Are you a downward dog devotee? Can’t start the day without your sun salutation? Then you should read on about a new book examining the risks and rewards of yoga by Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer William Broad.

Broad has been practicing yoga for longer than I’ve been alive. He says he can’t do his job without it (he writes about Iran’s nuclear program, which I’m sure is more than a little stressful).

He tells NPR’s Terry Gross that it’s a “Wild West” of yoga training for teachers. That, combined with the achieve-all attitude of getting through all of the various yoga poses, especially the most contorted ones, can be quite dangerous.

Broad says advances are being made to adapt the thousands-year-old practice to our modern lives. Our bodies, many of which sit around in office chairs all day, aren’t used to the more knot-tying poses that can cause such injuries as torn ligaments and muscles.

I’ve taken more than a few yoga classes and done yoga workout videos, but I prefer Pilates, which is more in tune with my dancer sensibility.  I will say the emotional benefits of yoga have been tremendous.

I couldn’t subscribe to the hard-core yoga (like Bikram) or push myself too hard to get in a pose because I think I would pay for it big-time later. Everything in moderation, right?

The book is called The Science of Yoga.

The interview on Fresh Air can be heard at http://www.npr.org/2012/02/07/146463156/the-risks-and-rewards-of-practicing-yoga