The Hidden Side of 90s Yoga Culture: Natashia's Story
From Verbal Echo by Monica Martin and Co-Host Sara Rowe
May 13, 2026 · 1h 4m · Season 3 · Episode 61
About this episode
The episode features a conversation with yoga instructor Natashia about her experiences in high-control groups within the 90s yoga culture in Los Angeles.
Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions of cult involvement, coercive control, psychological manipulation, disordered eating, and emotional abuse. Listener discretion is advised. In Episode 61 of The Verbal Echo , Monica and Sara sit down with yoga instructor and wellness practitioner Natashia for a candid conversation about her more than 30-year journey through multiple high-control groups operating under the guise of healing, spirituality, and wellness. Natashia shares her experiences navigating the rise of hot yoga culture in 1990s Los Angeles , where fitness, celebrity culture, and aggressive “bro culture” often intersected with spiritual ideology and manipulation. The conversation explores the world of raw food communities, restrictive dietary systems, and cult-like wellness movements , examining how vulnerable people searching for healing and purpose can become drawn into controlling environments. She also reflects on teaching private yoga sessions for high-profile clients, the atmosphere surrounding early hot yoga expansion, and the psychological patterns that can lead individuals deeper into systems of indoctrination. Rather than sensationalizing the subject…
People in this episode
Hosts: Monica Martin, Sara Rowe
Guest: Natashia
Topics covered
- 90s yoga culture
- cult involvement
- coercive control
- psychological manipulation
- wellness movements
- identity rebuilding
Keywords
- yoga culture
- cult
- coercive control
- psychological manipulation
- disordered eating
- wellness
- spirituality
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Los Angeles
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