As Yoga, Inc. tells us, in the late 19th century yoga was brought to America by teachers from India. This practice started innocently enough but, oh boy, look at us now. In slightly less than an hour, this documentary includes everything you always wanted to know about yoga in the good old USA, and probably more. It ain’t necessarily pretty.

I side with the idea that yoga is a spiritual practice, not sanctimonious, not solemn, but spiritual. Simply stated, a lot of the folks in this film don’t. At least not in my opinion.

We’ve got Bikram Choudury (yes, the Bikram) suing yoga teachers for copyright infringement on practices that are 5,000 years old, although Bikram has apparently added his own nuances. The suing causes the sue-ees to band together to protect open source yoga. I’m not making this up.

There are other franchises besides Bikram’s, and in all fairness I must say that at least one of them, Yoga Works, tries to maintain a sense of learning and growth. I don’t know if calling your franchise a family makes it better or not.

There are yoga competitions in which someone wins first prize, even though the winner is eager to explain that you’re only competing with yourself. There are small studios that are shutting down because they can’t compete in the business of it all. Deja vu. When’s the last time you shopped at a mom and pop grocery store? A what?

There is a thread in the movie that counters the commercialization of yoga, sincere people who believe in the practice no matter what sort of pretzel someone else might twist it into. Sincere people who believe that yoga will persist and grow and continue to give joy to students and teachers alike.

A number of shady yogis are referenced in the film, including Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, whose wealth now exceeds that of the Beatles who made him famous. And there’s one clever business guy who sells t-shirts that read f__k yoga. He calls his concept the “s__t happens” of the new millennium.

This movie has got drama, angry emotions, gentle emotions, and all sorts of people brought together because of the practice of yoga.

It’s definitely worth watching, if only for the guy with the t-shirts. He also sells bottled f__k yoga water.