You’ve probably seen the white turbans. Maybe you’ve even been to a yoga class where the teacher wore all white, sat on a sheepskin, and told you to breathe like a bellows until your head spun. It looks peaceful. It looks like "wellness." But the four-part docuseries HBO Breath of Fire rips the mask off that aesthetic to show something much more predatory.
The series doesn't just look at yoga. It looks at power.
Directed by Hayley Pappas and Smiley Stevens, this isn't just another true-crime binge. It’s a messy, sprawling look at how a high-school dropout from Los Angeles named Katie Griggs transformed herself into Guru Jagat, a multi-millionaire spiritual influencer who basically conquered the "spiritual" corner of Instagram before her sudden death in 2021.
But to understand Jagat, you have to understand the man who built the throne she sat on: Yogi Bhajan.
The Foundation of Lies and the 3HO Legacy
Honestly, the most shocking thing about HBO Breath of Fire isn't the modern influencer drama. It’s the history. The series digs into the origins of 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization), founded by Yogi Bhajan in the late 1960s.
Bhajan arrived in Los Angeles at the perfect time. The hippies were high, lost, and looking for a father figure. He gave them Kundalini Yoga, a practice he claimed was an ancient, secret lineage.
Except it wasn't.
The documentary highlights the research of people like Philip Deslippe, a religious studies scholar. Deslippe basically proved that Bhajan’s "ancient" yoga was a mashup of Sikhism and mid-20th-century Indian physical culture—basically gymnastics—rebranded for Westerners.
Bhajan wasn't just a yoga teacher. He was a businessman. He built an empire. But as the series shows through harrowing interviews, that empire was built on the backs of followers who were allegedly abused, exploited, and separated from their children.
Who Was Guru Jagat, Really?
Enter Katie Griggs.
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She was a suburban kid who found 3HO and saw an opportunity. She didn't just join the movement; she modernized it for the digital age. By the time she opened the RA MA Institute in Venice, California, she had dropped the "Katie" and become Guru Jagat.
She was brilliant at branding.
Jagat knew that in the 2010s, people didn't want to live in a commune; they wanted to look like they lived in a commune while holding an iPhone. She made Kundalini Yoga "cool." She attracted celebrities like Alicia Keys and Kate Hudson.
But HBO Breath of Fire shows the cracks in the gold-leafed facade. Former employees and followers describe a toxic work environment that felt more like a high-pressure sales floor than a spiritual sanctuary. Jagat was reportedly obsessed with money, demanding grueling hours from staff while preaching about "abundance" and "radiance."
Then came 2020.
Conspiracy Theories and the QAnon Pipeline
This is where the documentary gets truly weird. And dark.
When the pandemic hit, the wellness world collided with the world of conspiracy theories. Guru Jagat didn't shy away from it. She leaned in. The series documents how her rhetoric began to mirror QAnon talking points. She railed against lockdowns. She questioned masks.
It makes sense if you think about it. If your entire worldview is based on "hidden truths" and "secret energy," it’s a very short hop to believing in secret cabals and deep-state plots.
The "Wellness-to-QAnon pipeline" is a real thing.
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Jagat’s downfall in the eyes of many followers started here. She wasn't just a yoga teacher anymore; she was a polemicist. The documentary uses real footage from her livestreams where she looks increasingly erratic, a far cry from the serene guru she projected in her early years.
The Problem with the "Secret Knowledge" Trap
Why do people fall for this?
The series doesn't mock the followers. It tries to understand them. Most of the people who joined RA MA or 3HO were genuinely looking for healing. They were looking for a community.
Kundalini Yoga, specifically the "Breath of Fire" technique (rapid, rhythmic nasal breathing), produces a real physiological effect. It makes you lightheaded. It gives you a "buzz." When you’re doing that in a room full of 100 people chanting, it feels like a spiritual awakening.
But as the documentary argues, that physical high is often used to bypass critical thinking.
Death and the Aftermath
Guru Jagat died in August 2021 at the age of 41. The official cause was a pulmonary embolism following surgery on her ankle.
Her death left a vacuum.
HBO Breath of Fire follows the fallout. Some followers still worship her, treating her death as a "transition" to a higher plane. Others have had their "de-construction" moments, realizing they were part of a system that protected abusers and prioritized profit over people.
The 3HO organization is still dealing with the 2020 Olive Branch Report, an independent investigation that found decades of credible reports of sexual abuse and misconduct by Yogi Bhajan.
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The documentary makes one thing very clear: the turbans and the chanting don't make a person holy.
Actionable Takeaways for Evaluating "Wellness" Communities
If you’re watching the series and wondering how to spot these red flags in your own life, here’s what the experts and survivors in the film suggest looking out for:
The Pedestal Effect. If a teacher claims to be the only source of truth or says their lineage is "secret" or "undisputed," run. Real spiritual growth should empower you, not make you dependent on a leader.
The Pay-to-Play Enlightenment. Look at the cost. Guru Jagat was known for incredibly expensive "teacher trainings." If spiritual progress is tied directly to your credit card limit, it’s a business, not a practice.
Isolation and "Us vs. Them." Does the group encourage you to distance yourself from friends or family who "don't get it"? This is a classic cult tactic used to break down your external support system.
Labor Exploitation. In the doc, we see "volunteers" or low-paid staff doing the heavy lifting for a leader living in luxury. Spiritual organizations should have transparent labor practices.
Science Denialism. Be wary of any wellness space that uses spiritual language to dismiss medical science or promote dangerous conspiracy theories.
How to Watch and Learn More
You can stream all four episodes of HBO Breath of Fire on Max. If you want to dive deeper into the research mentioned in the film, Philip Deslippe’s work on the origins of Kundalini Yoga is available in various academic journals. For those interested in the survivor perspective, the "Uncomfortable Conversations" podcast and various 3HO survivor forums provide firsthand accounts that the docuseries only begins to scratch the surface of.
The story of Guru Jagat is a cautionary tale for the social media age. It’s a reminder that charisma isn't character, and a high-production-value aesthetic can hide a very ugly reality.
To stay safe in the modern spiritual marketplace, your best tool isn't a yoga mat—it's your skepticism. If something feels like it's becoming your entire world, take a step back and look at who is actually profiting from that devotion.