Hell-Bent

HELL-BENT explores a fascinating, often surreal world – equal parts sinister and inspiring – 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, featuring hundreds of interviews with yogis, scientists, doctors, and scholars, Hell-Bentis 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.

Praise & Reviews

“Hell-Bent is witty and wise. If you don’t practice yoga, read it anyway – you may learn something about the impulse for self-transcendence. And if you do practice yoga, you will laugh and cry with recognition.” ―Stefanie, Syman, New York Times Book Review

“In all honesty, Hell-Bent may be the best book I’ve read all year… Imagine if you can the lovechild of a sober Hunter S. Thompson and Elizabeth Gilbert and you’ll get an idea of the prose.” ―Kayt Sukel, The Big Think

“An addictive read.” ―People Magazine (3.5 out of 4 stars)

“This extraordinarily thoughtful book stretches and reaches and bends in several seemingly impossible directions at the same time. It is at 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. All in all, reading Hell-Bent makes for a wonderful, inspiring, maddening, complicated, edifying journey – and one that I was very happy to take.” ―Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love

“A fast paced narrative about how one struggling, overweight undisciplined New Yorker discovers a guru who takes him on an incredible journey of personal transformation… Lorr makes you grimace but also ponder the broader consequences of searching for self.” ―USA Today

“Meticulously researched, suspenseful and engrossing.” ―Kirkus Review (starred review)

“Lorr writes about his odyssey in vibrant, entertaining prose. 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.” ―Publishers Weekly

“Who knew self-purification could be suspenseful? This tale of an unlikely America yogi and this maniacal outlandish guru is more than memoir. It’s a spiritual thriller.” ―Walter Kirn, New York Times Bestselling author of Up In the Air

“A vividly researched, beautifully written insider’s account of the yoga world’s most inscrutable, profitable, and misunderstood subculture.” ―Neal Pollack, bestselling author of Stretch

“One need not be familiar with the strange and fascinating world of hot yoga to fall head-over-heels for this book. Insightful, compassionate, and laugh-out-loud funny, Lorr delves deep into the for and motivations behind our human obsession with god-like perfection, introducing a cast of unforgettable characters and exposing a world of faith and devotion, pain and promises, myths and miracles. I could not put this book down.” ―Aryn Kyle, New York Times bestselling author of The God of Animals.

“A fascinating, riotous, and hilarious insight into the world of hardcore competitive postural yoga practice.” ―Mark Singleton, author of Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice

“Hell-Bent is a compassionate, insightful exploration of the emotional and intellectual tug-of-war many of us have experience in our yoga practice, revealing how we can fear and resent our most charismatic teachers – yet still be willing to follow them to the ends of the earth.” ―Suzanne Morrison, bestselling author of Yoga Bitch

“You’ll be inspired to strip down to your intimates for hot yoga after devouring this read.” ―Marie Claire

“If, in addition to good health, yoga offers insight, then this might be the most thorough and honest book on the topic. Hell-Bent is a personal romp through a bizarre world, a clear-eyed exploration of the science of contorted bodies, and an unflinching expose of a guru that finally leaves you asking: How do you judge the salesman when the snakeoil might actually work?” ―Stefan Fatsis, New York Times Bestselling author of Word Freak and A Few Seconds of Panic.