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Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga
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. 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.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 30, 2012
128 people are currently reading
1632 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 278 reviews
January 20, 2015
I like yoga, but I'm not obsessive about it. 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. I have never taken a hot yoga class, and before reading this book I didn't realize that Bikram is the name of an actual person -- Bikram Choudhury. (More on him in a moment.)
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 shape, and there was a Bikram studio near his home in Brooklyn. He quickly got addicted to hot yoga and lost 45 pounds in three months. He eventually whittled his body fat down to 8 percent, and was so lean that relatives said he looked emaciated. He decided to start competing in yoga tournaments and would go on "backbending" retreats, where other diehard yogis would practice their advanced positions and stretches for hours.
Meanwhile, Lorr was collecting material for a book. He interviewed dozens of yogis and attended some hardcore training classes. Some of the people interviewed have had a falling out with Bikram Choudhury, who is beloved as a guru but by many accounts is also a narcissist and a bully. Bikram likes to exaggerate his biography, claiming, for example, that he gave private yoga lessons to Richard Nixon, or that he was responsible for Bruce Lee coming to America. (Bikram has also been accused of sexual harassment by several female students.) Bikram comes across as a clown, a spoiled brat who constantly demands attention and special treatment.
By the end of the book, Lorr has distanced himself from Bikram and is instead practicing a more open type of yoga. I finished Lorr's story feeling inspired to fit more yoga into my lifestyle, but intending to avoid classes at Bikram studios. Just in case.
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 shape, and there was a Bikram studio near his home in Brooklyn. He quickly got addicted to hot yoga and lost 45 pounds in three months. He eventually whittled his body fat down to 8 percent, and was so lean that relatives said he looked emaciated. He decided to start competing in yoga tournaments and would go on "backbending" retreats, where other diehard yogis would practice their advanced positions and stretches for hours.
Meanwhile, Lorr was collecting material for a book. He interviewed dozens of yogis and attended some hardcore training classes. Some of the people interviewed have had a falling out with Bikram Choudhury, who is beloved as a guru but by many accounts is also a narcissist and a bully. Bikram likes to exaggerate his biography, claiming, for example, that he gave private yoga lessons to Richard Nixon, or that he was responsible for Bruce Lee coming to America. (Bikram has also been accused of sexual harassment by several female students.) Bikram comes across as a clown, a spoiled brat who constantly demands attention and special treatment.
By the end of the book, Lorr has distanced himself from Bikram and is instead practicing a more open type of yoga. I finished Lorr's story feeling inspired to fit more yoga into my lifestyle, but intending to avoid classes at Bikram studios. Just in case.
January 17, 2013
I started practicing Bikram yoga in 2006. Within a year or two I was practicing 5-6 days a week and considered going to the teacher training. I went to see what it was like in 2009, in Las Vegas, I got to take a couple of classes (one with the man himself) and easily decided that this was not for me. I later trained with Jimmy Barkan, who is quoted a few times in this book. I still go to my local Bikram studio, but it is not the be all and end all. The author puts his finger on something I'd never quite articulated. Bikram doesn't churn out hundreds of good teachers at these trainings. He churns out people who can lead a good yoga sequence. There are good teachers out there, and I'm lucky to have started out with one but they came to it by doing more than regurgitating the "dialogue." I enjoyed reading this, knowing what I do about Bikram, the yoga, and lots of yoga "die-hards" and it validates my decision to train elsewhere. The book was a quick, interesting and sometimes downright enjoyable read. I appreciate the author's candidness and the areas of interest in which he dug a little deeper (a little about yoga history here, a little about narcissism there) were interesting without getting too serious. I'm glad I read this but it might not be as interesting for non-yoga folks.
October 30, 2013
If you practice yoga, read this book. If you don't practice yoga, read this book. Well researched, beautifully written, insightful, and compassionate, it certainly wasn't what I expected. Training for a yoga competition? Paying $11,000 for teacher training with the maniacal Bikram? Please. However, the prose is wonderful. One moment the author exposes the love/hate relationship we all have with bodywork or exercise. The next moment the author recounts hilarious and strange moments with his fellow yogis. Benjamin Lorr is to be congratulated on presenting Bikram Yoga in an even-handed fashion. Yes, he tells us how a charismatic teacher, Bikram, mistreats his students very badly and why they still go back for more. I don't care what Benjamin Lorr's next book might cover: I can't wait to read it!
August 23, 2015
This is my first autobiography/memoir book that I've read. I cannot say much how good this book as memoir, compared to other similar books.
Actually, I don't have any expectation when started reading the book. Majority of the book is the life of the author in yoga related activities, especially when the author practicing Bikram Yoga (BY) style.
For people who doesn't familiar yoga or BY, this book could be read as an introduction what is a serious yoga practitioner's life, a ton of controversial stories regarding Bikram Choudhury, and life stories about people that affected by BY or by Bikram Choudhury himself.
I have unique experience reading this book, because I have a buddy read with a Bikram yogi practitioner , and my friend told me a lot of the gossips/controversial stories are open secrets in BY community.
What I like from this book:
1. There are interviews with experts. Not just yoga experts but other disciplines regarding healthiness and benefits of yoga, especially BY that practices in hot temperature.
There are experts and discussions about non-yoga topics, such as narcissism, but those parts are good, but not stir my personal interest as much as yoga related issues.
2. Sometimes author writes his understanding of a yoga topic. Which is good, because unlike archaic Eastern philosophy texts, the author writes his definition in easily understood tenses.
What I don't like:
1. The memoir is written in light tone, but I didn't find any joke funny, not even for a smirk. It is uncomfortable for me, reading a whole supposed-to-be-hilarious book.
2. This book covers a lot of topics, but without definite separation of each topic. One chapter There are psychoanalysis of narcissism, life stories of some inspiring yoga teachers, interviews with experts, etc.
Actually, I don't have any expectation when started reading the book. Majority of the book is the life of the author in yoga related activities, especially when the author practicing Bikram Yoga (BY) style.
For people who doesn't familiar yoga or BY, this book could be read as an introduction what is a serious yoga practitioner's life, a ton of controversial stories regarding Bikram Choudhury, and life stories about people that affected by BY or by Bikram Choudhury himself.
I have unique experience reading this book, because I have a buddy read with a Bikram yogi practitioner , and my friend told me a lot of the gossips/controversial stories are open secrets in BY community.
What I like from this book:
1. There are interviews with experts. Not just yoga experts but other disciplines regarding healthiness and benefits of yoga, especially BY that practices in hot temperature.
