ENLIGHTEN UP!
Produced & Directed by Kate Churchill
Written by Churchill, Jonathon Hexner & Khari Streeter
Released by Balcony Releasing
USA. 82 min. Not Rated

 
Enlighten Up!, an entertaining tour through the practice of yoga, equally questions a reeling range of yoga devotees and (like this reviewer) neophytes, though it may leave both nonplussed. 

Director Kate Churchill, herself a practitioner, makes an honest effort to examine yoga’s spiritual and physical claims, even as she looks askance at both its commercialization and new agey aura. She surveys the field through a test subject, journalist and rock climber Nick Rosen. He is equal parts skeptic, from his straight-laced dad’s side, and open to new experiences, like his shaman mom. Needless to say, his parents are divorced, and treks to over 70 gurus will bring him closer to mom than dad. He’s game for all kinds of yoga Churchill picks to put him through, but his stubborn resistance to drink the Kool-Aid frustrates her, though he stays refreshingly open to transformation.

From urban studios to farm retreats, teachers encourage Rosen to turn himself into their own unique and sweaty pretzel. Many have innovated their own forms of yoga, and consequently profited from the books, tapes, classes, and franchises promoting their methods, which have helped turn yoga into a multi-billion dollar industry. The most cheerfully commercial one makes no pretense of creating a Sanskrit name, “Yoga for Regular Guys,” developed by ex-professional wrestler Diamond Dallas Page.

While Rosen is assured by most of the American teachers that a spiritual commitment is not necessary for a successful yoga workout, he receives a rude awakening when he and Churchill visit India, and the film becomes considerably more serious. Seeming like a flashback to the Beatles’ magical mystery tour, they have access to wizened gurus who provide the intellectual heft and thoughtful discussions about mind-body relations that are missing from the American practitioners, despite a tendency towards aphorisms like “Be your true self.” Emphasizing the connection to ancient texts and practices, they each insist that spiritual involvement is integral to their variety of yoga—a challenge and authenticity that Rosen visibly shrinks from. But as the camera rests on devotees in India who have dedicated their lives to mastering repetitive intricacies, what is clear is how superficial this documentary is—it never substantively differentiates the myriad of yoga options breezily presented. Nora Lee Mandel
April 1, 2009