‘Yoga is skill in action;’ this is one of my favorite definitions of Yoga, from the Bhagavad Gita,” says filmmaker and Yoga teacher Saraswati Clere.
“Yoga constantly invites us to become our better selves.”
“In this world we are challenged every day, and I find it is yoga that guides me in the skill of choosing how to act and checking my motivation. I can be motivated by the more self-centered part of my nature, or I can choose to act in a way that is more beneficial for the world in which I live.”
A childhood in New Zealand marked by experiences of suffering reached a teenage turning point when she understood the impact of her own choices in either creating more pain or relief from suffering. “From then on,” Saraswati says, “I knew Yoga would always be a guiding light in my life.”
The strong foundation provided in the practice came not only from principles of physical alignment, but as Saraswati describes, “ways to live your life in alignment that create more harmony in the world.” She saw this alignment in action when after college, she began teaching Yoga and meditation to women with cancer. Saraswati witnessed women developing resilience and joy despite the pain and challenges of the disease. Their sharing of the importance of Yoga and meditation in their lives fueled Saraswati’s desire to continue studying Yoga.
Saraswati moved from New Zealand to Manhattan to study, eventually setting up a studio in Greenwich Village where the events after 9/11 demonstrated the benefit of the practice in healing trauma or tragedy. Her studio offered free class yoga on film in the weeks following the tragedy. “Yoga teachers all over NYC supported each other by sharing techniques that would help with the trauma and insomnia.”
These days, Saraswati is based in the Bay Area, where her passion for the practice is channeled into YogaKula, which operates a Yoga studio in San Francisco and one in Berkeley and also produces documentary films, DVDs and CDs on Yoga-related topics by leading spiritual teachers and philosophers.
Her foray into the media was driven by people’s stories: “Almost every day at the studio, people would share how Yoga was transforming a life. I thought, ’More people should be hearing these stories’.” After interviewing and recording the teachers and students, Saraswati realized she had the beginnings of a film, one with the potential to inspire people to find solutions to the stress in their lives.
This film became the documentary based on Sarasvati’s experience of Anusara Yoga: The Heart of Transformation. Since its release in August, 2010, the film is on a global tour of festivals and Yoga venues, including Thailand, Switzerland, Canada, and Israel.
The Heart of Transformation lives up to its title, revealing tales of personal upheaval and the path found in the practice. One woman speaks about her struggle to overcome anorexia; another chronicles the process of healing after the murder of her teenage son.
Actor and Yoga practitioner Minnie Driver narrates and is featured in the film.
Driver says, “Like any practice, the more consistently you do something, the more engrained it is in your life and the more of a tool it becomes. As opposed to an emergency tool, it becomes a well-worn beautiful tool that you know how to use and it’s always in the right place when you need it.”
For two years, Saraswati and her film crew have traveled from India to Italy to Africa and across the US to interview teachers and practitioners.
Saraswati and Director of Photogarphy, Michael McIntyre
They are currently completing another film that focuses on the powerful effect women Yoga teachers are having on the Yoga movement worldwide. Look for this documentary in Summer, 2011: yogawoman.tv.
CAROLYN QUAN is an internationally collected fine art photo collage artist of spiritual art who also enjoys writing. She lives in Sausalito and is owner of The Quan Gallery Showroom in San Francisco: carolunquan.com
Join Saravati for an asana class with Noah Mazé, kirtan with Dave Stringer, and a screening of the film in Santa Monica at The Yoga Collective, Tuesday, May 10, 6:00 – 9:00 P.Myogacollective.com
For more information about the film, visit: www.AnusaraYogaTheHeartOfTransformation.com
By Carolyn Quan