There are experts and discussions about non-yoga topics, such as narcissism, but those parts are good, but not stir my personal interest as much as yoga related issues.
2. Sometimes author writes his understanding of a yoga topic. Which is good, because unlike archaic Eastern philosophy texts, the author writes his definition in easily understood tenses.
What I don't like:
1. The memoir is written in light tone, but I didn't find any joke funny, not even for a smirk. It is uncomfortable for me, reading a whole supposed-to-be-hilarious book.
2. This book covers a lot of topics, but without definite separation of each topic. One chapter There are psychoanalysis of narcissism, life stories of some inspiring yoga teachers, interviews with experts, etc.
January 20, 2015
This read was a guilty pleasure.
Last year, I started practicing Bikram yoga. Classes practice 26 postures undertaken in 105-degree heat pumped around a room for a 90-minute session. I loved it. I lived it. I drank the proverbial kool-aid! And then I hurt my back.
SO, I was interested in Benjamin Lorr's experience. Lorr turns out to be quite candid. And he just about covers it all. Is yoga spiritual? Or competitive? Why did Lorr become so addicted? Who is Bikram?
Each of us needs to find the painful place and go through it. Do not try to avoid it.
Yep.
Except, you only get one back.
Last year, I started practicing Bikram yoga. Classes practice 26 postures undertaken in 105-degree heat pumped around a room for a 90-minute session. I loved it. I lived it. I drank the proverbial kool-aid! And then I hurt my back.
SO, I was interested in Benjamin Lorr's experience. Lorr turns out to be quite candid. And he just about covers it all. Is yoga spiritual? Or competitive? Why did Lorr become so addicted? Who is Bikram?
Each of us needs to find the painful place and go through it. Do not try to avoid it.
Yep.
Except, you only get one back.
January 5, 2013
Insightful. Clear-thinking. Well-written. Fascinating. Thought-provoking. Honest. Humorous. Intelligent. I'm not sure if this book will be as powerful for readers who don't do Bikram Yoga, but for those of us who do, it's a gem. The author takes a look at all the questions that come up for practitioners, and delves into thorough research on them. His conclusions are level-headed, and not black-and-white.
There are so many excellent passages in this book, but here are a couple of my favorites:
"Yoga is simply one of those things impervious to certainty, as incapable of corruption as it is of authenticity. And no amount of bossy, possessive attempts to claim a `real yoga' will make it otherwise."
"The first thing to remember whenever you see someone do the incredible - and this includes incredible suffering - is they have been working at it for a very, very long time and they started from a place very, very close to you."
There are so many excellent passages in this book, but here are a couple of my favorites:
"Yoga is simply one of those things impervious to certainty, as incapable of corruption as it is of authenticity. And no amount of bossy, possessive attempts to claim a `real yoga' will make it otherwise."
"The first thing to remember whenever you see someone do the incredible - and this includes incredible suffering - is they have been working at it for a very, very long time and they started from a place very, very close to you."
October 30, 2012
Great book! I'm so excited about Yoga after reading this. But the Bakram (for whom this particular Yoga practice is named after) sounds like a disgusting, repulsive man who does nothing but discredit the discipline of yoga. At least the author was unbiased enough (most of the time) to write about his teacher honestly, and sometimes brutally.
Apart from the biographical info on Bakram the yoga itself was also covered well. The history (only a little of it - perfect) was covered just enough to interest me and not enough to send me into the usual boredom that has me skimming and skipping pages. The examples of how people have benefited from yoga were really interesting and inspiring.
I just loved following the author as he travelled through the often brutal (yes, I said brutal) world of yoga. This book gave me a totally new perspective on yoga and the competitiveness that goes on in the background (or right out in the open).
But it also got me intrigued about a system of exercise that's been around for centuries and it was great to learn just how much the human body is capable of when pushed to the absolute extreme. Amazing!
The author wrote this story so well. Sometimes I couldn't put the book down. And when I did I couldn't wait to pick it up again. I don't usually say that about non-fiction books.
Loved it!
Apart from the biographical info on Bakram the yoga itself was also covered well. The history (only a little of it - perfect) was covered just enough to interest me and not enough to send me into the usual boredom that has me skimming and skipping pages. The examples of how people have benefited from yoga were really interesting and inspiring.
I just loved following the author as he travelled through the often brutal (yes, I said brutal) world of yoga. This book gave me a totally new perspective on yoga and the competitiveness that goes on in the background (or right out in the open).
But it also got me intrigued about a system of exercise that's been around for centuries and it was great to learn just how much the human body is capable of when pushed to the absolute extreme. Amazing!
The author wrote this story so well. Sometimes I couldn't put the book down. And when I did I couldn't wait to pick it up again. I don't usually say that about non-fiction books.
Loved it!
May 25, 2019
Some books are great because of the depth and breadth of knowledge the author may have in a field. What I appreciate even more though, are books on a topic in which the author started off as a neophyte, then wrote as the experience flowed in. This book is astounding. It follows Benjamin Lorr as he first dips his toes, then goes all-into Bikram yoga (you know, the sweaty one practiced in very hot rooms). It tackles the surprisingly controversial topic of authenticity in yoga, paints portraits of people whose lives have been changed by the practice, bares the corruption and guruism at the very top of the organisation (a number of yoga teachers have been summarily excluded from the organisation when their power became threatening, and then there's the cringy treatment of women in the seminars). It also delves into the medical benefits of yoga, the ones accepted in the medical fields but also those that still remain controversial. And mostly, it chronicles the author’s meteoric rise in the hilarious world of competitive yoga (did you know they wanted to make it into an Olympic sport?). Beautifully written, full of insight, compassion and balance.
Lorr doesn’t judge, but after reading his book you may want to.
Lorr doesn’t judge, but after reading his book you may want to.
September 7, 2023
As a near-daily practitioner of yoga myself, who is very familiar with this particular sequence of poses, and had just so happened to have already seen a documentary about the insanity that is Bikram, I am happy to report that I was set up for a perfect 5-star experience reading this book. The film is not too long and I highly recommend watching it if you have Netflix (Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator), or at least doing some background research of your own and seeing basic pictures on Google of what a real hot yoga class with him looks like before diving into this book. It's. Crazy.
Normally I despise when nonfiction books about a specific educational topic turn into the style of a memoir, but it works incredibly well when Lorr does it (I loved his other book, too). I loved reading about his experiences in back-bending club (yikes) and eventually as a student of Bikram (also yikes). I loved listening to this audiobook in the car on my way to and from yoga. It got me strangely excited about my practice, even though the stuff covered in this book is mostly straight up brutal and not at all what yoga should be... that's why it was so entertaining.
