I can’t wait to get a copy of Enlighten Up! (note: bootleg DVD, as I doubt the movie will ever screen on Philippine theatres) For those who haven’t seen the trailer yet, click the play button on my earlier post dated June 20th. The film stars Nick Rosen who plays guinea big to filmmaker Kate Churchill’s quest to prove that Yoga can transform anyone, even a skeptic and New Yorker like Rosen. The two travel to India visiting different shalas, including Mysore, where Nick is immersed in Ashtanga Yoga and meets Patthabi Jois.

Midway in the movie tensions mount and Kate’s plan falls apart. Ultimately, what they discover changes them both forever—so the film’s synopsis says. Ashtanga enthusiasts will be thrilled to see scenes of Mysore: Pattabhi, Sharath, the Mysore Palace. David Swenson, Beryl Bender Birch and other Ashtangis make cameo appearances.

Enlighten Up! premiered this week in tropical Maui. Perhaps silently endorsing the movie, Nancy Gilgoff and David Williams--Ashtanga pioneers in America who brought Guruji and the practice to the Western world--were in attendance. The movie is the first feature documentary for Churchill who has also produced documentaries for PBS.

FILM: Enlighten Up! A skeptic's journey into the world of yoga