Shortcut: Escaping a Cult Posing as a Yoga Movement - ATC International
Australian True Crime
Bravecasting
4.5 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 6 May 2026
⏱️ 14 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed.
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_
You can watch our episodes by visiting our Youtube Channel here.
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CREDITS:
Host: Meshel Laurie
Guest: Ashleigh Freckleton
Producer: Ruby Bartzis
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Australian True Crime International with Michelle Lorry. |
| 0:03.8 | Twisted Yoga is a brand new short documentary series on Apple TV. |
| 0:08.7 | It takes us into the world of Gregorian Bivalaru, who is the spiritual leader of an international |
| 0:14.0 | tantric yoga movement and who was, for many years, one of Interpol's most wanted fugitives. |
| 0:20.6 | Bivalaru is now in custody in France, thanks in part to our guest, Ashley Freckleton. |
| 0:26.1 | She joins us to talk about it. |
| 0:28.5 | This is Australian True Crime. |
| 0:30.5 | We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this podcast is created, |
| 0:35.1 | the Wurundri Woi Warang people of the Koolan Nation. |
| 0:42.0 | Yes, I was living overseas and I was on a bit of a spiritual journey and I would really kind of |
| 0:48.7 | think about it being a situation of vulnerability because I'd just moved overseas. I was 25. I was |
| 0:55.7 | exploring my spirituality, my identity, what I believe in. I was in a new city, going through a |
| 1:02.0 | breakup. And I also really enjoyed yoga. And I was just looking for a really good yoga practice |
| 1:06.8 | to start with. I wasn't looking for a spiritual yoga school. And then I got linked in with my |
| 1:12.8 | brother's friends and they'd found this amazing spiritual yoga school that was going to change my life |
| 1:18.5 | and it just snowballed from there. So I was living in the UK and the online branch that I first |
| 1:26.2 | joined is called Atman, Yoga Federation. |
| 1:28.5 | Then I eventually joined the London branch, which is Tara Yoga Centre, and they go by |
| 1:34.8 | a whole list of different names, depending on where you are in the world. |
| 1:38.9 | When did you become aware of this individual who was the sort of the spiritual leader of the yoga group that |
| 1:47.1 | you had joined? I became aware of him fairly early. I was doing the online classes and I was talking |
| 1:53.0 | to this friend that had kind of drawn me into the school and he was based in Romania at the time |
... |
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