I think it's worth pointing out that physical yoga, much like any sort of physical exercise, can damage the body. Yet, if you're young and in good physical condition, it can strengthen your body a lot. The article has a strong point: lots of people shouldn't be doing these intense exercises.
I took three months to train in Shaolin Kung Fu, near the Shaolin Temple in China about two years back. I trained for 7-9 hours a day, 6 days a week. I ate over 5,000 calories a day, and ended up losing 16 pounds by the end (and I was decently fit to begin with).
The stretching was intense and almost made me cry, I cut myself with swords, bruised myself with meteor hammers, and even lashed my own flesh with whips (by mistake, of course). Yet, I easily doubled my explosive strength, multiplied my endurance by fifteen times, and even managed to learn to throw a sewing needle through glass.
Everything has a downside if you do it wrong, but you're not supposed to do it wrong.
I took three months to train in Shaolin Kung Fu, near the Shaolin Temple in China about two years back. I trained for 7-9 hours a day, 6 days a week. I ate over 5,000 calories a day, and ended up losing 16 pounds by the end (and I was decently fit to begin with).
The stretching was intense and almost made me cry, I cut myself with swords, bruised myself with meteor hammers, and even lashed my own flesh with whips (by mistake, of course). Yet, I easily doubled my explosive strength, multiplied my endurance by fifteen times, and even managed to learn to throw a sewing needle through glass.
Everything has a downside if you do it wrong, but you're not supposed to do it wrong.