Escaping a Cult Posing as a Yoga Movement - ATC International
5/6/202658 min
Ashleigh Freckleton was 25, living alone in London after a breakup, when she was drawn into what seemed like a spiritual yoga community.
To immerse herself fully into that community, Ashleigh travelled to Romania to practice its teachings.
Now featured in Apple TV's Twisted Yoga, she shares how that experience escalated into an alleged world of coercion, exploitation, and psychological control that followed her across Europe.
You can watch Twisted Yoga on Apple TV and follow Ashleigh on Instagram @afreckle_ and CULTivate Awareness @cultawareness_
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CREDITS:
Host: Meshel Laurie
Guest: Ashleigh Freckleton
Producer: Ruby Bartzis
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMeshel Laurie· Host0:00
[instrumental music] This is Australian True Crime International with Michelle Lawrie. Twisted Yoga is a brand new short documentary series on Apple TV. It takes us into the world of Gregorian Bivolaru, who is the spiritual leader of an international tantric yoga movement, and who was, for many years, one of Interpol's most wanted fugitives. Bivolaru is now in custody in France, thanks in part to our guest, Ashley Freckleton. She joins us to talk about it. This is Australian True Crime. We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this podcast is created, the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. I actually, like a lot of people, I guess, saw the ad for this documentary, and I thought it was gonna be another documentary about Bikram Yoga. Are you getting that a lot? Are a lot of people going, "I can't believe it's a second kind of yoga."
Ashleigh Freckleton· Guest0:57
Yeah, not necessarily Bikram, but everyone's going, "Oh, another yoga one."
Meshel Laurie· Host1:02
Yeah.
Ashleigh Freckleton· Guest1:02
"It's another story about yoga."
Meshel Laurie· Host1:04
Yeah, it's surprising to us, isn't it? I've never been a big yoga person. Um, but we have this... But I am Buddhist, I suppose, so they probably intersect. The, i- in our imaginations we th- we think of yogis as chilled out, fantastic people, don't we?
Ashleigh Freckleton· Guest1:20
We do. They're, they're chill.
Meshel Laurie· Host1:22
And good normally, good-hearted, kind-hearted, vegetarian- Yeah ... kind of, you know, good people around the place.
Ashleigh Freckleton· Guest1:29
Yeah,