Additional Resources
Piercing the Mirage: New Age/Spirituality/Yoga cults, undue influence and toxic culture
Organizations
seeksafely.org - empowering seekers; informing about deception and exploitation in the self-help industry; encouraging accountability among self-help practitioners
helpingsurvivors.org - helping survivors of sexual abuse and assault
Articles
The Disturbing Case of a Tantric Guru and His Followers - Cat McShane - The Guardian - March 9, 2025
I Smell a Rat - Michelle Polizzi - Slate - August 18, 2024
Charlotte Medlock on Kundalini Yoga and Rama Cult - Buzzfeed April 5, 2024
Annie Rice on Toxic Yoga Culture - The Guardian - February 10, 2024
Gregorian Bivolaru, MISA cult, and yoga cults in general - The Telegraph- December 2, 2023
Sadhguru - Vox - July 18, 2022
The New Age Bible: On the Origin of the Course in Miracles by Sheila Heti - Harpers Magazine - January 2025
My Yoga Class Turned Out to Be a Cult by Chris Flanders - The Guardian - June 26, 2022
Books and Videos
PARANORMALITY: The Science of the Supernatural - Why We See What Isn't There by Richard Wiseman
A fascinating exposition of the brain science and psychology underlying con artists of the supernatural
Memoir - THE TRUE HAPPINESS COMPANY: How a Girl Like Me Fell for a Cult like that by Veena Divanahi
A 19-year-old college student with mental health issues is manipulated and coerced by a cult leader masquerading as a therapist and coach
Memoir - IN THE SHADOW OF ENLIGHTENMENT: A Girl's Journey through the Osho Rajneesh Cult by Sarito Carroll
The experience and aftermath of child abuse and neglect in the cult's communes in Pune and Oregon
Memoir - UNCULTURED by Daniella Mestyanek Young
Severe childhood trauma growing up in the Children of God sex cult, then becoming indoctrinated in the cult of the US military
Memoir - PREMKA: White Bird in a Golden Cage by Pamela Saharah Dyson
Manipulation and abuse at the heart of the Kundalini Yoga cult (3HO) and its founder Yogi Bhakan
Memoir - SCARRED: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM by Sarah Edmondson
Falling into and escaping from the NXIVM cult as an adult
Memoir - THIS SWEET LIFE: How We Lived after Kirby Died by Ginny Brown and Jean Brown
The dangers of the unregulated self-help industry and its impact on vulnerable seekers
Cults Leaders Don't Become Cult Leaders by Accident by Daniella Mestyanek Young
Documentary (BBC) - GURU: Yoga - Power - Abuse
Investigation into sexual abuse allegations at Sivananda Ashram in India
Documentary (BBC) - THE BAD GURU - ATMAN/TARA/MISA Cult
Reportage on Gregorian Bivolaru and ATMAN/TARA/MISA cult abuses
Documentary (Netflix) - BIKRAM: Yogi, Guru, Predator
Rise and fall of Bikram Choudhoury, founder of hot yoga
Documentary (ITVx) - CHILDREN OF THE CULT
Adult survivors expose the child abuse perpetrated by the (still active) Rajneesh/Osho cult