Enlighten Up! The Yoga Documentary About the Search for Transformation

Quick answer: Enlighten Up! is an 82-minute documentary by Kate Churchill, completed in 2008 and released in U.S. theaters in 2009. Churchill set out to prove that yoga can transform anyone and invited Nick Rosen, a skeptical young New York journalist, to immerse himself in yoga for six months. He travels from New York to Hawaii and India, meeting teachers such as Pattabhi Jois and B. K. S. Iyengar. The film becomes a thoughtful look at what transformation really means.

What is the Enlighten Up! documentary about?

Kate Churchill believed that yoga could change anyone’s life. To test it, she needed someone new to yoga, open minded and willing to question everything. She found Nick Rosen.

For six months, Nick practiced many styles of yoga with many teachers. The journey took him through studios in New York and California, to Boulder and Hawaii, and finally to India. Along the way he met teachers including Norman Allen, Alan Finger, Pattabhi Jois and B. K. S. Iyengar.

Kate hoped Nick would find the practice that would transform him. What the film captures is more surprising and more honest.

Who are Kate Churchill and Nick Rosen?

Kate Churchill directed, produced and co-wrote the film. She had practiced yoga for years and wanted to share what it had given her.

Nick Rosen was 29 and a journalist with a curious, questioning mind. As I wrote after seeing the film, he “was not going to accept someone’s perception of things without having facts, without understanding, without experiencing for himself.”

What did I take from the film?

I saw Enlighten Up! on its opening night at the IFC Center in New York. What moved me most was Nick’s honesty. I loved watching him look deep and ask real questions.

His approach reminded me that, in my words from that night, “change comes only through comprehension, through internalizing and making peace inside with your own questions.”

Nick didn’t find the dramatic awakening Kate hoped for. And that became the film’s gift. As I put it, “the greatest lesson in the movie came because Nick did not achieve enlightenment through yoga.” For Kate, it became a lesson in accepting that there are many paths to transformation.

What is enlightenment, according to the film?

After the screening, Kate and Nick told the audience about someone who described the moment of enlightenment as “nothing.” When Nick asked what that nothing feels like, he was told, with a laugh, that it was the wrong kind of question.

I understood why. The feeling of pure clarity and pure knowing can’t be explained in words. It has to be experienced. In my original post I called it that “moment of being one with the vibration of the universe and feeling the flow of love and energy.”

Is there one path to transformation?

The film’s answer, and mine, is that every answer opens new questions. Growth keeps expanding. I wrote that “each answer leads to an expansion that has in it more possibilities.”

Yoga changed Kate’s life. Nick’s path looked different. Your path may involve yoga, meditation, prayer, journaling, nature, creativity or something no one has named yet. The invitation is to stay curious and keep exploring.

A small moment before the screening

While I waited in line on opening night, I met one of the teachers featured in the film and had a lovely conversation that felt like a little lesson of its own. I wrote about it in My Own Little Moment of Enlightenment While Waiting to See Enlighten Up!

How can you explore your own path?

1. Name your question. What do you most want to understand about yourself right now?
2. Try one new practice. A class, a meditation, a walk without your phone.
3. Notice what shifts. Pay attention to how you actually feel.
4. Stay with your questions. Let them evolve over time. A short Trust Meditation can help you listen.
5. Begin with stillness. My guide How to Meditate is a simple place to start.

Reflection prompt

What would transformation look like for you? Write about one moment in your life when you felt completely clear, and what led you there.

What other inspiring films should you watch?

Explore more in my roundup of Inspiring Films for Personal Growth, including Validation, the short film about kindness, Coraline, and the Broadway play 33 Variations.

Frequently asked questions

What is Enlighten Up!?

A documentary by Kate Churchill that follows journalist Nick Rosen for six months as he immerses himself in yoga to see whether it can transform him.

When was Enlighten Up! released?

It was completed in 2008 and opened in New York theaters on April 1, 2009.

Where was Enlighten Up! filmed?

In New York, Boulder, California, Hawaii and India.

Does Nick Rosen find enlightenment?

The film’s lesson is that transformation takes many forms, and yoga turned out to be one path among many.

How long is the Enlighten Up! documentary?

About 82 minutes.

Ready for your own moment of clarity? Get My 20-Minute Trust Meditation. New to meditation? Start with How to Meditate.