Cults to Consciousness
Stories of claiming independence after leaving high-control groups.
Hi! I’m Shelise Ann Sola— former devout Mormon. On C2C, my husband Jonathan and I dive deep into the nuance of culty organizations. From Extreme Christian Fundamentalism, FLDS Polygamy, Amish, Mennonite, Mormonism, Scientology, Ultra Orthodox, and Jehovah's Witnesses, to cults featured in popular docu-series, we interview cult experts, survivors, advocates, therapists, way-showers, authors, and more, to uncover how they find independence and healing through awareness and true individual sovereignty.
New videos weekly!
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Cults to Consciousness
Falling Prey to BIKRAM: Yoga Guru, Founder, Predator
“Guru” Bikram was responsible for bringing hot yoga to the states and popularizing it. Without realizing, Larissa Anderson was slowly groomed by her then boyfriend and yoga studio owner to seamlessly fall right into Bikram’s hands. He would eventually request massages from Larissa in front of hundreds of students and get more and more bold when they were alone together.
Larissa underwent the intense 9 week bootcamp-style training to become an official Bikram yoga teacher so that she could eventually open her own yoga studio. Along with many other students, she endured ridicule from him, in the name of toughing up and being indestructible, and was later assaulted and r*ped by Bikram. Larissa explains the depths of her grooming and brainwashing as she descended into the cult of this Guru-narcissist.
Click here to watch on YouTube
Click here to watch part 2 on YouTube
Catch the full story of Bikram, featuring Larissa, in the 2019 documentary “Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator”
Find Larissa on Social
IG: @yoginilarissa
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- Who is Bikram?
- How Larissa was groomed into going to teacher training
- Larissa gets chosen to go to teacher training (has to pay a lot)
- Larissa's boyfriend at the time helped groom her for Bikram
- Bikram would call out Larissa in front of class to massage him
- What Larissa was made to do during the harsh teacher training
- Bikram would ridcule his students
- What set Bikram apart? Why did people follow him?
- What led to Larissa getting blacklisted by Bikram
- Larissa hears Bikram calling to her telepathically
- Larissa goes back to Bikram
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Theme Song Produced and Composed by Christian Guevara
**Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.**