ATMAN CULT ALERT

AN EXPOSÉ ON ATMAN YOGA FEDERATION

BREAKING NEWS!!

Gregorian Bivolaru, who forces sex initiation with his female followers, was arrested on the 28th November 2023 in Paris. 175 police agents intervened simultaneously at multiple locations and arrested 41 people.  At the time of the arrest, according to the source, 26 women were on site in cramped conditions and deplorable hygiene. 

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Are You Going To a Tantra Yoga Class In The Atman Yoga Federation?

More people than ever are seeking healing, sexual empowerment and ancient wisdom. The Atman federation claims to be authentic and offer “personal and spiritual growth through the paths of Yoga and Tantra”.

But, the reality is much darker.

Soseaua Salaj Nr.2, Bl.126A, parter, Sector 5, Bucuresti

Website

 25-31 Ironmonger Row, EC1V 3QN, London

Website

Allegations

 

 

230, Nordre Fasanvej, Köpenhamns kommun, Capital Region of Denmark, 2200, Danmark

Website

Allegations

Chang Lor Road, Chiang Mai, Saraphi District, Chiang Mai Province, 50100, Thailand

Website

Hope Building 405, 14-11 Nakaitabashi, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo

Website

95, Üllői út, Középső-Ferencváros, 8th district, Budapest, 9th district, Central Hungary, 1091, Ungern

Website

 

Tara Yoga Centre
2nd Floor Crown House,
193, Cowley Road, Oxford,
OX4 1UT

Ross Street Community Centre
Ross St
Cambridge
CB1 3UZ

Nottingham Writers’ Studio, 25, Hockley, Lace Market, St Ann’s, Nottingham, England, NG1 1FH, Storbritannien

55, Newhall Street, Ladywood, Attwood Green, Birmingham, West Midlands Combined Authority, England, B3 3RB, Storbritannien

171B Belgrave Gate, St Matthew’s, Leicester, City of Leicester, England, LE1 3XL, Storbritannien

Plymouth, England, PL1 2AD, Storbritannien

Good Vibes Movement, 6th Avenue, Cheatom Park, Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, 50313, USA

U.S. Yoga Academy

Meetup

Coordinator: Ofelia Mohr

 

 

2905, Hubbell Avenue, Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, 50317

Washington D.C., District of Columbia

C.A. Yoga Academy

Coordinator: Delia Arhiri

 

Chandler, Maricopa County, Arizona

Online Yoga Academy

Meetup

Coordinator: Delia Carreon

 

2127, Sierra Stone West, Avalon Village, Paradise, Clark County, Nevada, 89119, USA

U.S. Yoga Academy

C.A. Yoga Academy

Meetup

Coordiator: Ileana Stefanescu

West of Dixie Highway and South of Hallandale Beach Boulevard · Hallandale Beach, Florida

Meetup

Coordinator: Raluca Popescu

485,487,489,491, Sarandí, Old City, Montevideo, 11000, Uruguay

Website

5, Rue Rodo, Plainpalais, Geneva, Grand Genève, Geneva, 1200, Schweiz

Website

Gerechtigkeitsgasse 9, 11, 33, Gerechtigkeitsgasse, Weisses Quartier, Stadtteil I, Bern, Bern-Mittelland administrative district, Bernese Mittelland administrative region, Bern, 3011, Schweiz

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308, Avinguda Meridiana, la Sagrera, Sant Andreu, Barcelona, Barcelonès, Barcelona, Katalonien, 08027, Spanien

Website

4, Bobenčkova ulica, Vič, Ljubljana, Upravna Enota Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenien

Website

43, Košická, Kalmárka, Nivy, Ružinov, District of Bratislava II, Bratislava, Region of Bratislava, 821 08, Slovakien

Website

21, Laze Lazarevica, Telep, Нови Сад, Novi Sad City, South Backa Administrative District, Vojvodina, 21000, Serbien

Website

196, Rose Street, New Town, New Town/Broughton, Edinburgh, Skottland, EH2 3DT, Storbritannien

