Journey Into Yoga Cults
by Yoga Cults Podcasters
Oh f*ck, did we join a yoga cult?! We thought it was an organization that was changing the world through yoga - because the yoga felt so amazing and that's what the "methodology" was supposed to help us do. But the deeper we got in, the more indoctrinated we became. We've learned a LOT since then about manipulation, coercion, abuse of power and undue influence. (Be a yes, don't get me started...) And we're going to share it with you here. Super casual style, not fancy. It's just us and our opinions and true stories. We are allowed to speak our truth. We hope this helps people.
Episodes
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17 - “Call your dad, you’re in a yoga cult!” w/ Shelley Carroll
This interview is with Shelley Carroll (formerly Lowther) who has been one of the first Baptiste affiliate studio owners to publicly bow out of Baptiste Yoga and tell you why in this conversation. Alos be sure to read her blog post from Feb. 2022 entitled "Call your Dad, you're in a yoga cult":...
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16 - A Little Bit Culty w Sarah Edmonson & Nippy Ames
What a treat to start our season 2 with A Little Bit Culty podcast hosts (and NXIVM cult survivors) Sarah Edmonson and Nippy Ames! Sarah Edmondson is a Canadian actress who has starred in the CBS series Salvation and more than twelve films for the Hallmark Channel and Lifetime. She is also a...
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15 - Smells Like Sex Trafficking w/ attorney Vanessa Baehr-Jones
Trigger Warning: this episode contains content about sex trafficking. Please take care of your needs regarding this topic or skip this episode if this topic is triggering for you. Recruiting and grooming sexual partners, weeding out critics, using harassment and coercion, encouraging others to…
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14 - Q & A: Your Questions Answered, like: "How do we protect people from Baron Baptiste?"
You asked, we answered. Thank you so much for writing into us and sharing your stories, questions and topic ideas. We are listening. A peek into this conversation: how to protect people from Baron, real talk about "affiliate studios" businesses, the lack of support from Baron and "The Institute"...
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13 - Is Baptiste Yoga a 'System of Control'? w/ Rachel Bernstein from IndoctriNATION Podcast
We are thrilled to give you this episode with Rachel Bernstein! Bernstein is a therapist in LA specializing in cult recovery and has worked With India Oxenberg in her healing from the NXIVM cult as well as her mother, Catherine Oxenberg. Her popular podcast, IndoctriNATION has had over 900K…
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12 - The 'FIT to Lead' Training, aka: "I'll Fuck Your Head Off!" - Baron Baptiste
"I'll Fuck Your Head Off!" "I'm over here, Gino is over there. My seeing of Gino is happening out there where I am not. There is no 8" Gino in my head" - Baron Baptiste Does this sound like advanced-level facilitator training content to you? Well, believe it or not this (and more!) is what we...
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11 - Sh*t Cult Members Say: "I'm ignoring your harm because it was great for me!"
We are hearing the ripple effects of this podcast and not afraid to tawk about it! Grab your cawwwwffee and get ready we're tawwking about you - people who don't listen to victims and double down to defend your own benefits... In this episode we talk about people who are publicly buckling down…
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10 - Cult Expert Dr. Janja Lalich on How We Became the "Perfect Followers"
Listen to our mind-blowing conversation with Dr. Lalich and we describe in detail the process of going through Baptiste training and her explanation of how it's deliberately designed to make us into "perfect little followers" and pretty soon taking on the doctrine of the group as our own. We have...
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9 - “Fear Not” the Legal Threats and Bullying Tactics
Threats of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and Cease and Desist letters from attorneys are designed to bully and silence would-be whistler blowers. Could that be why so many people are speaking underground about Baptiste Yoga and so many women have stories to share about Baron but are afraid to…
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8 - Certifiably Affiliate-ified and Indoctri-buted
We thought that becoming a "Certified Baptiste Teacher" and a "Baptiste Affiliate Studio" owner actually meant something of value and we worked hard to achieve this status thinking it represented a higher level of skill and ability in our careers. We took it seriously and then paid a lot of money...
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7 - Feedback, Victim-blaming & Tone-police
Updates! We have had SO MANY people reach out to us over he past week which inspired this episode where we respond to some of them.... 1) We have received some "love and light" style "feedback" that is outright tone-police."Let me tell you how to do your podcast so you will land your point..."…
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6 - It's Been Happening For Years: interview w/ Debbie Williamson the Excommunicated "CEO"
Debbie Williamson was called the "CEO" in the early days of Baptiste Yoga and owned affiliate studios until she was forced out by Baron in 2011. She had trained with him and loved his style of yoga since her first "Bootcamp" in 2003 and went on to open one of the first Baptiste Affiliate studios...
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5 - Level 1: Welcome to Your Indoctrination
What exactly happened in this 6-day training…? Was it a training or was it a “self-help” style Large Group Awareness Training (LGAT) that serves as an indoctrination intensive. Did I even learn any yoga? "If it felt bad, why did you stay? Why did you fall for it?" Why did we drink the kool-aid?…
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4 - The Letter
Be prepared. If a Baptiste leader reaches out to you and tells you to “be in inquiry” around why Baptiste Yoga is not a cult, they might say… “Don’t go discuss your concerns with other people” “I’ll tell you what to think and how to feel” “If you don’t agree with our community’s storyline, please...
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3 - Warning Signs
Let's see, does it check the boxes? Join us as we go through the warning signs as outlined by cult expert Alexandra Stein: Cult/Totalist Recruitment Warning Signs. This list comes from here website if you want to learn more here: http://www.alexandrastein.com/warning-signs.html The group/person…
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2 - What Happened?
Join us as we ask each other "What happened?!" How did we get here and what do we do now? Do you have similar questions you are asking yourself? Join us as we try and figure out what to do now, what to take ownership for, who will answer for the wrong-doing and what does accountability look like?...
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1 - If You See Something Say Something
Welcome to our very honest and conversations about our own experiences in Baptiste Yoga. We are not here to burn anything down or cancel anyone. BUT however, there are some "practices and techniques" in this organization that walks, talks and quacks in a very curious way and while claiming to be...
About this show
Oh f*ck, did we join a yoga cult?! We thought it was an organization that was changing the world through yoga - because the yoga felt so amazing and that's what the "methodology" was supposed to help us do. But the deeper we got in, the more indoctrinated we became. We've learned a LOT since then about manipulation, coercion, abuse of power and undue influence. (Be a yes, don't get me started...) And we're going to share it with you here. Super casual style, not fancy. It's just us and our opinions and true stories. We are allowed to speak our truth. We hope this helps people.
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Yoga Cults Podcasters
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