A Little Bit Culty

Jules Hartley: “Breath of Fire” and the Cult of Kundalini Yoga (Part 1)

Dec 9, 2024

Jules Hartley, an actress and naturopathic physician featured in HBO's "Breath of Fire," shares her harrowing experience escaping the cult-like Ra Ma Institute where Kundalini yoga was practiced under Guru Jagat. She discusses the alluring yet troubling aspects of Kundalini yoga, including its dark history of manipulation and abuse. Jules also reflects on her transformative but confusing experiences during yoga sessions and the emotional turmoil following a rebirthing workshop. Her insights shed light on the complexities of spiritual communities and the challenges of breaking free.

48:40

Creator website

Episode guests

Jules Hartley

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Kundalini Yoga, founded by Yogi Bhajan, intertwines intense breathing and meditation practices with a dark cult-like history of manipulation.

Guru Jagat perpetuated Yogi Bhajan's control tactics at the Ra Ma Institute, fostering a culture of obedience and financial exploitation.

Jules Hartley highlighted the insidious nature of emotional abuse framed as spiritual guidance within the Kundalini community.

Deep dives

Origins and Control of Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini Yoga emerged in the late 1960s through the influence of Yogi Bhajan, who marketed it as an intense spiritual practice combining breathing exercises and meditation. His approach involved strict oversight of his followers' lives, controlling aspects such as their diets, clothing, and relationships. Bhajan founded the Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization, or 3HO, which functioned like a cult by enforcing collective rules and demanding monetary donations from followers, despite his financial successes from products like Yogi Tea. His legacy of control has persisted even after his death in 2004, with many of his teachings and practices remaining in the curriculum of various studios and teachers, leading to continued patterns of manipulation.

Intro

2min

Exploring the Complexities of Kundalini Yoga

2min

Unraveling Kundalini Yoga's Legacy

15min

Transformative Experiences in White Tantric Yoga

7min

The Turbulent Legacy of Kundalini Yoga

12min

The Emotional Turmoil of a Rebirthing Experience

4min

Navigating Spiritual Complexities

10min

Struggling with Expectations in Kundalini Yoga

4min

You may have heard of Kundalini yoga from its popularity with celebrities, but you might be less familiar with its culty history. Invented in the late 60s by a guru-turned-cult leader named Yogi Bhajan, Kundalini is an intensive form of yoga that weirdly uses breathing exercises to manipulate people. After its founder died in 2004, one of his followers, Guru Jagat, picked up where he left off. Jagat founded the Ra Ma Institute, which she ran more like a cult than a yoga studio.

Our guest today, Jules Hartley, escaped Ra Ma in 2017. She’s featured in the HBO docuseries “Breath of Fire” about the cult of Kundalini yoga. Jules is here to tell us about her experience with Guru Jagat, and we’ll also get into the media’s portrayal of cult survivors.

Kundalini has an incredibly dark history that includes child and sexual abuse, so trigger warning this week.

Also… let it be known that:

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ‘A Little Bit Culty’ on Patreon

Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

Watch Sarah’s TEDTalk

CREDITS:

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Amphibian.Media

Writer & Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Associate producers: Emma Diehl and Matt Stroud of Amphibian.Media

Audio production: Red Caiman Studios