Website

Demi Brow, 8-10, Kazanskaya Street, Apraksin Dvor, округ № 78, Sankt Petersburg, Northwestern Federal District, 191186, Ryssland

Website

Rua 4 Caminhos, Canelas, Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto, Norra, 4410, Portugal

Praça Bernardino Machado, Quinta do Lambert, Lumiar, Lissabon, Lisbon, Portugal

Website

29, Sporveisgata, Bislett, Frogner, Oslo, 0354, Norway

Website

161, Lāčplēša iela, Lastādija, Maskavas forštate, Riga, Vidzeme, LV-1003, Lettland

Website

Via Beata Maria de Mattias, San Giovanni, Quartiere IX Appio-Latino, Rom, Roma Capitale, Lazio, 00183, Italien

via Luigi Ornato 111, Milano

72, Via Zamboni, Irnerio, Santo Stefano, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, 40126, Italien

61, Via Vincenzo Gioberti, Bellariva, Quartiere 2, Florens, Metropolitan City of Florence, Toscana, 50136, Italien

Salita della Tosse, San Vincenzo, Centro Est, Genua, Genoa, Ligurien, 16121, Italien

Via Boccalerie 12, Padova, 35121, Italy

Kazinczy utca, Kazinczy-lakótelep, Békéscsaba, Békéscsabai járás, Békés, Southern Great Plain, Great Plain and North, 5600, Ungern

HerbaHáz, 18, Százados út, Százados negyed, 8th district, Budapest, Central Hungary, 1087, Ungern

1st District of Athens, Aten, Municipality of Athens, Regional Unit of Central Athens, Attica, 11528, Grekland

63, Rotebühlstraße, Stuttgart-West, Feuersee, Stuttgart-West, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, 70178, Tyskland

158, Fürther Straße, Eberhardshof, Nuremberg, Bavaria, 90429, Tyskland

12, Straßbergerstraße, Am Riesenfeld, Milbertshofen-Am Hart, Munich, Bavaria, 80809, Tyskland

38, Schnaitheimer Straße, Ottilienberg, Heidenheim an der Brenz, Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Heidenheim an der Brenz, Landkreis Heidenheim, Baden-Württemberg, 89520, Tyskland

16, Bogenallee, Harvestehude, Eimsbüttel, Hamburg, 20144, Tyskland

3, Poststraße, Altstadt-Ring, Old Town, Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, 79098, Tyskland

8, Drausnickstraße, Röthelheimpark, Erlangen, Bavaria, 91052, Tyskland

147, Brunnenstraße, Mitte, Berlin, 10115, Tyskland

Rue François Malherbe, La Gibauderie, Poitiers, Vienne, New Aquitaine, Metropolitan Frankrike, 86000, Frankrike

3, Rue Gutenberg, Cité-Jardin Henri Sellier, Mairie – Hoche, Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, Pantin, Bobigny, Seine-Saint-Denis, Metropolitan Frankrike, 93310, Frankrike

Joseph Garnier, Boulevard Joseph Garnier, Libération, Vernier, Nice, Maritime Alps, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Metropolitan Frankrike, 06108, Frankrike

1732/75, Košinova, Královo Pole, Brno, okres Brno-město, Jihomoravský kraj, Southeast, 61200, Tjeckien

Dolina, Marijin Dvor, Centar Municipality, Sarajevo, Sarajevo Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 36, Bosnien och Hercegovina

14, Kemmelbergstraat, Oud-Berchem, Berchem, Antwerp, Flanders, 2600, Belgien

Lerchenfelder Straße, 78-80, Lerchenfelder Straße, Lerchenfeld, KG Neubau, Josefstadt, Wien, 1080, Österrike

2032, Anasagasti, Alto Palermo, Palermo, Buenos Aires, Comuna 14, Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, C1425BGU, Argentina

Smiðjuvegur, Digranes, Kópavogur, Kopavogur, Capital Region, 200, Island

Natha Jooga- ja Tantrakoulu, 56, Backasgatan, Verkstaden, Vallgård, Mellersta stordistriktet, Helsingfors, Helsingfors ekonomiska region, Nyland, Södra Finlands regionförvaltningsverk, Fasta Finland, 00510, Finland

