My Dharma Documentary Review: Yoga Teachers On Coming Home To Themselves

My Dharma documentary: the short version

An elite swimmer trained at 5am every day, was strong, hated stretching and could not touch her toes. A friend nudged her into her first yoga class during a stressful time at university, and it gave her a freedom she had not felt in years of being told what to do. My Dharma (2016) is a 43 minute documentary of stories like hers, from yoga teachers around the world. It is beautiful to look at, personal and spiritual in tone, with no science.

My Dharma in short form

• What it is: a 43 minute documentary of teacher interviews, free on YouTube.
• Big idea: yoga as coming home to yourself.
• Best stories: the stiff swimmer, and a hula-hoop performer on ego.
• The science: none; personal testimony only.
• Caution: spiritual language throughout.
• Our verdict: inspiring if you like the style; skip if you want evidence.

What is My Dharma about?

It strings together interviews with yoga teachers and one hula-hoop performer, with music and dance footage between them. The people featured, listed on the video page, include Kino MacGregor, Laruga Glaser, Deepika Mehta and Meghan Currie, among others. The film does not label who is speaking, so we retell the stories without names.

The themes are yoga as coming home to yourself, the breath as the engine of the poses, dropping the ego, and healing after hard times.

Key highlights

• The breath leads. Teachers describe the breath as the focus that brings the poses to life.
• Ego out of the room. The hula-hoop performer says her hoop is for the audience but her yoga is for nobody. If she brings her ego to the mat, she isn’t doing yoga.
• Better than yesterday. The swimmer measures progress against herself, not against anyone else.
• Losing, not gaining. One teacher says meditation is not about gaining anything but about losing fear, anger and confusion.

The science it draws on

None, and it does not claim to. Everything in the film is personal experience or tradition. A teacher says her practice healed her nervous system; another describes depression lifting after her first class. These are moving stories, but they are one person’s experience each.

For what research has found about yoga and the mind, see our review of The Science Behind Yoga or yoga for anxiety.

Key stories in the film

The stiff swimmer. Strong, driven and unable to touch her toes, she found in yoga a place where nobody was telling her what to do. Her measure: better than she was 18 months ago, better than yesterday.

The model at 17. She left home at 17 to model in Europe and was judged constantly: too tan, too pale, too fit, too skinny. She felt she no longer knew who she was. Yoga felt like going back home.

The long fall. A teacher fell about 40 feet while rock climbing and spent two years in bed. Losing movement made her passionate about it, and daily practice is what keeps her moving now. It is her story, not a promise for anyone else’s injury.

The first Om. A teacher going through depression rents a sweaty mat, hears a class chant Om, and feels her mind stop for the first time.

How it fits what we teach at Flametree

The film’s teachers come from styles other than ours, and its tone is more spiritual than Flametree’s. But the hula-hoop performer’s point is very Iyengar: careful alignment pushes the ego out, because you cannot attend to the pose and to how you look at the same time.

Iyengar yoga is the style developed by Mr BKS Iyengar. In the 20th century he did more than anyone to set down traditional Indian yoga, through his books and his teaching, and he pioneered the use of props. It is sometimes called modern classical yoga, and it’s the style we teach at Flametree.

If the stiff swimmer sounds like you, props are the answer: a belt, a block or a chair lets a stiff body do the pose properly, and flexibility comes with time. Read Chris’s story of starting yoga stiff.

Where to watch My Dharma in Australia

It is free to watch on YouTube (43 minutes, checked October 2026). A different, shorter film with a similar title is also on YouTube, so look for the full documentary.

Try yoga with us

New to Flametree? Your first 2 classes are free, and you can choose 2 free ebooks. Too Stiff For Yoga? is the natural partner to this film. Get your 2 free classes and 2 free ebooks.

For the studio, check the beginner timetable and just come along. For a LIVE online class, click the class time you want and we email you the link to join.

More reviews: Films About Yoga And Breathwork.

Questions about My Dharma

Is My Dharma free to watch?

Yes. The full 43 minute documentary is free on YouTube.

Is My Dharma about Iyengar yoga?

No. Its teachers come from other styles of yoga. It is a film about what yoga means to them, not about one method.

Does My Dharma include any science?

No. It is personal stories and tradition. For research on yoga and the mind, look elsewhere.

Can I start yoga in Darwin if I can’t touch my toes?

Yes. Flametree’s Iyengar beginner classes in Darwin, at Woolner and Coolalinga and LIVE online, use props so stiff bodies can start well. New students get their first 2 classes free.

Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga in Darwin, at Woolner and Coolalinga, and LIVE online anywhere.

General information only, not medical advice. Talk to your yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and your doctor if you wish, before changing what you do.

Sources and further reading

• My Dharma, full documentary (2016), YouTube, watched October 2026.
• BKS Iyengar, official site