Next Episode of Breath of Fire is
Season 1 / Episode 2 and airs on 31 October 2024 01:00
In 2013, Katie Griggs, a millennial YouTube astrologer, rose to fame as the face of Kundalini yoga, opening the RA MA Institute in Los Angeles, donning a white turban, and reinventing herself as Guru Jagat. Breath of Fire explores Guru Jagat's evolution while chronicling the shocking secret history of Kundalini through its origins in the 1960s to its expansion in the United States and its presence in wellness circles today. Based on the Vanity Fair story by Hayley Phelan, "The Second Coming of Guru Jagat," Breath of Fire illuminates the culture of modern spirituality revealing complicated themes of cultural appropriation and the dangers of self-proclaimed gurus.
Charismatic Katie Griggs, who takes on the name Guru Jagat, espouses the teachings of Yogi Bhajan, a mysterious Punjabi Sikh who brought his version of Kundalini yoga to the United States in 1969. Former followers of Yogi Bhajan discuss the social conditions of the ‘60s and ‘70s that led to the rise of anti-establishment spirituality and the growth of Yogi Bhajan's following.
Yogi Bhajan's backstory and the invention of his mystical persona who preached a healthy, drug-free lifestyle, enlightenment, and equality is scrutinized. Former followers recount the rigor of his teachings including physical hardships, unusual rules, and abuse. By 2007, Kundalini yoga hits the mainstream and years later Katie Griggs opens the RA MA Institute in Los Angeles, claiming direct links to Yogi Bhajan.
The lavish lifestyle that Yogi Bhajan led with are now the luxuries that Guru Jagat enjoys as the spiritual leader of RA MA Institute. Former RA MA employees describe the business model of the company and the increasingly erratic behavior of Guru Jagat. A tell-all 2020 memoir changes the narrative about Bhajan but Guru Jagat and RA MA continue to staunchly and publicly defend Yogi Bhajan's legacy.
A growing movement online builds to discredit RA MA and Guru Jagat, calling on aggrieved members to come forward with their stories of abuse. COVID-19 hits and Guru Jagat's messaging espouses wild conspiracy theories and a mistrust of the mainstream while her business and health begins to quickly unravel.
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