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    Hell-Bent; Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga
    Hell-Bent; Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga
    Hell-Bent; Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga
    Ebook13 pages12 minutes

    Hell-Bent; Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga

    By Benjamin Lorr

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this ebook

    Author Benjamin Lorr wandered into a yoga studio—and fell down a rabbit holeHell-Bent explores a fascinating, often surreal world at the extremes of American yoga. Benjamin Lorr walked into his first yoga studio on a whim, overweight and curious, and quickly found the yoga reinventing his life. He was studying Bikram Yoga (or “hot yoga”) when a run-in with a master and competitive yoga champion led him into an obsessive subculture—a group of yogis for whom eight hours of practice a day in 110- degree heat was just the beginning.So begins a journey.  Populated by athletic prodigies, wide-eyed celebrities, legitimate medical miracles, and predatory hucksters, it’s a nation-spanning trip—from the jam-packed studios of New York to the athletic performance labs of the University of Oregon to the stage at the National Yoga Asana Championship, where Lorr competes for glory. The culmination of two years of research, and featuring hundreds of interviews with yogis, scientists, doctors, and scholars, Hell-Bent is a wild exploration.  A look at the science behind a controversial practice, a story of greed, narcissism, and corruption, and a mind-bending tale of personal transformation, it is a book that will not only challenge your conception of yoga, but will change the way you view the fragile, inspirational limits of the human body itself.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateOct 30, 2012
    ISBN9780312672904
    Hell-Bent; Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga
    Author

    Benjamin Lorr

    BENJAMIN LORR graduated from Columbia University with a degree in environmental biology and creative writing. He lives in New York City and is the author of Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga.

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    Reviews for Hell-Bent; Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga

    3.5/5

    8 ratings3 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. It's much more than a story about a guy and his drive to compete - it's an exploration of the roots of yoga, of the development of both Bikram yoga and of Bikram himself, who grew into a cruel, demanding ego-driven narcissist.
    • 3/5
      I knew nearly nothing about yoga before reading this book. While I was reading I swayed between thinking "Oh my word I NEED to try this!" to "Not in a million years!"

      This was a fascinating look at the world of yoga, and of Bikram Yoga in particular. Benjamin Lorr takes us on a memoir-esque exploration into the intense realm of competitive yoga.

      I was at turns enthralled and repelled. Bikram Choudhury, the driving force behind his own brand of yoga, is a very interesting man. Genius? Guru? Spoiled man-child? He came to America with his incredible skills and changed the face of the practice of yoga.

      The things that these people can do to and with their bodies is amazing. I found my mouth hanging open while reading about the poses, the heat, the extreme measures. It becomes a way of life for some practitioners and you can understand why.

      Hell-Bent is an interesting book that I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about an all-consuming sport.
    • 4/5
      A sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes inspiring look at Bikram yoga as it is practiced in the United States. Benjamin Lorr decides, like many others, to try hot yoga to heal various weaknesses in his body and in the process meets people whose broken bodies have been healed in amazing ways. He sets out to document all of it: the healing, addictive and competitive aspects. After signing up for teacher training, he meets the man himself, a seemingly strange, megalomaniacal kind of guy with large numbers of followers, hangers-on and detractors. What I like about this book is that Lorr reports his experiences in a highly objective manner and also gives some of the history of yoga (and Bikram) for context. Very informative, funny, fascinating. Highly recommended.