Australia · 2012
1h 24m
Director Kate Clere
Starring
Genre Documentary
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Yoga was brought to the west from India by a lineage of male teachers. Now there's a generation of women who are leading the way and they're radically changing people's lives. From the busy streets of Manhattan to the dusty slums of Kenya, from the golden beaches of Australia YOGAWOMAN uncovers a global phenomenon that has changed the face of yoga forever.
Yogawoman, with narration enunciated by the actress and yogini Annette Bening, begins with an intriguing premise: yoga, historically a practice dominated by men in India, now occupies a mat-carrying slot on women's schedules the world over. That idea remains anthemic more than analyzed, and doing yoga proves more appealing than watching a film promote it.
It's less a film than an unimaginatively assembled series of talking heads.
The Hollywood Reporter by Frank Scheck
Kate Clere McIntyre and Saraswati Clere's less than revelatory documentary that incessantly makes the point that yoga is really, really good for you.
Few could dispute the obvious physical and mental benefits derived from the practice of this ancient discipline. One could, however, wish that this endless encomium played less like a PowerPoint sales pitch, illustrated with clip-art imagery, scored with generic music and narrated in mellifluous tones by Annette Bening.
Watching this yoga documentary mirrored how I feel about taking weekly classes: The ancient Eastern tradition is demonstrably beneficial for both mind and body, but its execution can be so boring and its teachers so painfully earnest.