor and fear-monger. Some of the yogis used in the article have been interviewed by other publications to say Mr. Broad misquoted them. Other places are jumping on the brand new thought-train that holding positions for long periods of time can do your body damage in the long run.

In the end, this whole debate is a non-starter because, as Sarah Miller from The Awl points out, “Yes, you can get injured doing yoga; you can also get injured walking across the street.”

We found the 10 best articles that capture the absurdity of this Times health scandal du jour. Enjoy, and remember: take deep breaths. Read More