Normally I despise when nonfiction books about a specific educational topic turn into the style of a memoir, but it works incredibly well when Lorr does it (I loved his other book, too). I loved reading about his experiences in back-bending club (yikes) and eventually as a student of Bikram (also yikes). I loved listening to this audiobook in the car on my way to and from yoga. It got me strangely excited about my practice, even though the stuff covered in this book is mostly straight up brutal and not at all what yoga should be... that's why it was so entertaining.
November 18, 2012
a sprawling, wide-reaching, and sometimes weird, complex book that defies all pre-conception. somewhat surprisingly well-written, and thoroughly researched, i feel it's to quickly become a watershed moment for the practice at large, and a potentially landmark one when the Bikram-shaped yoga landscape of the past 30 years, is; quite necessarily as it turns out, actually turned on it's head [pun intended]. the book delves intriguingly into the area's of our understanding of pain; up-to-the-minute developments in neural research associated with modern SSRI's, and the placebo effect, before extending to a deconstruction of narcissistic personalities. all before exposing the 'guru's' evolving charlatan act as a disappointing, and too often cruel, self-serving fraud. it's finally balanced with the superb final chapter, in which those surviving the 'almost-cult' share their respective evolved journey of the soul, and turn the light back on the real meaning of personal integrity and perspective. a truly unique and absorbing read, and i couldn't recommend it highly enough. as for the talented author, will be watching with interest what he does next..
December 3, 2012
As a regular Bikram yoga practitioner, but not someone who has ever gone really "gung-hu" besides keeping up my bi-weekly practice and doing a 60-day challenge, I was very interested to read Lorr's account of the inside-world of the bikram elite, those who participate in competitions and go to teaching training. Lorr must have natural yoga talent to have so quickly progressed from yoga novice to national competitor. I thought that the strongest parts of the book were the sections where Lorr psychoanalyzed Bikram's charismatic narcissicism and described the dirty underbelly of competitions and especially teacher training. His experiences make me happy to remain on the sidelines of this rather cultish phenomenon. Hot yoga can have tremendous health benefits, but like anything, too much is a bad thing. I'm still not sure exactly what wallwalking is, but I'm pretty sure I want to avoid it. Lorr is a talented yogi and writer and all bikram yogi(ni)s will enjoy this book.
March 5, 2013
I am a hot yogini and hot yoga teacher. I still love hot yoga and believe in the power of the practice after ten years, but I have a sense of humor about it, and I don't believe it is for everyone. So this was bound to be an entertaining read. The author takes a class randomly and quickly starts going multiple times a week and eventually becomes part of the Backbenders, an extreme hot yoga subculture (to which I do not belong) who get together a few times a year to practice advanced poses eight hours a day in the heat with no water--for two weeks straight.
This is a very well-researched book. 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. He also interviews former Bikram top teachers and favorites now off the island (there are lot of these) as well as heat experts and psychological researches (on narcissism). Through it all Lorr sprinkles the compelling personal stories of transformation (the author's included) which you cannot avoid in even casual contact with hot yoga--people who have been told they'll die young or never walk again, or former drug addicts, all of whom are now glowing with perfect health and give all the credit to their yoga practice.
This book would appeal to those who love hot yoga, those who (love to) hate hot yoga and/or Bikram, and those who have never taken a hot yoga class, but who like stories of the extreme--mountain climbers, polar explorers, etc. Strangely, I think it might make someone want to take a yoga class for the first time...you tell me what you think!
I only gave it three stars because it was poorly proofread and this disrupted my enjoyment of the book--all kinds of typos. (most egregious: "Eskas" instead of "Esaks" referring to Esak Garcia and those like him.) Does no one read these things before they go to press?!
This is a very well-researched book. 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. He also interviews former Bikram top teachers and favorites now off the island (there are lot of these) as well as heat experts and psychological researches (on narcissism). Through it all Lorr sprinkles the compelling personal stories of transformation (the author's included) which you cannot avoid in even casual contact with hot yoga--people who have been told they'll die young or never walk again, or former drug addicts, all of whom are now glowing with perfect health and give all the credit to their yoga practice.
This book would appeal to those who love hot yoga, those who (love to) hate hot yoga and/or Bikram, and those who have never taken a hot yoga class, but who like stories of the extreme--mountain climbers, polar explorers, etc. Strangely, I think it might make someone want to take a yoga class for the first time...you tell me what you think!
I only gave it three stars because it was poorly proofread and this disrupted my enjoyment of the book--all kinds of typos. (most egregious: "Eskas" instead of "Esaks" referring to Esak Garcia and those like him.) Does no one read these things before they go to press?!
December 30, 2014
This is a really interesting book that looks at bikram yoga, bikram himself and personal stories of lots of yoga people. I love yoga and although I haven't taken a bikram class I regularly go to hot yoga classes... this book made me scared of bikram yoga and also had me searching for the closest bikram class (about an hour away and costing £16 for an hours class).
Bikram himself (he started the whole hot yoga thing and used a particular set of poses which makes it 'bikram yoga' rather than just hot yoga and also taught shirley maclaine) comes across like an idiot/crazy person, but also has really good lines such as:
"I don't care whether you live or die in Locust posture, just get your legs up and keep your knees locked... People say I am a great businessman. That is wrong. I know nothing of business. I know 'lock the knee', I know 'two hips in one line.' I know exactly what my guru told me, and I teach exactly that... When you die, I do not come to the funeral. I come afterwards, late at night. And I jump on the coffin box and say, 'Lock the knee, lock the knee, lock the motherfucking knee' because only then do you do yoga and only then you can get to heaven."
Benjamin Lorr talks about how yoga helped him lose weight and how it has helped many other people through illnesses and depression, but he does ask if any kind of regular exercise could do this too... while not coming to any conclusion...
The book made me question what I know about yoga while also making me want to learn and practice more. Structurally I found the book slightly odd as Lorr goes back and forth a little with personal stories... but generally it was really well written and engaging. Towards the end Lorr writes that Bruce Springsteen is over-rated which pretty much made me question his judgement.
