Twisted Yoga arrives on Apple TV as a three-part autopsy of a spiritual empire gone rancid. Director Rowan Deacon, previously associated with the chilling territory of the Jimmy Savile case, turns his lens toward systemic abuse inside a global tantric organization.
In the middle of the wreckage sits Gregorian Bivolaru, a reclusive Romanian guru who built a sprawling network by selling wellness and enlightenment. For many women, the entry point was a familiar search for community. That search curdled into a grim saga of psychological control.
The production relies on first-hand accounts to trace the movement from its early stages to its collapse into a criminal operation involving human trafficking. The series draws a sharp line between the calm surface of yoga classes and the predatory conduct of their leader.
That gap gives the documentary its sting. The project studies the mechanics of power, the cost of manipulation, and the exhausting road toward justice. It lands as a necessary warning about the shadows behind the modern wellness industry.
The Architecture of Indoctrination and the Guru Myth
The recruitment strategy fed on a particular form of spiritual vulnerability. Targets often included women from religious backgrounds or expats living in cities such as London and Copenhagen. They were searching for a fresh start, a deeper meaning, a new map for a life that felt unfinished. Local studios became the entry points.
These modest storefronts fed people into the international network of the Atman Yoga Federation. Gregorian Bivolaru, known to followers as Grieg, cultivated a reclusive aura that sharpened his authority. He moved from distant teacher to absolute ruler of the soul. Quite a promotion, if your business model is obedience.
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The organization had a ready answer for doubt. Hesitation was labeled a sign of demonic manipulation. That move forced followers to distrust their own survival instincts. They were taught that spiritual salvation required total surrender of intuition. The promise of self-improvement became a cage with incense.
The tantra yoga practice was presented as an extreme expansion of consciousness. In practice, it worked as a grooming process designed to erode personal limits. By the time many women recognized the danger, they had been isolated from friends and family. The federation had mastered the conversion of a healthy hobby into a high-control environment.
The Descent into Exploitation and Global Criminality
The shift from breathing exercises to open abuse arrived in stages. High-ranking members were sent to the villa in Romania, where mass events and disturbing rituals took place. The location bore little resemblance to the peaceful retreats promised in brochures. Later, a select few were summoned to a dingy Paris apartment for private initiations with Bivolaru.
These sessions involved forced sexual acts with the elderly leader, who claimed the acts were required for spiritual transmission. The organization also ran a camgirl business in Prague. Students worked long unpaid shifts, convinced they were helping male clients reach enlightenment through sexual energy. Spiritual labor, apparently, came with terrible hours and no payroll department.
Bivolaru’s legal history reads like a long row of red warning lights. He faced convictions in absentia years ago. He currently sits in a French jail awaiting trial for rape and kidnapping. The group used biblical references to justify its actions, turning faith into a tool for keeping exploited women in place.
The business model functioned as a predatory machine disguised as a school. It converted the human need for connection into a profit engine for one man. The scale remains staggering, stretching across multiple borders and decades of unchecked cruelty.
Directorial Style and the Survivor Perspective
Rowan Deacon avoids flattening the survivors into helpless figures. Ashleigh, Agnes, and Miranda emerge as articulate, clear-eyed voices, and their testimony anchors the three episodes emotionally. The series takes on a slow-burning investigative rhythm.
Tension gathers as each layer of indoctrination is stripped away. Interviews with detectives and journalists supply the framework for the international police work. The editing follows the survivors’ mounting dread, giving the story a grim, steady pulse.
There is a sharp irony in watching a group that preached love and auras operate like a cold, calculating corporation. The production stresses how profit and control took priority over any genuine spiritual growth. The series also warns that the danger has not vanished.
Many of these studios remain active under various names. They still appear near the top of internet searches for tantra. The documentary works like a digital lighthouse for potential victims. It reveals the face of a Josef Fritzl type figure who hid behind the language of peace. How many other seekers are being led into the same dark corners right now?
Twisted Yoga premiered globally on March 13, 2026, and is currently available for streaming exclusively on Apple TV+. This three-part investigative docuseries, helmed by director Rowan Deacon, delves into the harrowing reality of an international tantric yoga federation. The narrative follows a group of students whose search for wellness and spiritual community leads them into the orbit of Gregorian Bivolaru, a reclusive Romanian guru. Through raw survivor testimonies and archival footage, the series exposes the psychological mechanisms of a cult that allegedly used spiritual “initiations” as a facade for human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Where to Watch Twisted Yoga Online
Title: Twisted Yoga
Distributor: Apple TV+
Release date: March 13, 2026
Rating: TV-MA
Running time: 3 Episodes, 42–51 minutes per episode
Director: Rowan Deacon
Writers: Rowan Deacon
Producers and Executive Producers: Simon Chinn, Jonathan Chinn, Suzanne Lavery, Bernadette Higgins, Callum McCulloch-Nowlan
Cast: Ashleigh Freckleton, Agnes, Bonnie, Miranda, Andrea, Andreea Pocotilă, Franck Dannerolle, Gregorian Bivolaru
Director of Photography (Cinematographer): Patrick Smith
Editors: Chris Wilson
Composer: Gazelle Twin (Elizabeth Bernholz)
The Review
Twisted Yoga
Twisted Yoga exposes the predatory gears behind a wellness facade with surgical precision. Rowan Deacon avoids the sensationalism typical of the genre by letting survivors speak with dignity. The three episodes move quickly and leave a lasting chill. It functions as a necessary autopsy of spiritual exploitation.
PROS
- Focuses on articulate and astute survivor voices.
- Taut pacing avoids typical true crime bloat.
- Directorial restraint prevents cheap sensationalism.
CONS
- Inherently grim content makes for a difficult watch.
- Some background details on the guru’s rise remain thin.
