LAS VEGAS -- As a loudspeaker blares the rhythmic sounds and chants of Shiva & Krishna Lounge meditation music, a nearby vent is pumping out 98 degrees of heat into a hot yoga studio in scorching Las Vegas, where the temperature outside reaches a furnacelike 110 degrees on this July afternoon.

Dripping in sweat after nearly 30 minutes of vinyasa flow yoga poses, Myles Turner is about to attempt something he hasn't been able to hold for longer than a few seconds.

Turner, on his knees, starts with his hands and forearms on the floor before turning the top of his head onto the floor. Taking his knees off the floor and stretching his legs fully out, with his rear end up in the air and his long legs extended out with toes still touching the floor, Turner begins to shift his 250 pounds from his knees toward his back and then to his head and arms.

He inches his toes closer toward his body as if he is on tippy toes to transfer all his weight toward his core until his upper torso is above his head. He then curls his knees in the air toward his chest before pushing both legs straight up.

It takes the young Indiana Pacers center four tries to do something he has spent the past three months working on -- his 6-foot-11 frame is upside down and in a headstand for nearly 30 seconds before he grunts and finally breaks out of the pose.

"Did you get that on video?" an excited Turner asks.

Since he frustratingly fouled out with 4 minutes, 33 seconds left and a disappointing eight points and four rebounds in the Pacers' Game 7 first-round playoff loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Turner decided to turn things around by completely getting out of his comfort zone and challenging himself this summer with renewed purpose.

"A goal of mine is to be an All-Star," Turner says. "I think that is one thing that every NBA player dreams of."

"I know I feel different," he adds. "Just my movements on the floor ... I feel more, I don't think 'majestic' is the word for it, but I feel better, not as wobbly. I feel a lot stronger overall."

Turner improved dramatically between his first and second seasons, leading some to believe he could take the next step to becoming an All-Star. But while the Pacers surprised many last season and took the Cavaliers to seven games in the first round, Turner took a step back personally last season, with his numbers dipping nearly across the board.

Myles Turner's Last Two Seasons 2016-17 2017-18 PPG 14.5 12.7 RPG 7.3 6.4 FG Pct 51.1 47.9 BPG 2.1 1.8 SPG 0.9 0.6

Cutting Popeyes fried chicken, Waffle House and Whataburger out of his diet and no longer devouring eight slices of pizza in one meal, Turner hired a personal chef; he has sculpted his body from 14 percent body fat down to nearly half that. In mid-June, Turner posted before-and-after pictures of his body, and new six-pack, on Twitter that went viral.

"I took a look at myself in the mirror last season, and I was pudgy," Turner told ESPN after sweating his way through an hour-plus vinyasa flow hot yoga session in Las Vegas last month. "I was getting tired a lot faster, and a lot of that had to do with eating fast food, eating pizza the nights before games.

"Everybody told me about my diet, but last season it started to affect me. I guess getting older, my metabolism is not as high as it used to be. ... I was getting gassed."

5 weeks down, still gotta lot of work to do! #Summer18 pic.twitter.com/CWFM5gPue0 — Myles Turner (@Original_Turner) June 18, 2018

Turner is still only 22, but he was eating like a 16-year-old the night before a game. Now he has made a potentially life-altering change in his workout and dietary habits. Under the guidance of Kevin Garnett's longtime trainer Joe Abunassar, Turner has spent the majority of his summer on a secluded ranch in Fort Worth, waking up when the sun rises and running before the Texas temperatures soar to triple digits, lifting weights and going through track and field and boxing workouts along with his individual basketball regimen.

But it might be the challenging ashtanga and vinyasa flow yoga sessions two to three times a week that have helped Turner improve his flexibility, strength and confidence heading into what could be a pivotal season in his career. Turner's main yoga instructor, Fort Worth-based Bridget Gibbs, has the big man often doing yoga trapeze.

"It is not normal yoga," said Abunassar, president of Impact Basketball and trainer who has worked with big men like Turner, Garnett and DeMarcus Cousins. "People have seen Instagram pictures of Myles hanging from a ceiling. He has to balance himself, hold and pose suspended off the ground like a Cirque du Soleil-type actor."