Yesterday, I happened across the documentary Enlighten Up! which proclaims itself as a “skeptic’s journey into the world of yoga” and recounts the adventures (and misadventures) of  Nick Rosen, yoga pre-neophyte and overall spiritual skeptic. The premise is quite interesting as the filmmaker, Kate Churchill has the firm belief in the transformative power of yoga for absolutely anyone and sets out to make a film that proves this hypothesis correct. Nick gets to meet many of the key teachers of the yoga scene and through interviews and participating in classes worldwide, he is indeed given the full contact yoga experience. Along the way they encounter the full range of yoga devotees and Nick’s questioning nature provides a refreshing contrast to the wide-eyed “OK. I’ll drink the kool aid!” approach.

I really enjoyed the film as much of Nick’s journey was quite similar to my path in discovering Buddhism. The belief that both of these practices are what old sandalwood-scented hippies do was literally turned on its head and a new form of practice was investigated. One that doesn’t necessarily need to take in the full spectrum of the religious nature of mind-body practice such as yoga.

It’s a good film for those of us who always wish that we could share our experiences with others and the possibility that in doing so, may do little to impact their lives (contrary to our hopes or expectations).

You can check out a clip of the film here:

The National Film Board website has posted a series of clips from Gesar Mukpo’s film “Tulku: The Movie” which serve to get me all the more stoked to see this film. We’re all anticipating its release and details of how the DVD can be purchsed and once I hear anything, I’ll be sure to post news via this blog.

You can also follow news and discuss the film via the Facebook group.

For those who missed the trailer for this film, here you go -

Brave undercover Video Journalists (VJs) work risk their lives to record the atrocities occurring in Burma to have their materials smuggled out and beamed back into the country via satellite. This movie is the story of a young man named ”Joshua” who leads this group of reporters during the Sept 07 uprising.

If you are on Facebook – you can join their group via this link

In a Cape Breton village, Buddhist monks and nuns pray in their abbey, while French-speaking fishermen put out to sea to haul in their lobster traps. Seemingly divided by language, culture and religion, these people share more than meets the eye. The film delicately weaves a connection between the beliefs of the two groups, both regarding life as a cycle.

Once a year, the Buddhist monks and nuns buy the fishermen’s last lobster catch and release it back into the sea, believing that these lobsters could be reincarnated in the cycle leading to enlightenment. The fishermen too regard existence as a natural cycle. They preserve life by delicately putting back in the water female lobsters carrying eggs, which will hatch into the lobsters the men’s descendants will fish. The film considers mutual respect and tolerance.