Watch the trailer
When Shiv, a 10-year-old boy who is ashamed of being Indian and Hindu, gets into a fight at school, the only way to avoid suspension is by doing mandatory lunchtime yoga classes. Cue Miss Blanche - home room teacher and self-proclaimed yoga “guru” after doing a 200 yoga course.
"Namaste Yoga" is about the effect cultural appropriation can have on young kids and their self-worth, when their Culture is appropriated, commoditised and sold back to them.
The Story
For audiences anywhere outside of Australia, you can watch Namaste Yoga on the Vidya Lila platform:
Australian audiences can watch Namaste Yoga on ABC iView at the link below:
Watch Namaste Yoga
World Premiere in Australia
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Education
Watch the videos below to appreciate the level of collaboration with Yoga and Bharatanatyam Acharyas for Namaste Yoga.
My sense of belonging and identity was complex. My Indigenous Hindu Culture resonated deeply but in public I kept it a secret. I was repeatedly reminded I didn’t belong whether it be being called the N-word, told to go back to where I came from or having to listen to various versions of Apu's accent from the Simpsons.
Namaste Yoga's lead characters Shiv and Kali are two sides of my personality and life growing up. Their world, IS my world. I cannot begin to describe the self-loathing as a child, when a person appropriating Hindu Dharma claims your Culture and relays it back to you like they are the authority on it.
“Namaste Yoga” is my way of telling our kids - “You are enough. Your Culture is your strength”.
Director's Statement from Ravi Chand
Gallery
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Reviews
This is the first time on a Western screen we feel seen".
"It is difficult not to tear up through this masterpiece. Simply put, it touches your heart and you can't avoid it".
"Messages deliver home the need to have much needed conversations in families that have remained in shadows for generations".
"This exquisite level of detail could not have come from someone outside the culture".
"There is such a level of care and respect that Hollywood, Bollywood and Western media should take note".
"Watch Namaste Yoga on your own, then if you have children, watch it again with them. Take the time to also enjoy this beautiful film for yourself too".
"There are so many nuances and details in this film that have been painstakingly considered".
"An honest discussion around the cultural appropriation and colonisation of yoga into a trillion dollar industry".