Bikram himself (he started the whole hot yoga thing and used a particular set of poses which makes it 'bikram yoga' rather than just hot yoga and also taught shirley maclaine) comes across like an idiot/crazy person, but also has really good lines such as:
"I don't care whether you live or die in Locust posture, just get your legs up and keep your knees locked... People say I am a great businessman. That is wrong. I know nothing of business. I know 'lock the knee', I know 'two hips in one line.' I know exactly what my guru told me, and I teach exactly that... When you die, I do not come to the funeral. I come afterwards, late at night. And I jump on the coffin box and say, 'Lock the knee, lock the knee, lock the motherfucking knee' because only then do you do yoga and only then you can get to heaven."
Benjamin Lorr talks about how yoga helped him lose weight and how it has helped many other people through illnesses and depression, but he does ask if any kind of regular exercise could do this too... while not coming to any conclusion...
The book made me question what I know about yoga while also making me want to learn and practice more. Structurally I found the book slightly odd as Lorr goes back and forth a little with personal stories... but generally it was really well written and engaging. Towards the end Lorr writes that Bruce Springsteen is over-rated which pretty much made me question his judgement.
October 27, 2013
I read this book because both of my sisters are avid Bikram practitioners and the author is a childhood friend of my husband's. As someone who easily contracts multi-day migraines following intense exercise in heat, I have never been tempted to try Bikram. However, I did find several points made in this book to be quite interesting and insightful. (You may not want to read on if you plan to read the book. I wouldn't exactly call these spoilers, but they may ruin some key "aha" moments.)
One insight was that humans can reach a new level of physiologic potential when exerting themselves in extremely hot environments, similar to exercising at high altitude. I believe the exact threshold was 10 days of exercise under these conditions would cause a change. These led me to wonder whether trying Bikram for 10 consecutive days would increase my threshold for exercise in heat. Or perhaps the alternative would be that I'd have a migraine for about a year. Tempting, but not that tempting. The second point I found quite interesting was the comparison between benefits of Bikram to the benefits people experienced from placebos taken in SSRI trials. The placebos that caused the same side effects as SSRI's (nausea, decreased sex drive) were equally as effective at reducing depression as SSRI's. However, the placebos that caused no side effects were ineffective at reducing depression. The point being that perhaps the side effects of the intense heat of Bikram (nausea, dizziness, hallucination) cause a very strong placebo effect, which is in part why it's so wildly popular. Fascinating the we need to feel so bad (at least initially) to feel good.
One insight was that humans can reach a new level of physiologic potential when exerting themselves in extremely hot environments, similar to exercising at high altitude. I believe the exact threshold was 10 days of exercise under these conditions would cause a change. These led me to wonder whether trying Bikram for 10 consecutive days would increase my threshold for exercise in heat. Or perhaps the alternative would be that I'd have a migraine for about a year. Tempting, but not that tempting. The second point I found quite interesting was the comparison between benefits of Bikram to the benefits people experienced from placebos taken in SSRI trials. The placebos that caused the same side effects as SSRI's (nausea, decreased sex drive) were equally as effective at reducing depression as SSRI's. However, the placebos that caused no side effects were ineffective at reducing depression. The point being that perhaps the side effects of the intense heat of Bikram (nausea, dizziness, hallucination) cause a very strong placebo effect, which is in part why it's so wildly popular. Fascinating the we need to feel so bad (at least initially) to feel good.
March 20, 2013
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. B.Lorr does a good job at peeling back some of the layers for the new Bikram yogi, while remaining rather objective in his pursuit as a self-acclaimed admirer/advocate. 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. Upon further reading one begins to quickly realize his title choice, as B.Lorr presents a sincere analysis of the Bikram yoga, it's culture, the man, the myths, and overall pain that follows with all of the amazing stories of healing and rebirth. Things are definitely bent out of sorts with a healthy dose of turmoil in tow as Lorr peels back the layers. Anyone who has practiced Bikram devotely should appreciate this books candor and sincerity, and at minimum find B.Lorr's literary flow and humor a quick and fun read.
August 13, 2013
Hell-Bent is a fantastic read. The writing is superb. The book is funny, scary, unflinching. Okay there might be a bit of character assassination involved but is saying bad things about Hitler and Charles Manson character assassination? As an author I wondered why this book isn't a bestseller. Is it because the yoga community is reading it in secret but too afraid to admit it or spread the word? I practice uninspired yoga once a week or less, but this book made me want to spread my towel on a germy, sweaty carpet and wait for the heat to be pumped to 108 degrees.
January 11, 2021
This book is about yoga, but only about 20 pages are about competition yoga. Most of it is about Bikrim and what a total narcissist he is (my words. the author seems to think he's amusing, if annoying and hypocritical). (This is before he was convicted of sexual abuse and had to flee to Mexico.) I had hopes for this one, but it did not deliver.
June 24, 2018
And then there is Bikram himself. Who says: "People come to me and think yoga is relax. they think little flower, little ting sound, some chanting, hanging crystal… No! Not for you! Waste of time! Here I chop off your dick and play Ping-Pong with your balls. You know Ping-Pong? That is yoga!"
So, this is a must-read for all hot yoga practitioners that would react like Lorr when having a conversation about pain with his teacher:
I asked my favorite instructor about it, she just smiled. One of those damned yogic smiles: "It’s just your body opening up. Be patient. That pain is almost like a rite of passage. Almost every serious yogi goes through it.”
And what I heard: Me? A serious yogi?!
To anyone "who desperately wants to go hard-core, if only someone would give her permission" , Hell-Bent is a deeply gratifying book on Bikram and the world of competitive/advanced hot yoga. It is a perfect book, imbued with Lorr's humour that primarily stems from his self-deprecating tone towards his earnest student self. It pops up in the outrageous findings in the research he drops like a mic, whether it's an account of one of Bikram's many false statements or in his gleeful details sharing actual historic yoga postures that exist such as one for "a postejaculatory man attempting to stick his semen back up his penis like a straw". But perhaps what keeps the twinkle ever present and consistent throughout these pages is the cheery footnotes. Oh, his fondness for the footnote that takes up more than half the page! I love the use of footnotes when they are wonderful and absurd tangents, one of the most memorable being his water consumption trials during Bikram Teacher Training.
Lorr's journey into this pain-obsessed subculture takes us through not one but two backbending clubs, one Bikram Yoga Teacher Training before culminating with Lorr's participation in the National Yoga Asana Championships. Along the way, we hear the stories from Senior Teachers such as L-like-Linda, Tony Sanchez, Esak Garcia and Emmy Cleaves, from practitioners whose lives have changed because of the yoga, and from sweat scientists and marital therapists who've studied narcissists.
