Apple TV Announces Twisted Yoga Investigating Alleged Abuses in International Yoga Network

Apple announced in a March 5, 2026 press release that Twisted Yoga, a three-part investigative docuseries produced for Apple TV and Apple TV+ by Lightbox in association with Ladywell Films, will premiere globally on March 13, 2026. The platform lists the series as TV-MA, Region of Origin United Kingdom, original audio English, and names Rowan Deacon as director alongside executive producers Simon Chinn, Jonathan Chinn, Suzanne Lavery and Bernadette Higgins.

Apple and Prensario released an official trailer with the announcement, described as "offering a first look at the testimonies and archival footage that drive this three-part investigation." The Apple TV platform page positions Twisted Yoga among the streamer’s documentary and crime titles and classifies it as a TV show in the documentary-crime space, underscoring Apple’s growing nonfiction slate.

The series examines an international network of tantric yoga centers tied to Romanian "guru" Gregorian Bivolaru, following "a diverse group of young students from across the globe" who sought spiritual purpose and later say they became entangled in the organization. Prensario reports the network specialized in tantric rituals and that female students were allegedly summoned to Bivolaru’s Paris apartment for "private initiations." Variety frames the core stories as those of several young women who speak out about being indoctrinated into sexual exploitation, and director Rowan Deacon is quoted in coverage saying, "So Much of It Is About Sexuality and Sex as a Road To Spiritual Enlightenment."

Legal context in coverage is explicit: Prensario lists charges Bivolaru faces in France as human trafficking, kidnapping and rape, and notes that "While Bivolaru denies all allegations, the series documents the efforts of his former students as they cooperate with French authorities to secure a conviction." Variety reports producers allegedly contacted Gregorian Bivolaru through his legal representatives but did not receive a response, and that the Atman Yoga Federation did not respond to a request for comment. In the documentary, the federation is reported to state that "it is not responsible for the private life of staff, students and teachers of affiliate schools, and that all current allegations remain under investigation and are unproven."

Behind the camera, Lightbox is presented as the production house led by Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn, with Chinn credited as a two-time Academy Award-winning producer with films such as Man on Wire and Searching for Sugar Man, and Jonathan Chinn credited as an Emmy Award winner for projects including Tina and LA 92. Executive producer credits also list Suzanne Lavery, whose work includes Curse of the Chippendales and The Diamond Heist, and Bernadette Higgins of The Tinder Swindler and American Nightmare; Rowan Deacon’s director credits noted in coverage include Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story and How to Die: Simon’s Choice.

AppleInsider framed the series in editorial terms as telling "the tale of an international sex trafficking network masquerading as a collection of tantric yoga studios" and suggested the release signals Apple expanding further into true-crime programming. Twisted Yoga arrives on Apple TV and Apple TV+ on March 13, 2026, adding a three-part investigation to the platform’s lineup and bringing allegations that have been described in coverage as under active legal scrutiny in France into a global audience.