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

Benjamin Lorr entered a yoga studio on impulse and became immersed in the world of competitive yoga. Hell-Bent examines the extreme end of American yoga culture, following Lorr's journey from an overweight beginner practicing Bikram Yoga (hot yoga) to competing in the National Yoga Asana Championship. After meeting a master and competitive yoga champion, he entered an obsessive subculture where practitioners train eight hours daily in 110-degree heat. The book spans locations from New York studios to the University of Oregon's athletic performance labs, featuring interviews with yogis, scientists, doctors, and scholars. It documents a diverse cast including athletic prodigies, celebrities, medical cases, and fraudulent figures. Based on two years of research, Hell-Bent explores the science behind the practice while examining themes of greed, narcissism, and corruption within competitive yoga communities. The narrative also chronicles Lorr's personal transformation and examines the limits of human physical capability.