***This giveaway is now closed. Thanks so much to all who entered and congratulations to April!!!***
I read this book in three days.
It only took me that long because I had to host Thanksgiving in the middle of it.
Benjamin Lorr recently sent me his new book, Hell-Bent: obsession, pain and the search for something like transcendence in competitive yoga.
It’s the story of Ben’s journey, and the journey of many others, though the ups and downs of Bikram yoga. He talks to the hard-core and the disillusioned. The healed and the cynics. He separates Bikram the man from Bikram the yoga practice.
This is not a dreamy love poem to yoga, nor is it a scandalous exposé. It’s an arms-wide-open exploration of a practice that has been personally life changing for the author.
The stories of teacher training and competition are alluring and terrifying, in equal measure. The stories of Bikram Choudhury himself are shocking, both for their level of compassion and cruelty. These stories act as an important reminder that deifying or vilifying someone (or something) never tells the entire story. The yoga, once again, is all about balance.
The truth, the complicated beauty, lies in the gray area between the certainty. As the author says,
“Yoga is simply one of those things impervious to certainty, as incapable of corruption as it is of authenticity. No amount of bossy, possessive attempts to claim a “real yoga” will make it otherwise…the only one thing for certain is the more certain someone gets about yoga, the wronger it goes.”
Ben’s writing style is engaging and funny, his research is in-depth and unflinching. The book made me fall deeper in love with the practice – in all its sweaty, conflicted glory.
After I read it, I immediately wanted to give it to every yogi I know. Including you. So here you go!
To win a copy of Hell-Bent, go check out Ben’s site at www.hell-bent.com.
Then come back and leave a comment on this post.
That’s it!
To have an extra chance to win, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, subscribe by email (top left) or re-tweet the giveaway and leave another comment saying that you have done so. The giveaway will be open for one week, I’ll close it on Friday December 14th at 9am EST. A winner will be chosen randomly.
