I saw a really great documentary two weeks ago called Enlighten Up! It was made by some professional filmmakers from Boston and thus has some great shots of local yoga studios. Mostly the documentary is about a yoga newbie experiencing the wide world of yoga choices. He’s funny and authentic, and the documentary shows a lot of the beauty in the yoga world and a lot of the silliness and egotism. I thought it was really honest, which is interesting seeing as I saw it at a pre-screening for yoga teachers. We laughed a lot, including at ourselves, which I think is a good thing!
I was hoping to get this blog out while the movie was still in town, but I couldn’t (technical difficulties!). I sent an email to a good number of my students encouraging them to attend. 4 students went with me this past Tuesday, which was really fun for me to see it again, this time with students. We had a drink together afterwards to discuss the ideas that the documentary explored and our reactions to it.
Each of us found the movie interesting, and we really loved the tone of the movie. It’s not preachy, it’s able to question yoga and its place in the modern world, and overall it feels pretty honest in terms of the protagonists’ struggle to find meaning in the yoga practice, and ultimately, in life.
Here’s the trailer for the movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKQw0-IlJiY
And here’s an article from the Globe:
http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2008/09/12/a_skeptic_goes_to_the_mat/
I hope if you weren’t able to see it this time around, that you’ll see it when it comes around again, or when it’s out on video! To be on their mailing list, check out the website for the film: www.enlightenupthefilm.com
Namaste!
Barrett
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Hey Barrett,
Thanks so much for the heads-up about this film! I saw it on the last night it was at the Kendall, thanks to your note, and I really, really enjoyed it. I found the collaborative nature of the project esp. intriguing (though I wish it had been framed even a a bit more clearly in terms of that — eg how did the unexpected experience of the ‘subject'[ change the stance of the ‘observer’ / documentarian), along with the fact that the eastern practitioners — even “founder” figures — seemed less dogmatic re: what yoga is/should be/ how it shoudl be practiced, in some ways than did the western ones. The religion/non-religion thing struck a false note with me. Haven’t found that to be a big issue in my own experiences, though I guess I’ve only practiced in Cambridge/Boston/Seattle/San Diego/ New York . . . . but still . . when we actually saw the interview footage of the non-western eastern practitioners, they seemed much less concerned about that dichotomy — religious/secular — themselves, or perhaps, to think it differently.
Anyway, it was funny and self-critical in a nice (non-flagellating) way — nice to see the form at least somewhat accord with the content!
Thanks again for the recommendation!
It was interesting Verity, that the movie changed dramatically from its original premise. Kate (the director) never planned to be in the movie at all, so they made a first movie w/o her or any of the struggle that she had with Nick. They screened it to friends and professional filmmakers, who all said that the central tension of the movie wasn’t there, or at least it wasn’t clear. Evidently, it wasn’t compelling enough the first time around. She then realized that she had to put herself in the movie as so much of the story was about her expectations and hopes. Hence, this version of the documentary was born. I liked her honesty about that!