26, Sköldingevägen, Älvsjö postort, Enskede-Årsta-Vantörs stadsdelsområde, Stockholm, Stockholms kommun, Stockholms län, 125 40, Sverige

Celsiusgatan 29, 29, Celsiusgatan, Katrinelund, Norr, Malmö, Malmö kommun, Skåne län, 212 14, Sverige

Färjås Yogaretreats, 60, Färjåsvägen, Lahall, Kungsbacka kommun, Hallands län, 43494, Sverige

15, Järnvägstorget, Ekholmen, Pottholmen, Karlskrona, Karlskrona kommun, Blekinge län, 37134, Sverige

My official resolution as president of the European Yoga Council of the European Yoga Alliance is that Mihai Stoian, Grieg Bivolaru and all people linked to the MISA/NATHA organization are immediately expelled from our organization and that we stop their membership, because it has been proven that they are not busy with Yoga in whatever form, that they even use Yoga as a cover for illegal practices, that they do not respect the rules and standards of our organization, that they show an unheard lack of moral integrity, and cannot be convinced to change their attitude.

Shri Yogacharya Ajita
President of the European Yoga Council of European Yoga Alliance

Toxic Tantra – A Podcast Series From Germany

Episode 1: Yoga for Beginners

We get a tip from a “Soul Catcher” listener: She felt like she was in a sex cult in the Atman yoga movement. We do a trial lesson undercover at the “Deutsche Akademie für Traditionelles Yoga”, a member school of Atman. Dropout Nathalie reports on how she ended up in the movement. And we meet Liz. When we ask her about her guru, she reacts negatively.

Episode 2: Holy Guru

November 2023: Gregorian Bivolaru, the founder of the yoga movement, is arrested in France. The allegations: human trafficking, rape, kidnapping. Atman believes he is innocent and the investigation is still ongoing. We learn why the man wanted by Interpol for years is still revered by people in the movement. Liz talks about her everyday life in her yoga school.

Episode 3: Shakti State

We fly to Romania, the founding country of the yoga movement. In a lecture we have our aura measured and get a strange video presentation about Gregorian Bivolaru. His former lawyer tells us about a sex business with women from the yoga school. Liz remembers how she wanted to become the perfect Shakti, a sex goddess.

Episode 4: Lucky Love

Undercover research in the Lucky Love strip club in Bucharest: Will we be able to confirm our suspicion that women from the yoga school here dance on the pole for karma? On the Black Sea coast we learn disturbing things about the school’s yoga summer camps.

Episode 5: Trapped

Nathalie tells us about her trip to Paris, where she soon feels like she’s in a crime thriller. She doesn’t know exactly where she is being taken and ends up in her guru’s “waiting room”. Eva also remembers being there. The two women’s accounts are similar, even in details.

Episode 6:  Initiation

Nathalie and Eva describe the meetings with Gregorian Bivolaru. The “tantric initiation” is very long sex with your guru. They participate voluntarily, but in retrospect they perceive it as sex without consent.

Episode 7: Expensive herbs

We are looking for a woman’s grave in Bucharest. Her story and other reports make it clear how dangerous it can be to get stuck in the mindset of the yoga movement. Liz shows us a letter that will change everything for her. We confront the Romanian yoga school MISA, where Nathalie was active, with allegations.

Episode 8: Therapy

Liz therapist tells how she encouraged her to leave. Nathalie meets Gregorian Bivolaru again – things escalate. Other dropouts contact us and report on their experiences in the Atman movement. And we get answers to our questions for the German Academy for Traditional Yoga.

Behind The Scenes

Human Trafficking

Disguised as an initiation, students of the school are unknowingly trafficked to a foreign country to have sex with the ‘guru’. They are required to not tell anyone where they are going. Their phones, passport and credit cards are confiscated while they live under prison-like conditions; able to leave once a week in a group, and allowed only to call close relatives on a ‘community cellphone’ in the presence of witnesses. Different manipulation techniques are used to coerce them into having sex with the ‘guru’.

