With all the amazing press that yoga gets, you'd think it does everything including the dishes. Stronger, healthier bodies, calm and focused mind, more confidence and self-awareness, and even better sex--yoga does it all. Can yoga live up to all the hype?  Well, yes it can.  But, as with anything, a healthy dose of research, questioning, testing, and downright experiencing something, is what's needed.  Here are things to keep in mind.

1.  Accessibility(1)- Well educated, wealthy, white women--that's the demographics of your yoga practitioner.(2) What about everyone else? Yoga has become inaccessible for many populations. With the price of classes, the seemingly necessary yoga "outfits" and the Yoga Journal covers of skinny, young, flexible white girls, yoga is leaving many behind. Along with healthy food, good schools and affordable housing, many populations are being underserved.   

2. Yoga is Not a Science - Like acupuncture, Ayurveda, homeopathy and the rest, Western science is struggling to fit this time-tested healing system into its double-blind, FDA, NIH-funded, approved models. So, regardless of the effectiveness of these practices, our healthcare system, including insurance coverage, cannot and will not recommend or promote these time-tested health systems.  

3. Delayed gratification - Along with microwave ovens, fast(er) food, speed dating, 10-day weigh loss programs, and 60-second abs, we want results now, dammit. The effects of yoga and its buddy, meditation, often take time. Those that are expecting some chakra-shaking, nadi-rocking, spiritual awakening with their first downward dog will be sorely disappointed. Feeling enlivened, inspired, and elated after your first class-guaranteed.    

4. Where's the Weight Loss? With 63.1% of adults in the U.S. either overweight or obese in 2009 (more today), yoga may be looked at as a way to lose weight given the thin, buffed bodies portrayed by the press.   If you only have 20 minutes a day to spend on your body and your foremost goal is to burn lots of calories, yoga will disappoint you. Although yoga is a sound adjunct to any weight-loss program and has even been shown to promote gradual weight loss, it is not primarily a fat-burning enterprise (see No. 3 above).(3)    

5. Who, What and Where?  With yoga on every corner and new yoga teachers being churned out daily, finding the right studio and safe yet inspiring teacher can be a challenge. The types of yoga offered at most studios are confusing. Most of us understand gentle, beginner, and advanced, but what about Level I/II or "intermediate" levels. What is Hamsa, Bhakti, Kundalini or Shadow yoga? How do you understand the qualifications of your teachers? Is a $17 drop-in fee worth it when you can get it for free at your gym? All good questions, don't you think?    

5. Risk of Injury - This is a given with any exercise program. With our "want it now" (see No. 3 (again!)), attitude, it's easy to do too much too soon. Respect your health and know your body's strengths and limitations. Find an instructor that respects your experience level and choose a style and class that is appropriate.

Just like anything else that rises quickly in popularity(4) and when everyone from Oprah to Adam Levine is doing yoga, it's easy to be star-struck and Lululemon-crazed. But, yoga, like any other discipline, deserves smart evaluation, awareness and perspective.  I think you'll find, like Lady Gaga and I have, yoga brings balance, flexibility, strength not only on your mat, but it sneeks or jumps into your life.  

(1) Fishman, Loren, M.D. et al., Yoga for Osteoporosis.