Bikram Yoga

[23_Tauri]

Cuddles, thanks for your reply. Most informative.

Bikram is a very successful and canny businessman and I very much doubt he would say anything that would get him into trouble. That world-wide franchise is worth a lot of bucks. I’m guessing it is gossip that leads to rumours. I note also that on his website he’s very careful to say that the testimonials are testimonials, and he himself makes no claims about curing specific ailments.

Radicals. Tick. Thanks for that.

I agree that woo is ok but silly as long as it’s not dangerous. This myth about the phases of the moon affecting people physically and emotionally is very persistent though, isn’t it? (sorry, that’s a derail).

 

[Naddig74]

In my experience and from my observations, woos are primarily affluent middle class, hetero, eco types, especially but not exclusively women and often with be-sandled and face-painted children in tow.

That sounds like 50% of the population of Totnes.

This myth about the phases of the moon affecting people physically and emotionally is very persistent though, isn’t it? (sorry, that’s a derail).

I can tell you, as a former nurse, that the night shifts when the moon is full are the least popular with the staff and certainly seem to involve a much greater incidence of crazy behaviour, emergencies and calls to security. Of course, as you all know and I'm learning, anecdotes aren't evidence and correlation is not causation.

 

[23_Tauri]

I can tell you, as a former nurse, that the night shifts when the moon is full are the least popular with the staff and certainly seem to involve a much greater incidence of crazy behaviour, emergencies and calls to security. Of course, as you all know and I'm learning, anecdotes aren't evidence and correlation is not causation.

Scepticism is new for me too, don’t worry, we’re all learning here.

I think your former colleagues were suffering from cognitive bias and communal reinforcement. See this article:

http://www.skepdic.com/fullmoon.html

Ivan Kelly, James Rotton and Roger Culver (1996) examined over 100 studies on lunar effects and concluded that the studies have failed to show a reliable and significant correlation…… If so many studies have failed to prove a significant correlation between the full moon and anything, why do so many people believe in these lunar myths? Kelly, Rotton, and Culver suspect four factors: media effects, folklore and tradition, misconceptions, and cognitive biases. A fifth factor should be considered, as well: communal reinforcement.

I have a friend who is convinced there is scientific evidence otherwise, i.e. demonstrating the effects of changes in the electro-magnetic flux at different moon phases, and that this affect living things*. Or something like that.

*(he's wrong IMO)

(now this thread really is derailed)

 

[Naddig74]

Scepticism is new for me too, don’t worry, we’re all learning here.

I don't think scepticism is new for me, but debating woo in a way that goes beyond shouting 'Don't Talk Such Rubbish!', is.

 

[23_Tauri]

Well that's good too because before your logical mind was telling you it was rubbish but you didn't have the information to back this up, but now you can hopefully find some.
Me, I was just woo through and through. Mind you, even Totnes was too much for me.

 

[Cuddles]

Bikram is a very successful and canny businessman and I very much doubt he would say anything that would get him into trouble. That world-wide franchise is worth a lot of bucks. I’m guessing it is gossip that leads to rumours. I note also that on his website he’s very careful to say that the testimonials are testimonials, and he himself makes no claims about curing specific ailments.

Yeah, that's the usual trick. Lots of vague claims about "benefiting health" or that sort of thing, but no specific claims. If you look carefully, I bet even the testimonials are worded along the lines of "I was ill, I took up yoga, I got better." (vomui, yogi, vigorati), without actually stating that the yoga was responsible for the healing.

I agree that woo is ok but silly as long as it’s not dangerous.

Well, for certain values of "OK". I'm actually one of the ones that tends to advocate all woo should be addressed, even if it appears to be completely harmless, simply because it's not actually true. However, there is still a time and a place for things. Shouting out that Bikram yoga is a load of crap in the middle of a session is unlikely to win you any friends, assuming they don't just throw you out. It doesn't necessarily mean it's OK and should be left completely unchallenged, but how you choose to approach such things depends very much on the people involved and your reasons for being with them and wanting to address them in the first place.