Can we talk about that Netflix doc on the Sydney wellness group?

I used to roll my eyes at people who said those luxury wellness retreats were a front for cults. Figured it was just rich people doing weird breathing exercises. But after watching that documentary last weekend, I totally changed my mind. The part where they showed the leader reading from a binder with strict rules about sleep and meals and who you can talk to really got me. Then an ex-member posting in the comments actually said she lost contact with her whole family for 2 years while in the group. That specific detail about the binder and the isolation hit different. It made me realize I was judging the victims instead of the system. Has anyone else here been thrown off by a doc that flipped your view on a group you thought was harmless?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_eric6d agoTop Commenter

Wait the leader had an actual BINDER with rules like that? That's some next level control stuff right there. I thought those places were just overpriced yoga camps.

the_viola6d ago

overpriced yoga camps" lmao thats what I thought too until my cousin got sucked into one of these. So when the leader pulled out the binder were there actual consequences for breaking rules or was it more like a "guidelines" thing? Like did people get kicked out or fined or what?

pat_murray536d agoOG Member

Read somewhere that binders like that are common in high-control groups.