In hell bent, benjamin lorr engagingly relates his experience in competitive yoga and with bikram choudhury. Martins press by andrew decanniere my first read of the year was hellbent st. He was content to slim down and tone up until a runin with a competitive yoga champion convinced him to take his practice to the next level. I also like benjamin lorrs book, where he details his obsession with bikram yoga, which is a series of poses done in. This book is less a story of competitive yoga than an exploration of the wacky, overheated world of bikram yoga. Finishing benjamin lorrs hellbent, a yoga memoir susan. Obsession, pain and the search for something like transcendence in bikram yoga the book came. Obsession, pain and the search for something like transcendence in bikram yoga by lorr, benjamin isbn. Benjamin lorr walked into his first yoga studio on a whim, overweight and.
Personal webpage of benjamin lorr, author of hellbent, a book on bikram yoga and competitive yoga. He was studying bikram yoga or hot yoga when a runin with a master and competitive yoga champion led him into an obsessive subculturea group of yogis for whom eight hours of practice a day in 110 degree heat was just the beginning. Apr 10, 20 recently, some of my yoga friends have started talking about a book a book i must read. That said, he says what he wantsgood or bad, happy or sad.
Apr 21, 2017 benjamin lorr says its not as crazy as it soundsand it might be just what america needs in the new year. Obsession, pain, and the search for something like transcendence in competitive yoga. It became a topic of conversation at a recent teacher training reunion party where a few of the women were in the midst of this pageturner hellbent by benjamin lorr. Oct 30, 2012 benjamin lorr walked into his first yoga studio on a whim, overweight and curious, and quickly found the yoga reinventing his life.
At one point, he inserts himself into a new jersey contest he has no right to be in, since he has nothing but. Dec 14, 2012 hell bent by benjamin lorr is a vivid adventure in yoga the cover of hellbent and an image of joseph encinia in handstand scorpion pose, from the book. Obsession, pain, and the search for something like transcendence in competitive yoga contains not just one but at least three of these metamorphoses, which. He was studying bikram yoga or hot yoga when a runin with a master and competitive yoga champion led him into an obsessive subculturea group of yogis for whom eight hours of practice a day in 110 degree heat. Obsession, pain, and the search for something like. Bikram yoga is distinguished by the extreme heat it is practiced in 105 110 degrees, an overt focus on pain, and the materialism of its founder. So begins a journey into the strange, amazing world of competitive yoga. A case study of physical transformation through competitive bikram yoga. He was studying bikram yoga or hot yoga when a runin with a master and competitive yoga champion led him into an obsessive subculturea group of yogis for whom eight hours of practice a day in 110.
Lorr begins the book by discussing how he came to yoga in the first place he was trying to lose weight and get back in i also like benjamin lorr s book, where he details his obsession with bikram yoga, which is a series of poses done in rooms heated to 100 degrees or more. It explores the fascinating, often surreal world of bikram or hot yoga, a style taught to millions by very living guru, bikram choudhury. Pain and the search for something like transcendence in bikram yoga. Jun 10, 20 plus, and i cant stress this enough, benjamin lorr is great writer. To one person, yoga might conjure up a studio and a sequence of prescribed postures. In the early pages of hellbent, author benjamin lorr describes yoga as one of those things impervious to certainty, as incapable of corruption as it is of authenticity. Benjamin immersed himself in bikram yoga to write this book he joined an extreme backbending club, competed on stage and went to. He was studying bikram yoga or hot yoga when a runin with a master and competitive yoga champion led him into an obsessive subculturea group of yogis for whom eight hours of practice a day in 110 degree. Bikram is the kind of yoga practiced in a room typically. Benjamin lorr walks into his first yoga studio on a whim, overweight and curious. Benjamin lorr walked into his first yoga studio on a whim, overweight and curious, and quickly found the yoga reinventing his life. Benjamin lorr, in his book on competitive yoga, considers the dark side of the bikramacquired sixpack with his eyewatering investigation into the beverly hills craze of the 1970s that has. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
Meet benjamin lorr, former overweight school teacher turned bikram yogi. Benjamin lorr doesnt spare the gory details sexual exploitation of women by the guru. He fronted up to a bikram studio looking for something to set him on the path to good health. You think bikram yoga practitioners are all insane. Lorr interweaves his story with fascinating history and photographs. He was studying bikram yoga or hot yoga when a runin with a master and competitive yoga champion led him into an obsessive subculture. Hell bent by benjamin lorr is raw, honest, profoundly human, hilarious, edgy, and insightful like the yoga. Meet benjamin lorr, former overweight school teacher turned bikram yogi, and the author of hellbent. Obsession, pain, and the search for something like transcendence in competitive yoga note. They discuss benjamins first place prize in a yoga competition, paradoxes at. We talk about why lorr wasnt able to talk about those cases in the book.
February 2016 biblyophile yoga book club christafairbrother. The book is loosely pegged to lorrs transit from novice to national yoga competitor. Hellbent chronicles your journey from out of shape yoga newbie to serious competitor. Author benjamin lorr wandered into a yoga studio and fell down a rabbit hole. The cover of hellbent and an image of joseph encinia in handstand scorpion pose, from the book. Benjamin lorr, in his book on competitive yoga, considers the dark side of the bikramacquired sixpack with his eyewatering investigation. Benjamin lorr hellbent explores the fascinating, often surreal world of bikram yoga, a style taught to millions by a very living guru, bikram choudhury. You should read this book if you practice bikram yoga. Author benjamin lorr wandered into a yoga studioand fell down a rabbit hole hellbent explores a fascinating, often surreal world at the extremes of american yoga. You want to be inspired to start doing bikram yoga. Hell bent by benjamin lorr is a vivid adventure in extreme yoga. Benjamin lorr, in his late twenties after an injury, had put on weight.
In one reading, i experienced 1,000 bikram classes. I have never taken a hot yoga class, and before reading this book i didnt realize that bikram is the name of an actual person bikram choudhury. I also like benjamin lorrs book, where he details his obsession with bikram yoga, which is a series of poses done in rooms heated to 100 degrees or more. He decides on bikram yoga, the technique that reshapes all of the bodies in this book. Benjamin lorr walked into his first yoga studio on a whim and quickly found the yoga reinventing his life. A nonfiction account about bikram, his yoga, his teacher training, and his pursuit. He lives in new york city and is currently at work on his second book.
Obsession, pain, and the search for something like transcendence in competitive yoga, by benjamin lorr this compassionate yet ultimately damning memoir charts one mans journey through yoga trainings and competitionsintense and scathing, yet extremely entertaining. Hellbent explores a fascinating, often surreal world at the extremes of american yoga. The author, benjamin lorr, graduated from columbia university with a degree in environmental biology and creative writing. Hell bent by benjamin lorr is a vivid adventure in yoga. Somehow lorr tapped into the sheer insanity and outright genius of the yoga in his book.
So when i heard that benjamin lorr had written a book about bikram yoga which was part memoir, part history and part sciencei knew i was going to have to pick it up. Obsession, pain and the search for something like transcendence in competitive yoga was, to this sometimesyogini, the most interesting book i have read on. Obsession, pain, and the search for something like transcendence in competitive yoga, talks with j about bikram yoga, how it lead to writing his tellall book on the subject, and the aftershocks that are still being felt today. A runin with a competitive yoga champion means his simple desire to tone up soon transforms into obsessive training for a national championship. Feb 23, 2015 meet benjamin lorr, former overweight school teacher turned bikram yogi, and the author of hellbent. He was studying bikram yoga or hot yoga when a runin 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.
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