Lorr grapples with key issues that personally baffle me as a hot yoga lover. This practice that can make you whole is inherently rife with conflict. Bikram is a narcissist, a predator, a groomer, but he was also in his early days, fully compassionate towards all of his students and devoted to his karma yoga. Now, office politics, abrupt exiles of senior teachers and abandoned cruelty towards his students is what he has to offer. In the words of Tony Sanchez, "now his teachers have it much worse…they are meant to be used and spit out…they believe his contempt is his love." The 26 postures and 2 breathing exercise series is a gift, but it's also McDonald's Dialogue that needs to be updated in order to avoid misalignment.
Pain is the game for those that consider hot yoga as their primary and most cherished form of fitness. The love of the heat and the challenge of the practice go hand-in-hand with the blissed-out state of true content and inner peace that nothing else parallels. Lorr has interesting conclusions on pain and how it exists on a continuum, based on Dr. Henry Beecher's Gate Control Theory, where the brain can tell pain to progress or not. 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. What was also interesting was his linkage of the yoga effect to the placebo effect, essentially equating Bikram Yoga to an FDA-approved drug, an antidepressant that works because you think it is working.
Hell-Bent is, so far, the definitive book on Bikram Yoga for those that love the practice but don't drink the Kool-Aid.
So, this is a must-read for all hot yoga practitioners that would react like Lorr when having a conversation about pain with his teacher:
I asked my favorite instructor about it, she just smiled. One of those damned yogic smiles: "It’s just your body opening up. Be patient. That pain is almost like a rite of passage. Almost every serious yogi goes through it.”
And what I heard: Me? A serious yogi?!
To anyone "who desperately wants to go hard-core, if only someone would give her permission" , Hell-Bent is a deeply gratifying book on Bikram and the world of competitive/advanced hot yoga. It is a perfect book, imbued with Lorr's humour that primarily stems from his self-deprecating tone towards his earnest student self. It pops up in the outrageous findings in the research he drops like a mic, whether it's an account of one of Bikram's many false statements or in his gleeful details sharing actual historic yoga postures that exist such as one for "a postejaculatory man attempting to stick his semen back up his penis like a straw". But perhaps what keeps the twinkle ever present and consistent throughout these pages is the cheery footnotes. Oh, his fondness for the footnote that takes up more than half the page! I love the use of footnotes when they are wonderful and absurd tangents, one of the most memorable being his water consumption trials during Bikram Teacher Training.
Lorr's journey into this pain-obsessed subculture takes us through not one but two backbending clubs, one Bikram Yoga Teacher Training before culminating with Lorr's participation in the National Yoga Asana Championships. Along the way, we hear the stories from Senior Teachers such as L-like-Linda, Tony Sanchez, Esak Garcia and Emmy Cleaves, from practitioners whose lives have changed because of the yoga, and from sweat scientists and marital therapists who've studied narcissists.
Lorr grapples with key issues that personally baffle me as a hot yoga lover. This practice that can make you whole is inherently rife with conflict. Bikram is a narcissist, a predator, a groomer, but he was also in his early days, fully compassionate towards all of his students and devoted to his karma yoga. Now, office politics, abrupt exiles of senior teachers and abandoned cruelty towards his students is what he has to offer. In the words of Tony Sanchez, "now his teachers have it much worse…they are meant to be used and spit out…they believe his contempt is his love." The 26 postures and 2 breathing exercise series is a gift, but it's also McDonald's Dialogue that needs to be updated in order to avoid misalignment.
Pain is the game for those that consider hot yoga as their primary and most cherished form of fitness. The love of the heat and the challenge of the practice go hand-in-hand with the blissed-out state of true content and inner peace that nothing else parallels. Lorr has interesting conclusions on pain and how it exists on a continuum, based on Dr. Henry Beecher's Gate Control Theory, where the brain can tell pain to progress or not. 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. What was also interesting was his linkage of the yoga effect to the placebo effect, essentially equating Bikram Yoga to an FDA-approved drug, an antidepressant that works because you think it is working.
Hell-Bent is, so far, the definitive book on Bikram Yoga for those that love the practice but don't drink the Kool-Aid.
July 10, 2022
"Bikram" is a dude... Was? I'm too lazy to look it up whether he died since the book was published. Few prob know Bikram yoga is branded on a guy named Bikram. Fewer realize that the narcissistic bombast, who is Bikram, was once accused of being a pimp, ostentatious dress and whipping a Rolls into a stampede of thirsty hoes. Bikram also sued Raquel Welch for copyright infringement for marketing her workout videos based on HIS practices https://people.com/archive/whose-body.... Oh, he was probably also a sexual predator of his devotees
Mr. Lorr wades into yoga, competitive yoga and a Bikram "led" teacher training retreat. Though his insight is but waist deep, due to Lorr doing much of this for a book, we all still get a glimpse behind the curtain into this cult like practice.
I enjoy Lorr's writing. His analogies, descriptions and wit, plain-language, you don't need a PhD in English to get any of it. After reading his most recent book, about Grocery Stores, I wanted to find anything else written by Lorr, didn't disappoint
Mr. Lorr wades into yoga, competitive yoga and a Bikram "led" teacher training retreat. Though his insight is but waist deep, due to Lorr doing much of this for a book, we all still get a glimpse behind the curtain into this cult like practice.
I enjoy Lorr's writing. His analogies, descriptions and wit, plain-language, you don't need a PhD in English to get any of it. After reading his most recent book, about Grocery Stores, I wanted to find anything else written by Lorr, didn't disappoint
January 14, 2020
This is a great read for anyone who has tried yoga and why it sometimes feels so other worldly. It’s also a good example of how a good idea or practice can become warped in the wrong hands. Lorr doesn’t spend a lot of time on the man Bikram and I’m thankful for that but he does a great job explaining how close it gets to becoming almost cult like as everyone involved experiences the bonding of doing incredible things with your body and the way yoga works with pain
January 3, 2024
A very readable overview of the Bikram yoga world, with the positive and the negative well laid out. One thing that I didn't enjoy is that he really, really seems to hate people who are overweight. Or maybe, it's not quite hate, but he was demeaning and went on and on about fatness, even about a good friend of his. I kind of think he was personally in the eating disorder range, but he never addresses any of that, really, not so much because he becomes so thin himself (a badge of honor he seems to hold highly), but because he rails against heaviness so thoroughly.
June 27, 2017
Very good hot yoga expose'. The author's perspective -- having participated in the yoga community to the extent he did -- gives his story more weight than someone who just reviewed current literature.