Isolation

After showing a significant level of openness to the group and its dogmas, new recruits are often encouraged to live together in ‘ashrams’ or shared houses, only for committed members of the organization, where they work for the organization in exchange for reduced rent. They are faced with all types of shortages and deprivations, animated only by the promise of exceptional spiritual achievements, which for many of them cease to appear.

Sex Workers

Disguised as Karma Yoga, or ‘selfless service’, women are sent to strip clubs in various countries, and engage in sex-cam work and phone sex online. Women working in these conditions are made to believe that they are increasing their erotic energy, saving men’s souls and bringing them closer to God by doing this work. Most of their earnings are handed in to support the organization. The organization have also produced numerous pornographic movies.

Infighting For Power

The organization has a long history of infighting for power. Many teachers have either been sacked from their position by the ‘guru’ or forced to undertake public penance. Some leave by their own volition when calls for change get rejected.

Denials And Threats

The organization has repeatedly denied any wrongdoings, and instead threatens with legal proceedings whenever anyone speaks out about the abuse. Bivolaru usually responds in open letters where he makes money bets.

Plagiarism

Many of the courses ‘written by’ Bivolaru come from books that other people have brought him.

Gregorian Bivolaru

Interpol: Wanted by Finland

Charges

Published as provided by requesting entity

1. Aggravated trafficking in human beings, 10 years of imprisonment 2. Sexual abuse -expired and deleted. 3.Aggravated trafficking in human beings, 10 years of imprisonment 4. Aggravated trafficking in human beings, 10 years of imprisonment 5.Aggravated trafficking in human beings, 10 years of imprisonment 6. Aggravated trafficking in human beings, 10 years of imprisonment

Reeta’s Testimonial

“Grieg asked me then, if I like to pleasure men orally. To which I replied, that I don’t enjoy it much at all. – Then, I was nearly choking during that, because he handled me in a very rough way. And at that point, I, like… the attempt ended then, because I couldn’t breathe. He didn’t realize I was choking, I had to sort of tear myself from his grip.”
Reeta, Former Natha Finland Student


Initiation contracts

There are some leaked “contracts” from the “sexual initiation” with Gregorian Bivolaru in Paris. Women are trafficked to Paris are forced to sign these documents and many more. First their passorts, phone, bank cards etc are taken from them. The women do not know their location and no one (other than the traffickers) know where they are. The women are told they must sign these “contracts” without any questioning in order to receive the blessing of the “Guru” Bivolaru.

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13 Warning Signs

Are you a student? Please look for these warning signs inside the organization:

Be aware if a teacher speaks with disrespect about other schools or teachers, or describes others in demeaning terms, such as ‘shallow’ or ‘new-age-hippie movements’. If they disrespect others then it is likely at some point that they will disrespect your own intuitive wisdom.

Notice if a teacher believes themselves or the teachings they share to be ‘elite’, and flatters students for having chosen to be in this school, or to be learning from this individual. This kind of flattery is contingent on compliance: students only receive approval so long as they continue to regard the teachings as superior to all others.

One strategy to establish an elite, or to secure the supremacy of an individual, is to hide the source of power in secrecy, to give the impression that these teachings are so precious that not everyone is worthy to receive them. This strategy uses ‘inner circles’ and secret initiations as a means to create mystique and intrigue, adding the value of prohibitive rarity to the teacher who holds the secret teachings, because not everyone is permitted to receive them.

Notice how the teacher/s speaks about students who have moved on to other schools, or grown and developed other ways of practice.

Notice how the teacher/s and student/s relate to each other. Evident power struggles, conflicts or jostling for positions within hierarchies and ‘inner circles’ indicate a brutalising culture of oppression and disempowerment. If they are willing to oppress and harm each other, it is likely they will brutalise others too.

Notice the relationship between discipline and kindness in the school/organization or between the teacher and student. If there is a public harshness towards those who struggle in classes, or verbal cruelty in answers to questions in groups, this indicates that there is likely to be other kinds of violence hidden in other private places too.

