HBO's latest true crime docuseries Breath of Fire is another saga of a spiritual community accused of cult-like behaviors. Based on Hayley Phelan's Vanity Fair article "The Second Coming of Guru Jagat," the four-part series—which premiered on October 23, 2024, and airs new episodes every Wednesday—centers on Guru Jagat, a practitioner of kundalini yoga who doc directors Hayley Pappas and Smiley Stevens have dubbed "the Elizabeth Holmes of Yoga." Throughout the 2010s, Jagat built her L.A.-based studio into an international empire that boasted several locations, adjacent e-commerce businesses, and celebrity followers including Kate Hudson, Alicia Keys, Orlando Bloom, and Russell Brand. She also allegedly fostered a cult-like, abusive environment within the organization, and eventually platformed right-wing, anti-vax, and QAnon conspiracies by the onset of the COVID pandemic.The well-rounded cult docuseries also explores the legacy of Jagat's controversial mentor, Yogi Bhajan, the complic...
