Rosens Transformation in the Enlighten Up Documentary - Essay Example

One of the frequent claims by these individuals is that yoga can transform the body and mind. Churchill’s premise for the film is that despite the various conflicting interpretations of yoga, there exists an essence to the practice that can truly transform one’s mind and spirit. As a means of demonstrating this, she documents the life of Nick Rosen, an out-of-work journalist. At the beginning of the film, Nick indicates that spiritual awakening is something that is totally outside his consciousness.

However, he indicates that physical fitness has always been a path to happiness, indicating that he is at least partially open to the potential benefits of yoga practice. As the film advances Nick goes through experiences in a variety of yoga classes and begins to develop different opinions of the sort of people that attend these classes. Rosen comes to question the validity of his teachers. He interviews a spiritual leader who tells him that the purest yoga teachers are those that recognize their lack of knowledge.

This leads Nick to question his own life and the extent that he wants to change things. He later interviews a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. The interview with the professor occurs along Rosen’s quest towards understanding; as Rosen indicates he is searching for truth and facts not just charismatic rhetorical techniques. He then speaks to wrestler Diamond Dallas Page. The page indicates that his vision of yoga does not implement many of the traditional spiritual elements. Nick’s encounter with Page leads him to reflect that while he has experienced significant physical gains, he still has not experienced the spiritual gains that have been purported to be gained from yoga.

While Nick indicates that he has difficulty grasping the spiritual elements of yoga, he visits with the man famous for bringing Ashtanga yoga to the West. At first, the two individuals joke about the connection between odd yoga positions and spiritual awakening. As Nick enters the man’s house, however, they share a passage from the Bhagavad Gita that says, a man’s nature is the total of his habits.’ Here Nick seems to recognize the potential spiritual impact yoga can have, as it constitutes a practice that shapes one’s character.

Their discussions later veer into more spiritual talk as the yogi indicates that it is important to not do anything for the small self. When pressed on the spiritual dimensions of this, however, the yogi resorts to humor. As the film advances Nick interviews a variety of yoga spiritual leaders. These individuals present Nick with a variety of spiritual perspectives on yoga. In many instances, it is clear that Nick disregards these theories as he uses a slightly condescending tone with the religious leaders.

While the language Nick uses to describe the religious leaders and spiritual teachings changes, he still claims that “the consciousness does not offer us any conduit to enlightenment.” Later he interviews a yoga expert about the nature of happiness and the individual tells him that happiness comes from within. Throughout this conversation, it’s clear that Nick remains skeptical. As the film progresses, however, Nick increasingly considers his own life in terms of the new yoga dialectic.

For instance, he echoes the concept of duality, which was implemented earlier in the film, in referring to his relationship with his mother and his father. In this way, there is the recognition that even as Nick is denying the deep spiritual impact of yoga practice, it has already begun to influence his phenomenological outlook on being. Ultimately, Nick’s journey throughout the film takes on several forms. While at the beginning of the film, Nick is entirely skeptical of the non-physical benefits of yoga, he increasingly adopts many of the aspects of yoga philosophy.

He indicates that yoga makes one more compassionate and understanding, as everyone’s consciousness is part of a unified one. Even as Nick maintains a degree of skepticism it is clear that he has been influenced by his yoga practice through the people he meets and the way they share a similar search for truth.