P: Making this film, you met women of all ages and
The Academy Award nominee Annette Bening lends her voice for the documentary film.
P: Yoga, according to the film, has come out of the
fitness studios and into clinic centers, African villages,
streets and even prisons. What should yoga believers do
to continue to fuel this grassroot movement?
M: We want people to be inspired to take hold of their own
lives, their own destiny and be the change they need. Yoga
makes so many things in life possible because it teaches us not
to be afraid of things that are difficult. It teaches us to honor
intuition, family, flow, connection, community, activism and the
cyclical nature of our own lives. It teaches us how to live fully as
women, celebrating our lives. When we feel empowered and
awake through yoga, we see the opportunity to give back.
Instead of feeling like a victim to the circumstance, there is a
new energy where women becoming leaders and change agents.
background—mothers, CEOs, prison inmates, to name
a few. Is there a character in the film who left the most
impression on you?
M: So many of the cast inspired us. Of course, teachers like
Patricia Walden and Seane Corn are both exceptional contributors to yoga today. One teacher we met in Kenya, Mary
Wanjiru, made a deep impression on us. She was born in one
of the country’s largest slums and had very limited life choices
until being exposed to yoga through the Africa Yoga Project. As
a yoga teacher, Wanjiru is now a well-respected, valued member
of her community. Yoga has changed her life, and the lives of
hundreds of people she teaches. She once had trouble looking
people in the eye, but today, she says she could stand in front
of a million people and teach them yoga. Another teacher we
met, Tari Prinster, is leading her own inspiring revolution
through yoga. After being diagnosed with breast cancer, the
healing qualities of yoga led her to develop a yoga program to
support other survivors. She is now considered one of the
country’s leading experts in yoga as therapy for the physical and
emotional challenges that cancer creates.
P: How did the Academy Award nominee Annette
Bening become involved with the film? What’s it like
working with her?
M: Bening’s teacher, who appears in the film, shared the
project with her and she agreed to narrate. She is an incredible
talent, funny, authentic and a talented actor to work with. She
has been studying yoga for 30 years herself and she added a
richness and depth to the final product.
P: One of the issues raised by the film is society’s ongoing
battle with body image. What was the biggest
discovery you’ve made on yoga’s far-reaching
impact on addressing this issue?
M: We knew from the start that body issue was
one of the topics we had to cover in the film.
[Harvard-trained gynecologist and yoga teacher] Dr.
Sara Gottfried tells us in Yogawoman that 90
percent of women in the U.S. are dissatisfied with
FOR A SNEAK PEEK of Yogawoman,
visit digital Pulse at experienceispa.com.
December 2011
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PULSE 19