I admit, despite trying it a few times, I'm no Gumby doll. My body doesn't feel designed to bend that way. Yet millions of yoga bunnies (including our very own Meditating Mummy) would beg to differ.

A controversial article in the New York Times magazine, "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body," a questions whether yoga might actually do more harm than good in the Western world.

Adapted from William J. Broad's book The Science of Yoga: The Risks and Rewards, which will be published next month, Broad argues that yoga's shifting demographic is leading to increased injury risks.

"Indian practitioners of yoga typically squatted and sat cross-legged in daily life, and yoga poses, or asanas, were an outgrowth of these postures. Now urbanites who sit in chairs all day walk into a studio a couple of times a week and strain to twist themselves into ever-more-difficult postures despite their lack of flexibility and other physical problems."

According to Broad's substantial body of research, the lower back is most often the first to go. But other yoga teachers and disciples also sheepishly admit to pulverized hips and a nerve condition called "yoga foot drop." And Bikram or hot yoga which can bring about muscle damage and blackouts.

"Today many schools of yoga are just about pushing people," said Glenn Black, a yoga teacher who helps rehabilitate those with yoga-related injuries. "If you [teach yoga] with ego or obsession, you'll end up causing problems."

Ever had a yoga-related injury? Do you think overzealous Western teachers are to blame?