Spiritual Abuse in Yoga: When Healing Turns Harmful: A Survivor’s Warning About Breathwork Cults
Editor’s Note: This story is based on an anonymous Reddit post, with additional research and insights. Their post is shared here to raise awareness about spiritual abuse, manipulation, and the psychological toll of cultic environments disguised as healing communities.
Spiritual Abuse in Yoga and Breathwork Classes
What begins as healing can quietly morph into harm, as told in this story about spiritual abuse in yoga. For many spiritual seekers, yoga studios, meditation circles, and breathwork classes offer a path toward peace, growth, and connection. But beneath the surface of these seemingly safe spaces, a darker pattern is emerging—one that survivors are bravely beginning to speak out about.
One such survivor, writing anonymously on Reddit, described their harrowing experience with spiritual abuse inside multiple “healing” spaces, including a breathwork studio that operated under the guise of yoga and trauma release. The result? A near-psychotic break, a trip to the emergency room, and a painful reckoning with how easily abuse can be masked as enlightenment.
“A yoga studio I used to go to for breathwork was also a cult,” they wrote. “The founders and some staff were harvesting the life force of fellow attendees, especially in classes where people were in a vulnerable state.”
The Allure of “Awakening” and the Rise of Manipulative Leaders
In recent years, spiritual spaces have exploded in popularity—especially those offering breathwork, trauma healing, and “divine feminine” energy work. Many are genuinely transformative. But others are run by charismatic leaders who exploit the emotionally raw for power, praise, sex, or money.
This is part of a broader pattern of spiritual abuse, a form of manipulation that uses spiritual beliefs or practices to control, coerce, or harm others. Unlike physical or financial abuse, spiritual abuse is often harder to detect, precisely because it hides behind light-filled language and “positive vibes.”
Survivors describe being “love bombed”—a term that originally came from studies of cults like the Moonies and has reemerged as a hallmark of modern abuse cycles. In this case, the author was told they were a “super powerful priestess from XYZ galaxy” destined to work alongside the cult leader “for life.”
When they expressed emotional distress and concern about their mental state, the love bombing collapsed. The cult turned cold.
“Suddenly everything is my fault,” they shared. “I can’t be helped. All my messages and calls go unanswered.”
This bait-and-switch dynamic—intense adoration followed by abandonment or devaluation—is common in cults, toxic relationships, and manipulative communities. It destabilizes the target, increases dependency, and reasserts the leader’s power.
Yoga, Sahaja, and the Hidden Cult Framework
While the original post doesn’t name specific groups, it mentions Sahaja Yoga, a controversial movement that has faced repeated allegations of cultic behavior. Sahaja followers often speak of spontaneous “kundalini awakenings” and channeled knowledge through their founder, Shri Mataji. Critics have pointed out the group’s controlling doctrines, encouragement of child separation, and condemnation of mainstream medical care.
Other groups have cloaked cult tactics in the language of Eastern wisdom, chakra balancing, or breathwork “initiations.” In some studios, participants are pushed into deep emotional release without proper aftercare, support, or consent—leaving them raw, vulnerable, and easily influenced.
“These classes preyed on young women… especially in trauma release breathwork,” the survivor wrote. “I left because the founders were protecting a sexual predator who had attempted to rape me.”
Sexual abuse, unfortunately, is a recurring theme in many yoga and spiritual communities. From Bikram Choudhury to John Friend (Anusara Yoga), high-profile cases have shown how often charismatic leaders use spiritual authority to silence or discredit victims.
Psychic Manipulation: The New Frontier of Fear-Based Control
The Reddit post also mentions another rising trend: spiritual fearmongering via YouTube tarot readings and psychic “downloads.”
These clickbaity videos often follow cult logic—either pandering to the ego (“You’re about to be rich and famous!”) or feeding on fear and paranoia (“Someone’s casting death spells on you!”).
This psychic manipulation is a subtle form of spiritual abuse. It keeps viewers addicted to the next reading, the next “twin flame update,” or the next apocalyptic message that confirms their deepest fears or desires. It can induce real emotional dysregulation and detachment from reality—especially for those already dealing with CPTSD or dissociation.
When Enlightenment Becomes Exploitation
The most chilling aspect of this survivor’s account is the psychological collapse they narrowly avoided.
“It took everything in me—all the grounding and safety planning measures I learned from previous suicidal periods—to get to A&E.”
This is a crucial point. Many survivors of spiritual abuse aren’t just hurt. They are shattered, destabilized, and left questioning their sanity. The betrayal cuts deeper because it often follows a period of vulnerability, openness, and trust. And while the bruises are invisible, the wounds are devastating.
What Can You Do?
If you’re attending a yoga, meditation, or spiritual group, here are some signs of spiritual abuse or cult-like behavior to watch for:
- Unquestioned authority or idolization of a leader
- Sudden, intense love or spiritual flattery (e.g., “You’re the chosen one”)
- Dismissal or punishment when you question, struggle, or express doubt
- Isolation from outside support systems
- Spiritual explanations for every concern (e.g., “You’re just not aligned”)
- A pattern of sexual manipulation or secretive behavior
- Use of fear, paranoia, or “psychic” warnings to control your actions
Final Thoughts
As the survivor joked, perhaps “it’s time to go old school and just attend Catholic mass.” But in all seriousness, the hunger for healing is real—and so is the risk of exploitation. Cultic abuse doesn’t always look like matching robes and bunk beds. Sometimes, it looks like a breathwork class, a tarot reading, or a DM from someone claiming you’re their divine counterpart.
Healing is sacred. But when leaders twist it into a weapon, it becomes spiritual abuse.
If you or someone you know is experiencing this, you’re not alone. Reach out. Speak up. And never forget—your intuition is sacred, too.