Consider the balance between daily life and the amount of time that students are expected to do their spiritual practice. If daily life is being organized around required practice, rather than practice supporting daily life, this is likely to indicate an imbalance of other priorities within the school or teacher’s value system. Observe responses to those who admit they have not maintained recommended level of practices. Notice if it is easy to be made to feel guilty for doing less, when in fact the level of practice required is unsustainable within a balanced, healthy life.

Notice how the teacher/s and student/s relate to each other. Evident power struggles, conflicts or jostling for positions within hierarchies and ‘inner circles’ indicate a brutalising culture of oppression and disempowerment. If they are willing to oppress and harm each other, it is likely they will brutalise others too.

Notice if teaching methods permit students to negotiate safe and clear personal boundaries or if they push people to go beyond comfort levels, in particular around issues such as nakedness, closeness or pain. Notice if teachers observe their own professional boundaries in relation to preserving the sanctity of the student/teacher dynamic, or if they are having sex with students. Be aware that sometimes boundaries that seem clear at the beginning can be blurred through familiarity and time, sometimes over years, through a cumulative erosion of boundaries that changes the terms on which consent was originally given.

If there is no culture of asking for consent in public, or in introductory practices, then it is easier to override a person’s wishes later, or in private. It is not consent if you are too scared to say no. It is not consent if you do not know what is happening, and so cannot object. Some teachers have highly developed skills of hypnotism and control of subtle bodies, and use these to induce trance states. These were the skills that Mohan Singh used to rape women, and they are widely known in Tibetan Buddhist Tantra to induce intoxication and blissful states of arousal that put the entranced person entirely, and entirely unknowingly, under the control of the hypnotiser.

The personal is political. Listen to the expressed personal opinions of teachers and students in this environment. If there is racism, homophobia, sexism or condescension towards minorities or marginalised people, consider whether this is congruent with the higher moral ground that teachers occupy by virtue of their role as leaders in a spiritual community. Ignorant, personal prejudice is toxic, and is intensified by elitism. Hatred of others expressed verbally can indicate hidden levels of violence towards anyone who does not conform to values of the school.

Notice what level of power and knowledge teachers/leaders claim they have over students. If teachers always have an answer when students request guidance about their own lives, what level of agency does this permit students? Consider the advice given to group members by their leaders, and the levels of surveillance and/or disclosure that are accepted and expected in this environment. If teachers are believed to understand precisely where each student is in their individual process, (‘guru knows best’), then what level of omniscience / omnipotence do students believe their guru possesses?

Notice the decision-making processes of long-time students or devotees. Observe especially what level of personal responsibility they are willing to take for significant choices such as work, relationships or family life. If you see that many of these major decisions are ‘referred up’ to the guru, then consider exploring what role the devotees have given to their group leader. For example, people who worship a guru as god will often refuse to make any personal choices about lovers, or jobs, and may speak of it all being ‘God’s will’. In a cult where ‘guru is god’, this means that the guru is in charge of what lovers or jobs a person accepts. It may not be immediately apparent that students and devotees worship or regard their guru as a god, but the evidence of this will become clear in the nature of their choices and how they speak about the leader. If there are encouragements to ‘trust the spiritual guidance’ of the teacher on issues like clothing, sleep patterns, and food and daily rhythms, then consider that this might pave the way for larger scale abdications of responsibility in the future.

Notice the attitudes to sex, sexuality and relationships expressed by this teacher or existing within this community. Observe what is encouraged, what is discouraged, who is happy with the group’s sexual dynamics, and who is crying about it in the bathrooms. Observe the prevailing attitudes towards what is acceptable, and the accompanying value judgments. Spiritual bypassing is what happens when people claim that they are operating from a recognition of ‘transcendent one-ness’ when in fact they are failing to see the lived human experience of deep inequalities of suffering and/or to admit that their actions cause harm. Consider that sex-addicted male teachers who promote polyamory as a spiritual practice may use spiritual bypass to justify their ulterior motives.