Yoga was once a practice reserved for remote parts of northwest India. These days yoga classes can be found at pretty much every gym and spa around the world.

A new documentary film about the fascinating evolution of yoga will be screening next Sunday, December 1, in the Tradewinds Auditorium of the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.

Yogawoman tells of how yoga was brought to the west from India by a lineage of male teachers; and how the movement is now being led by a generation of women looking to change the face of yoga.

The film is narrated by Academy Award nominee Annette Bening and has won six international awards.

It is being brought to the Island as part of The Bermuda Yoga Festival, happening from April 3 to 6, 2014.

Yogawoman shares of how record numbers of women are discovering their own strength, vitality, peace, and power through yoga. In the process, they are reclaiming this ancient spiritual path from its traditionally male form and transforming it into modern yoga, as we know it today.

This “new” yoga replaces the male-centred, rigid style with a distinctly feminine practice that honours intuition, family, flow, connection, community, activism, and the cyclical nature of women’s lives.

Through rich personal stories, the documentary reveals how yoga has bettered the lives of thousands of previously overstimulated, over-scheduled, and multitasking modern women.

From the bustling streets in New York and the dusty slums of Kenya, to the golden beaches of Australia, the documentary follows the touching stories of women who have found new lease on life thanks to this magical and mystical practice.

Elaine White, one of the organisers of the Bermuda Yoga Festival, said: “The power of inner peace is at the heart of yoga. Yogawoman explores a wide variety of other benefits — mental, physical and spiritual — that are enjoyed by those who regularly practice yoga. “The film travels the globe introducing us to the women of yoga.”

Two of the yogis profiled in the film — teacher and author Elena Brower and master teacher, healer and author Nischala Joy Devi — will be travelling to the Island for the first ever Bermuda Yoga Festival. The event will feature an all-star line-up of international yoga teachers and kirtan artists, offering residents and tourists exposure to a broad range of yoga styles and teachings available.

Passes for the four-day festival are available at www.premierticketsglobal.com. You can also save $100 on a full festival pass by purchasing it before December 1 for the discounted price of $395.

The Bermuda Yoga Festival is sponsored by the Bermuda Department of Tourism and the Fairmont Southampton.

For more information about the festival, see www.bermudayogafestival.com.

For tickets to the screening of Yogawoman, you can purchase tickets for $20 at the Oceans Gift Shop at BUEI, or by calling 294-0204.