Bad Dog Tales, Inc.

UPCOMING SCREENINGS

Screening throughout 2011. For more info, including local listings, go to www.documentarychannel.com. (In NYC, Doc Channel screens on NYCtv, Channel 25)

Prefer to watch online? Yoga, Inc. is available for free at Snagfilms.com

Watch other "Yoga, Inc." clips

Esak Garcia is a ‘competitive yogi’ whose ultimate goal is the Olympics, a dream instilled in him by his guru, Bikram Choudhury, the ‘Bad Boy of Yoga’. While fighting to have yoga recognized as an Olympic sport, Bikram has also copyrighted his yoga style, demanding teachers play by his rules or stop teaching. A court must now decide if someone can ‘own’ yoga. Meanwhile anything yoga-related is up for grabs, from yoga shoes to chakra panties. The new mantras are Standardize and Supersize, as yoga chains (‘McYoga’?) pop up everywhere, putting smaller studios out of business. No wonder purists are scratching their heads. Is nothing sacred?

Once the province of gurus, yoga is now practised by such media-star personalities as Madonna and Sting. Yoga paraphernalia is everywhere, from malls to supermarkets, and the number of practitioners is growing daily. What prompted the change from spiritual to secular—and who is cashing in? Yoga Inc. examines the trends now sweeping the industry, from large "McYoga" chains to yoga tournaments to high-profile yogis like Bikram Choudhury. Yoga Inc. asks: Can yoga survive with its good karma intact?

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CLIPS AND CLIPPINGS

Is the Spirit of Competition in the Spirit of Yoga?, The New York Times

The Yoga Wars, QTV (Canada)

Will Hard Times (please) Kill off the Yoga Craze?, Business News Network (Canada)

Lust for Lulu, New York magazine (US)

The phenomenal popularity of yoga, The Independent (UK)

REVIEWS

“An entertaining, informative, cautionary, yet ultimately hopeful portrait of yoga,” Richard Rosen, Yoga Journal