The other day, the algorithm recommended an article from the Times of India titled “5 Yoga Asanas That Help Improve Skin Health and Give a Natural Glow.”

It's just another yoga/ wellness listicle. But content like this is a prime example of how misinformation and pseudoscience quietly spread through the yoga community under the guise of credible advice.

The article is a mashup of accurate statements, vague half-truths, and outright nonsense. To demonstrate how even “respectable” sources contribute to confusion, I’ve broken down just the first paragraph:

Bow pose, called dhanurasana, is considered excellent for getting a glow on your skin. In this pose you lie on your stomach, bend your knees and hold your ankles, lifting your chest and legs off the ground like a bow. This pose puts mild pressure on the abdomen, helping you detoxify your body by improving digestion and stimulating your internal organs so that all toxins are removed. It also increases blood flow to the face and pelvic region which fosters skin health and helps flush out toxins. Practicing bow pose daily can help relieve tension in the abdomen and strengthen your core, leading to healthy glowing skin that is all natural.

Let's unpack this...

• “Bow pose, called dhanurasana, is considered excellent for getting a glow on your skin.”
  Dubious. Considered excellent by whom? No citations, no references, no context—just a vague appeal to common knowledge.
• “In this pose you lie on your stomach, bend your knees and hold your ankles, lifting your chest and legs off the ground like a bow.”
  True. This is an accurate description of the pose.
• “This pose puts mild pressure on the abdomen, helping you detoxify your body by improving digestion and stimulating your internal organs so that all toxins are removed.”
  False. “Detox” is one of the most abused terms in the wellness world. While movement and breath can support normal digestive and lymphatic functions, no pose has the ability to flush toxins from the body. That’s what your liver and kidneys already do—constantly.
• “Stimulating the internal organs…”
  Vague. This phrase sounds scientific, but has no defined medical meaning. What does it mean to “stimulate” an organ—and why would that be beneficial? No explanation is given.
• “Increases blood flow to the face and pelvic region…”
  Dubious. While exercise in general can increase circulation, there’s no evidence that this pose specifically boosts blood flow to select regions in a way that would improve skin health. And again—no sources.
• “Practicing bow pose daily can help relieve tension in the abdomen and strengthen your core…”
  Half-true. While the pose may create a feeling of stretch or release, it doesn’t meaningfully strengthen the core. It’s primarily a backbend that engages the spinal extensors and shoulders. Any relaxation might come from the overall practice, not from this pose alone. 

This isn't about one low quality listicle

The rest of the article continues with the same mix of vagaries and half-truths. The problem isn't that this kind of low-quality journalism is going to get anybody hurt. Bow pose might not cure your acne, but it likely won't cause any harm either. This is really about a the larger pattern: articles like this train readers to accept vague, pseudoscientific language without question. Low quality reporting and misinformation erode our ability to distinguish evidence-based advice from marketing fluff. And it primes the yoga and wellness community to fall for more dangerous scams—like overpriced detox kits, dubious hormone supplements, miracle diets and other snake oils sold by wellness grifters. People in the yoga and wellness community are generally very conscious of their health. Unfortunately, that also makes us targets for scams and cons that are not only expensive, but often times dangerous as well.

Common ways misinformation is spread

Keep an eye out for these logical fallacies and tactics popular among wellness grifters. Once you know what to look for you'll see them everywhere.

• Buzzwords without definitions ("detox," "balance," "stimulate" "release"): These words are vague and 'sciency' sounding, but if you dig just a little bit you see that they are vague and meaningless. 
  Example: "This pose stimulates and detoxes your internal organs"
   
• Appeals to ancient wisdom (“Our ancestors didn’t do this!”): Appeals to the ancients makes the assumption that just because something is old or ancestral it is good. This faulty reasoning ignores the fact that many ancient practices were harmful and that all cause mortality has decreased with the advent of modernity.
  Example: "Our ancestors ate meat and vegetables, therefore thats the best diet to follow."
   
• Claims that start with truth, then leap into fantasy: Starting with a well-established fact about biology and then leaping to an unsupported conclusion.
  Example: "Our bodies emit electrical energy. Therefore for optimum health you should walk barefoot."
• If it hurts it's working: Being told that dizziness, pain, nausea etc associated with a treatment is in fact a sign that the treatment is working. It's gaslighting
  Example: "If you're feeling dizzy or tired that is a sign that you are pushing through blockages. Keep going."
  
  
• Correlational logic: Confusing association with causation. There are plenty of observable phenomenon that occur in tandem. We can't assume that just because things happen together that one causes the other.
  Example: "People who play tennis tend to live the longest, therefore tennis is the best sport for longevity."
  
  
• Appeals to nature: Assuming that if something is “natural,” it’s automatically safe, healthy, or superior, while ignoring the fact that many things in nature are deadly and that many modern things are beneficial.
  Example: "Eat organic food because it is natural."
  
  
• Mixing Eastern and Western terminology: Combining ancient spiritual language (chakras, prana, karma) with modern biological terms (glands, hormones, DNA) to create the illusion of scientific credibility.
  Example: “This Kundalini kriya activates your pituitary gland and balances your endocrine system through vibrational resonance.”
  
  
• Influencer Anecdotes Over Evidence: Relying on personal stories instead of reliable data. “It worked for me” becomes the basis for health advice—ignoring variables, placebo effect, or coincidence.
  Example: "I fasted for 30 days and lost 60lbs, that's why I recommend that anyone who wants to lose weight stop eating."
  
  
• Fear of the mainstream (“Big Pharma doesn’t want you to know this”): Peddling urgency, danger, or miracle solutions. These claims often scare you into buying something or imply you’re broken without their product/practice.
  Example: "Five miracle foods will burn fat that your doctor doesn't want to tell you about.'