March 5, 2017
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. The book is layered by both sensitivity and cruelty, compassion and meanness, and explores obsession and pain. Very thoughtful are the instances of almost miraculous physical recoveries via yoga, with the emphasis on yoga as simply one effective conduit through which we may heal ourselves. Most fascinating to me though is the bizarre narcissism of Bikram yoga's namesake. As I was transfixed by Bikram's outlandish claims and weird actions and, later, by a clinical discussion, I was struck down by the parallels with Trump. Following is a long quote to Lorr: "I know very little about your yoga community, but if you are dealing with a community od individuals who have surrendered to a narcissist, you will find yourself very isolated very fast if you explore this with them. No matter how rational you feel you are being, a person in the thrall of a narcissist has lost all sort of reference point. You can't talk him out of it, or make him 'see the light.' This is a person with a false center, who will tend to react just as hysterically as the narcissist when challenged." Whoa. And whoa again.
October 19, 2025
I started down the path of yoga with the Bikram sequence and I am very grateful for it but I am not sure what motivated my constant pursuit. The author's reflections in this book helped me feel more deeply about my practice and shed light as to why I continue to resonate with the sequence itself so much. Thoughtful approach to exploring Bikram the person.
November 21, 2020
An amusing but bizarre journey, and as well-written as I'd hoped.
August 24, 2013
The title of this book is misleading. While it does spend some time talking about competitive yoga (Lorr went from yoga novice to performing in the National Yoga Asana Championship within a few years), this book is really about Bikram Choudhury and Bikram yoga.
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. Lorr points out early on the “Lululemon-izing” of yoga, or the mass market appeal of yoga by casual practitioners due to the belief they are taking part in something fitness-related with a dose of meditation and relaxation here and there. Yoga to Lorr is more than a fitness regime (although he spends an obscene amount of time talking about the taut, muscle-sculpted bodies of fellow Bikram-going men and women). It IS his life. It makes him sick and injures his body and prompts him to join the Backbenders, the closest thing I can imagine to a yoga cult, and yet he writes all of this in a really humorous and self-deprecating way. It’s almost enough to fool me that he’s able to keep one foot out of the door. But I know better. I’ve read enough healthy living blogs to smell wholesale pledged obsession in between the lines.
Much of the book, as I said before, actually centers around Lorr’s experiences at the Bikram yoga instructor training course—a 9 week program Lorr attends in San Diego with hundreds of other instructor hopefuls. In between discussing the grueling training regime, Lorr talks about Bikram Choudbury, founder of the Bikram practice. He talks about him a lot. He’s simultaneously fascinated/inspired by the man, but conflicted too—Bikram is not particularly likable. Lorr suspects he suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, dislikes the way Bikram cruelly taunts trainees in classes and feels uncomfortable with Bikram’s treatment of women. He talks to several of Bikram’s former favorites who have been banished by the man for one reason or another. As the book continues and Lorr puts more distance between himself and the master yogi who may or may not have a serious mental health problem, Lorr’s perspective becomes more measured. Questioning. He doesn’t doubt the efficacy of the yoga itself. He believes in the practice. But can he believe in the practice if he doesn’t really like the man behind it? A valid question, since I had no idea how intertwined Bikram-the-yoga and Bikram-the-man really are (or were?).
It’s a well-written book, full of interesting research into yoga health benefits, injuries, the use of heat as a training mechanism, the origins of yoga, origins of Bikram, etc. There are some moving and fascinating personal anecdotes, including interviews with people who seem to have conquered or mitigated major health problems through Bikram yoga practice. Lorr, though, is maybe the most fascinating anecdote of them all. His journey from overweight couch-surfer to Backbender to Bikram trainee to yoga competition participant is an interesting study in how a certain level of devotion to a rigorous fitness regime can mold a person into an athlete.
Anyway, this was a great read. I’m happy that it’s the book that will mark the completion of my Goodreads yearly book goal. On to the next!
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. Lorr points out early on the “Lululemon-izing” of yoga, or the mass market appeal of yoga by casual practitioners due to the belief they are taking part in something fitness-related with a dose of meditation and relaxation here and there. Yoga to Lorr is more than a fitness regime (although he spends an obscene amount of time talking about the taut, muscle-sculpted bodies of fellow Bikram-going men and women). It IS his life. It makes him sick and injures his body and prompts him to join the Backbenders, the closest thing I can imagine to a yoga cult, and yet he writes all of this in a really humorous and self-deprecating way. It’s almost enough to fool me that he’s able to keep one foot out of the door. But I know better. I’ve read enough healthy living blogs to smell wholesale pledged obsession in between the lines.
Much of the book, as I said before, actually centers around Lorr’s experiences at the Bikram yoga instructor training course—a 9 week program Lorr attends in San Diego with hundreds of other instructor hopefuls. In between discussing the grueling training regime, Lorr talks about Bikram Choudbury, founder of the Bikram practice. He talks about him a lot. He’s simultaneously fascinated/inspired by the man, but conflicted too—Bikram is not particularly likable. Lorr suspects he suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, dislikes the way Bikram cruelly taunts trainees in classes and feels uncomfortable with Bikram’s treatment of women. He talks to several of Bikram’s former favorites who have been banished by the man for one reason or another. As the book continues and Lorr puts more distance between himself and the master yogi who may or may not have a serious mental health problem, Lorr’s perspective becomes more measured. Questioning. He doesn’t doubt the efficacy of the yoga itself. He believes in the practice. But can he believe in the practice if he doesn’t really like the man behind it? A valid question, since I had no idea how intertwined Bikram-the-yoga and Bikram-the-man really are (or were?).
It’s a well-written book, full of interesting research into yoga health benefits, injuries, the use of heat as a training mechanism, the origins of yoga, origins of Bikram, etc. There are some moving and fascinating personal anecdotes, including interviews with people who seem to have conquered or mitigated major health problems through Bikram yoga practice. Lorr, though, is maybe the most fascinating anecdote of them all. His journey from overweight couch-surfer to Backbender to Bikram trainee to yoga competition participant is an interesting study in how a certain level of devotion to a rigorous fitness regime can mold a person into an athlete.
Anyway, this was a great read. I’m happy that it’s the book that will mark the completion of my Goodreads yearly book goal. On to the next!
April 16, 2022
In the Olden Times, my opinion of yoga was stretching, relaxation and meditation. I never considered it exercise. And I was very wrong. It wasn’t until I sought out physical fitness programs that I had my first “class” which completely surprised me and changed my mind.
