“I was conscious in my mother’s womb,” a wise Indian voice opens the film to abstract images of light and water and the tune of Hindu music, “feeling the movements in her body, aware of my own helpless state, this body bundle of bones is not I...On one side I wanted to express myself as a human being yet, on the other side, I didn’t, because I felt I was a spirit.”

If you’re already rolling your eyes, this film is not for you, but if not, hop aboard for a strange and interesting ride. Awake: The Life of Yogananda tells the story of prolific Indian Swami Paramahansa Yogananda, who brought the spiritual teachings of yoga to America in the 1920s. He was welcomed in the West and founded a school at Mount Washington, Los Angeles. Soon after however, he was denounced for indoctrinating, seducing wives, and meddling with other races. Awake paints the portrait of a man who persevered on his path to enlighten others despite much challenge, scrutiny and hardship.

The film is constructed around powerful voice over, archival footage, dramatic reenactments, and interviews. It is effective because it distills complex yogic theories into digestible soundbites and gives Yogananda due credibility and admiration through the opinions of both respected scholars and effusive disciples (including Ravi Shankar, George Harrison and Steve Jobs who were all heavily influenced by Yogananda’s “Autobiography of a Yogi”).

Although, to its detriment Awake lacks a single, focused thread, the most interesting aspect of Yogananda’s teachings was their universality. It is mentioned several times that he cut straight through organized religion; whomever your god, you can learn the divinity that exists within the body. And it is this that speaks to the persisting success of yoga, a form of meditation that unites the science of the body with the spirituality of the mind.

If only Awake were so focused as a meditative session, it might be as successful. No one who is not already interested in yoga will be persuaded by this documentary, but for those who are, it is will prove a fascinating and educational experience. Ultimately, Awake: The Life of Yogananda carries its audience through the history of yoga and provides access to the beginnings of a yogic understanding of life.