Twisted Yoga Review: A Harrowing Exposé of a Tantric Sex Cult
A clever trap ... Twisted Yoga. This three-part documentary series on Apple TV+ delivers a wild and unsettling exposé of a tantric sex cult that exploited women, filled with astonishing detail while maintaining sensitivity towards its interviewees.
The Surreal and Terrifying Reality
Imagine being invited to an exclusive yoga retreat at "the villa," only to find a grim building in Romania where women cavort in micro-bikinis and engage in disturbing rituals like drinking urine after mass orgies. Or being summoned to meet a spiritual guru in Paris, where your sim card is wrapped in tin foil, and you're driven to a dingy flat for hours-long sex with an elderly man you must "transfigure." For many women, this was no nightmare but a surreal and terrifying reality.
While the finer details of Twisted Yoga's tale are intriguingly wild, the broader picture is infuriating and profoundly sad. The series masterfully uncovers how a search for enlightenment turned into a dangerous cult, preying on vulnerable individuals.
Ashleigh's Journey into the Cult
The documentary introduces Ashleigh, a smiley Australian with interests in the alternative, such as ghosts and astrology. In her 20s, she moves to London and reconnects with a friend who recommends a yoga studio specializing in tantra. This practice, often misunderstood due to associations with Sting's 1990s revelations, involves spiritual knowledge and an "extreme expansion of consciousness." However, for Ashleigh, it becomes a gateway to exploitation.
Her pursuit leads her to the villa and into the orbit of Gregorian Bivolaru, a Romanian man revered as "the guru" by her yoga community. After a secretive invitation, she travels abroad, only to refuse sexual advances and be told she's "manipulated by demons." This moment reveals that tantra was never about self-improvement but an opportunity for exploitation.
Exploitation and Psychological Manipulation
Other women interviewed in the series did participate in the so-called "sexual initiation" with Bivolaru. One describes being transported to Prague to work unpaid on a camgirl site, told she was saving clients' souls by connecting them to higher sexual energy. The lies fed to these women were ridiculously transparent, yet director Rowan Deacon maps out a complex psychological landscape.
These women sought guidance, community, and personal evolution, making their fall into a clever trap all the more tragic. Yoga's association with virtuosity played a key role, as suggestions that tantra would fundamentally change them led to distrusting their instincts for self-preservation. Giving weight to doubts meant risking "salvation," as one survivor, Miranda from Oxford, explains.
The Notorious Guru: Gregorian Bivolaru
Bivolaru is a household name in Romania, notorious for evading court on charges including sexual corruption, trafficking of minors, and illegal border crossings in the 2000s. He was later found in Sweden, granted asylum after claiming persecution for his beliefs, and convicted in absentia of sex with a minor in 2013. In 2023, he was arrested in France on new charges of rape, kidnapping, and human trafficking, where he remains in custody, denying all allegations.
Ongoing Threats and Hope for Awareness
Disturbingly, the yoga studios linked to these crimes are still operational, denying any association. A simple Google search for "tantric yoga" still shows the London studio Ashleigh attended, highlighting the chilling reality. This documentary aims to bring Bivolaru infamy beyond Romania, raising awareness to prevent further exploitation. Twisted Yoga is available for streaming on Apple TV+ now, offering a crucial look into this dark chapter.