In January 2009, I started that BeachBody program, P90X. And when I first did that program, I hated the yoga portion. It’s the most intense, difficult and challenging segment of the entire P90X experience. And despite a few years of weight training and cardio under my belt, I was completely unprepared for this form of exercise. And perhaps, that’s why I hated it. How dare this form of fitness involve nothing but my own body be so difficult. But by the end of the ninety-day P90X program, it became my favorite of all the workouts. And so, when I finished those videos with Tony Horton’s jokes now long old and stale, I sought out a studio to continue the practice.
I did acquire some additional DVDs but doing it alone was like weight training or cardio alone. I’ve always done better in a gym setting. Even though technically alone, working out with people around, doing similar things was more motivating. Plus, if I left the house and went to a place dedicated to the practice, I was more likely to put in 100% effort instead of calling it quits early for no reason at all.
I took my first in studio yoga class on November 1, 2009. I chose a Bikram Yoga studio because of the heat. Said yoga is practiced in 105-degree, 40% humidity heat. Besides having other students in class with me, the heat was something else I couldn’t do at home. It made paying for the practice that much more acceptable.
So the day after Halloween 2009, I was in studio and remember asking the instructor if I needed blocks. He advised I did not and every class was a beginners class. No accessories necessary save for a few things: Yoga mat, towel and water bottle.
Unlike other yoga practices, the Bikram style requires a towel over your yoga mat to soak up the sweat you produce doing those twenty-six postures. I bring an additional hand towel to wipe my face from time to time. And my water bottle is a liter which, depending on the day, is either half full after class or completely gone. On one occasion, I actually made it without using it at all, only to break into it on the car ride home.
However, a strange thing happened on the way to becoming an unofficial yogi. Bikram Choudhry, the founder and copyright owner of the program practiced worldwide, found himself in lawsuits and accusations of sexual assault and harassment and other nasty behaviors. He subsequently fled the United States in 2016 and refuses to return to defend himself. And quite frankly, considering the accusations and evidence against him, I say, good riddance. But because of that, my studio I’ve been a member at since that day in November 2009, changed its name, stopped selling his books, removed all affiliation of Bikram Choudhry and started offering several different styles of yoga along with the Bikram style.
You see, Bikram Yoga is the same 26 postures, conducted twice, lasting ninety minutes. Upon reflection, it is odd I chose this form of yoga over other offerings since one of the factors in attending class instead of DVDs was to get away from repetition. And yet, here I was, doing the same postures, same amount of times over years. And loving it.
To this day, although I take other classes my studio offers, my favorite remains that which is formerly known as Bikram Yoga. We now just call it Hot90. To date, it’s the best arrangement, brings the heat and remains challenging. I’m still terrible at balancing on my left side. But it’s the best exercise high I’ve ever felt, which seems to improve everything, including mood long after class has ended.
So all this led me recently to read a little more about the practice instead of just doing the practice. Which of course, led me to Benjamin Lorr’s book.
I haven’t been anywhere as serious about my own practice as Lorr has. This is an autobiographical account about how he changed his life from being overweight and generally unhealthy through the practice of Bikram Yoga and other complements. I think this book will benefit anyone who practices yoga, especially that which is formerly known as Bikram Yoga. Having some insights into what teacher training takes/took, reading what students go through, reminded me why I have never chosen to become an official yogi.
The section regarding teacher training was my favorite, most informative part and I blew through that chapter in a sitting. Clearly, Bikram used these occasions to inflate his own ego and hold court. Lorr’s description of the nine weeks spent in “training” suggests more of an opportunity for the teacher to hold a religious revival for himself rather than teach anything students couldn’t learn from simply engaging in the practice in a local studio. But back then, if you wanted to be a Bikram Yoga teacher, you needed his permission otherwise suffer a lawsuit if you taught his program without a license from him.
It was interesting to find that Bikram didn’t seem to do his own 26 posture program but did numerous sit-ups in saunas. Nor did he seem to practice tolerance to the heat of his own studio, frequently sitting on a throne on a stage, above the class, with a personal air conditioning unit blowing on him. Additionally, the stories of truth and rumors Lorr tells about Bikram’s own claims shows Bikram may very well be a pathological liar with fits of narcissism and grandiosity.
So again, good riddance that he’s left the United States and can’t do anything about it for those of us left behind to continue the practice. I’ve long since felt an author’s work or entertainer’s product or person’s art shouldn’t be discarded if said author, entertainer or person is an asshole. If we did that, we’d probably have to discard most of what’s good in the world. And Lorr appears to agree with this as well, continuing to practice what Bikram left behind and noting that he practices “just a Bikram would want and burn myself to the ground.”
Lorr does an excellent job putting a Bikram Yoga class into words. Frequently, reading his descriptions of what students feel during class resonated with me as yep, yep, yes, yep, been there, done that, that’s how I felt, I’ve done that, yep. To reiterate, I think this book will benefit anyone who practices yoga, especially that which is formerly known as Bikram Yoga.
While I’ll never be as dedicated as Lorr, I too continue to practice as even Bikram argued, yoga belongs to the world. And so let it be.
Namaste.
In January 2009, I started that BeachBody program, P90X. And when I first did that program, I hated the yoga portion. It’s the most intense, difficult and challenging segment of the entire P90X experience. And despite a few years of weight training and cardio under my belt, I was completely unprepared for this form of exercise. And perhaps, that’s why I hated it. How dare this form of fitness involve nothing but my own body be so difficult. But by the end of the ninety-day P90X program, it became my favorite of all the workouts. And so, when I finished those videos with Tony Horton’s jokes now long old and stale, I sought out a studio to continue the practice.
I did acquire some additional DVDs but doing it alone was like weight training or cardio alone. I’ve always done better in a gym setting. Even though technically alone, working out with people around, doing similar things was more motivating. Plus, if I left the house and went to a place dedicated to the practice, I was more likely to put in 100% effort instead of calling it quits early for no reason at all.
I took my first in studio yoga class on November 1, 2009. I chose a Bikram Yoga studio because of the heat. Said yoga is practiced in 105-degree, 40% humidity heat. Besides having other students in class with me, the heat was something else I couldn’t do at home. It made paying for the practice that much more acceptable.
So the day after Halloween 2009, I was in studio and remember asking the instructor if I needed blocks. He advised I did not and every class was a beginners class. No accessories necessary save for a few things: Yoga mat, towel and water bottle.
