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HELL-BENT: OBSESSION, PAIN AND THE SEARCH FOR SOMETHING LIKE TRANSCENDENCE IN BIKRAM YOGA PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Benjamin Lorr | 320 pages | 02 Jan 2014 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9781408836415 | English | London, United Kingdom Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Bikram Yoga PDF Book Do not try to avoid it. As an author I wondered why this book isn't a bestseller. Follow Us twitter instagram email facebook. He goes to Backbenders, attends and graduates from Hot Yoga Teacher Training, and competes in the national and international yoga asana competitions, all while maintaining sense of self, writerly skepticism, and critical thinking skills. About this product Product Information Hell-Bent explores the fascinating, often surreal world of Bikram Yoga, a style taught to millions by a very living guru, Bikram Choudhury. Friend Reviews. A native of Bethlehem, Pa. Mar 17, Robyn rated it it was amazing Shelves: yoga , If you practice yoga, read this book. His experiences make me happy to remain on the sidelines of this rather cultish phenomenon. The writing is superb. Just as you wouldn't go to a tennis class if you didn't care for the teacher or a Zumba class if you didn't I have practiced yoga for years. If you don't practice yoga, read it anyway — you may learn something about the impulse for self-transcendence. Visit the Australia site Continue on UK site. Joan Didion: a territorial writer who knows her place. It is as once a searching act of self-examination, a fascinating scientific investigation, a brave spiritual endeavor, and a fair-minded look at one of yoga's most controversial icons. Hundreds of yogis, scientists, doctors and scholars are interviewed. However, the placebos that caused no side effects were ineffective at reducing depression. Which is good, because unlike archaic Eastern philosophy texts, the author writes his definition in easily understood tenses. I didn't see the positive light of yoga within Mr. Yes, he tells us how a charismatic teacher, Bikram, mistreats his students very badly and why they still go back for more. Lorr grapples with key issues that personally baffle me as a hot yoga lover. Why 5-stars? This doesn't necessarily guarantee that the books will be available by Christmas; for that we are at the mercy of publishers and distributors, but we will do our very best. I've also sustained injuries from overuse. I hadn't met him before, but think both of his parents are great. About Us. Although the chapter on the Bikram teacher training program made me feel embarrassed to have anything to do with the world of American yoga at all - the world it depicts is profoundly unappealing to me - I learned a lot from reading it. 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. I thought it was pretty genius primary source researching to be able to get so many people to tell such personal stories about Bikram and his yoga, and I'm a big fan of primary source research, so that was really impressive to me. Fascinating the we need to feel so bad at least initially to feel good. The title is a bit of a misnomer. This website uses cookies to improve user experience. I was first a bit put-off by the title, as it initially projects one to question it's critical qualities towards yoga, sounding an alarm for those who do not do Bikram yoga and are not in the know of yoga asana competition. Please follow the detailed Help center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders. Dec 11, Sunflower rated it really liked it Shelves: non-fiction-read I have never practiced Bikram before, but I can say that not every type of yoga fits each person. SO, I was interested in Benjamin Lorr's experience. I am a hot yogini and hot yoga teacher. He came to the U. This tale of an unlikely America yogi and this maniacal outlandish guru is more than memoir. But perhaps what keeps the twinkle ever present and consistent throughout these pages is the cheery footnotes. I come afterwards, late at night. Most fascinating to me though is the bizarre narcissism of Bikram yoga's namesake. On to the next! He talks about him a lot. Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Bikram Yoga Writer I am a hot yogini and hot yoga teacher. Other Editions 8. He interviewed dozens of yogis and attended some hardcore training classes. Classes practice 26 postures undertaken in degree heat pumped around a room for a minute session. Please note that this product is not available for purchase from Bloomsbury. Aug 12, Jaclyn Day rated it really liked it. I could not put this book down. Just as you wouldn't go to a tennis class if you didn't care for the teacher or a Zumba class if you didn't like the aggressiveness of Zumba, or run a marathon if you can't run without getting shin splints, you would not stay in a particular style of yoga if it were a negative experience for you. Anthony Veasna So, acclaimed fiction writer and promising talent, dead at Visit the Australia site. I finished Lorr's story feeling inspired to fit more yoga into my lifestyle, but intending to avoid classes at Bikram studios. It doesn't have to be competitive to be enjoyable. Shopping cart There are no products in your shopping cart. Books Joan Didion: a territorial writer who knows her place. At one point, he inserts himself into a New Jersey contest he has no right to be in, since he has nothing but disgust for that state and lives in New York. Times Store. The implications are vast for back and neck rehab practices where pain can change pain, to athletic training where one study from the University of Oregon show the benefits of heat acclimation is superior to cool environments, showing superior athletic results than training in higher altitudes. Author Benjamin Lorr wandered into a yoga studio—and fell down a rabbit hole Hell-Bent explores a fascinating, often surreal world at the extremes of American yoga. I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. I was first a bit put-off by the title, as it initially projects one to question it's critical qualities towards yoga, sounding an alarm for those who do not do Bikram I have been practicing Bikram consistently for almost 6 months now, and almost immediately developed a deep appreciation and connection to the sequence and heat. So begins a journey into the strange, amazing world of competitive yoga. People say I am a great businessman. Skip to main content. He eventually whittled his body fat down to 8 percent, and was so lean that relatives said he looked emaciated. For the most part, it kept my attention and opened me to a world within yoga that is so extremely different from my own experiences. These led me to wonder whether trying Bikram for 10 consecutive days would increase my threshold for exercise in heat. However, the book gradually gains coherence, giving a final portrait of Choudhury and his empire that is as thorough as it is devastating. Show more Show less. Hell-Bent is, so far, the definitive book on Bikram Yoga for those that love the practice but don't drink the Kool-Aid. It was awesome. Jan 04, Shana Kennedy rated it it was amazing. What does this price mean? Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Bikram Yoga Reviews The author provides a fascinating window on the suffering that educated, mostly white people will undergo in the name of self-improvement. Having practiced asanas off and on for forty years, more off than on, and always at home, never having attended any class or session, I'm fascinated by the extreme intensity and surprising competitiveness of Lorr's Bikram yoga experiences. Although he is obviously enamored by the discipline that has transformed his life, he retains a critical distance that allows him to present his larger-than-life guru in ruthless clarity. The journey he takes the reader on starts with yoga as a feelgood which also works as a panacea and cure:he gives some compelling examples, one of which My copy of this book has the word "Bikram" instead of the word "competitive", but I'm sure it's the same book. The book also Why 5-stars? Is yoga spiritual? Trying to understand it is a lot like trying to understand why a heroin addict shoots up again and again, given the depredation at the end of the needle. What is Hot Yoga? At least the author was unbiased enough most of the time to write about his teacher honestly, and sometimes brutally. 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. There are interviews with experts. Aug 03, Corine rated it it was amazing. Make an offer:. In short, this book is a great example of the theory that any workout regime can make you a crazy person if you take it just far enough over the line of normalcy.