Unlike other yoga practices, the Bikram style requires a towel over your yoga mat to soak up the sweat you produce doing those twenty-six postures. I bring an additional hand towel to wipe my face from time to time. And my water bottle is a liter which, depending on the day, is either half full after class or completely gone. On one occasion, I actually made it without using it at all, only to break into it on the car ride home.
However, a strange thing happened on the way to becoming an unofficial yogi. Bikram Choudhry, the founder and copyright owner of the program practiced worldwide, found himself in lawsuits and accusations of sexual assault and harassment and other nasty behaviors. He subsequently fled the United States in 2016 and refuses to return to defend himself. And quite frankly, considering the accusations and evidence against him, I say, good riddance. But because of that, my studio I’ve been a member at since that day in November 2009, changed its name, stopped selling his books, removed all affiliation of Bikram Choudhry and started offering several different styles of yoga along with the Bikram style.
You see, Bikram Yoga is the same 26 postures, conducted twice, lasting ninety minutes. Upon reflection, it is odd I chose this form of yoga over other offerings since one of the factors in attending class instead of DVDs was to get away from repetition. And yet, here I was, doing the same postures, same amount of times over years. And loving it.
To this day, although I take other classes my studio offers, my favorite remains that which is formerly known as Bikram Yoga. We now just call it Hot90. To date, it’s the best arrangement, brings the heat and remains challenging. I’m still terrible at balancing on my left side. But it’s the best exercise high I’ve ever felt, which seems to improve everything, including mood long after class has ended.
So all this led me recently to read a little more about the practice instead of just doing the practice. Which of course, led me to Benjamin Lorr’s book.
I haven’t been anywhere as serious about my own practice as Lorr has. This is an autobiographical account about how he changed his life from being overweight and generally unhealthy through the practice of Bikram Yoga and other complements. I think this book will benefit anyone who practices yoga, especially that which is formerly known as Bikram Yoga. Having some insights into what teacher training takes/took, reading what students go through, reminded me why I have never chosen to become an official yogi.
The section regarding teacher training was my favorite, most informative part and I blew through that chapter in a sitting. Clearly, Bikram used these occasions to inflate his own ego and hold court. Lorr’s description of the nine weeks spent in “training” suggests more of an opportunity for the teacher to hold a religious revival for himself rather than teach anything students couldn’t learn from simply engaging in the practice in a local studio. But back then, if you wanted to be a Bikram Yoga teacher, you needed his permission otherwise suffer a lawsuit if you taught his program without a license from him.
It was interesting to find that Bikram didn’t seem to do his own 26 posture program but did numerous sit-ups in saunas. Nor did he seem to practice tolerance to the heat of his own studio, frequently sitting on a throne on a stage, above the class, with a personal air conditioning unit blowing on him. Additionally, the stories of truth and rumors Lorr tells about Bikram’s own claims shows Bikram may very well be a pathological liar with fits of narcissism and grandiosity.
So again, good riddance that he’s left the United States and can’t do anything about it for those of us left behind to continue the practice. I’ve long since felt an author’s work or entertainer’s product or person’s art shouldn’t be discarded if said author, entertainer or person is an asshole. If we did that, we’d probably have to discard most of what’s good in the world. And Lorr appears to agree with this as well, continuing to practice what Bikram left behind and noting that he practices “just a Bikram would want and burn myself to the ground.”
Lorr does an excellent job putting a Bikram Yoga class into words. Frequently, reading his descriptions of what students feel during class resonated with me as yep, yep, yes, yep, been there, done that, that’s how I felt, I’ve done that, yep. To reiterate, I think this book will benefit anyone who practices yoga, especially that which is formerly known as Bikram Yoga.
While I’ll never be as dedicated as Lorr, I too continue to practice as even Bikram argued, yoga belongs to the world. And so let it be.
Namaste.
November 28, 2012
I have practiced yoga for years. That's right. Yoga of all forms. Notice I have mentioned the yoga name without a tag in front of it. Honestly this book really ticked me off. First of all, I thought it was just a Bikram bash book. I didn't see the positive light of yoga within Mr. Lorr at all. I have never practiced Bikram before, but I can say that not every type of yoga fits each person. 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. Though he did mention health benefits, including his own weight loss, he only lost the weight successfully due to yoga. Picking apart Bikram and his followers, to me, is not the true inner workings of wanting to embrace something new in a positive form. There are so many different styles of yoga that are beautiful and very positive. I would have had more respect for the author and the concept of the book had he tried different forms. It doesn't have to be competitive to be enjoyable. In fact, yoga is quite the opposite. Everything in life is a frame of mind. But if we didn't seek out motivating factors to keep our minds positive then we would all be walking around this world with no hobbies, no interests, and suffering pains without assistance in a form that is best for you. I have so much more to say, but I think I'll just go practice yoga instead!
Read
August 30, 2024I was as up & down with my feelings toward this book as the author was with the content and his feelings toward Bikram. 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. In my few years practicing yoga, I can already appreciate it as a journey and it's clear the author does too (he refers to this near the end of the book). It could also be why I felt the content was a bit scattered at times, jumping from teacher training to yoga competitions to personal stories to the drama of the Bikram underground world to scientific explanations of the body/brain and beyond ---> most of which left me bored and eager to plow through. I think with so much to say he tried to jam too much in.
I'm not a Bikram fan and the book makes me even less inclined to practice his style of yoga, though I appreciate the classes I've gone to in the past and can attest to feeling great after doing them. It was neat to hear his students' opinions of this conflicted, dual man. Yoga is many different things to different people and everyone is drawn to it for varied reasons at exactly the time they are meant to. This speaks clearly in the book, and hearing about how Bikram yoga has benefited various diseases, addictions, injuries, etc. was one of the most enjoyable parts for me. Also the peek into the world of 'backbending club' was insanely warped yet so captivating. He did a great job portraying it.
Side note: anyone know why he constantly referred to yoga as "the yoga"?!
I'm not a Bikram fan and the book makes me even less inclined to practice his style of yoga, though I appreciate the classes I've gone to in the past and can attest to feeling great after doing them. It was neat to hear his students' opinions of this conflicted, dual man. Yoga is many different things to different people and everyone is drawn to it for varied reasons at exactly the time they are meant to. This speaks clearly in the book, and hearing about how Bikram yoga has benefited various diseases, addictions, injuries, etc. was one of the most enjoyable parts for me. Also the peek into the world of 'backbending club' was insanely warped yet so captivating. He did a great job portraying it.
Side note: anyone know why he constantly referred to yoga as "the yoga"?!
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