Breath of Fire

In 2013, Katie Griggs, a millennial YouTube astrologer, rose to fame as the face of Kundalini yoga, opening the RA MA Institute in Los Angeles, donning a white turban, and reinventing herself as Guru Jagat. BREATH OF FIRE explores Guru Jagat’s evolution while chronicling the shocking secret history of Kundalini through its origins in the 1960s to its expansion in the United States and its presence in wellness circles today. Based on the Vanity Fair story by Hayley Phelan, “The Second Coming of Guru Jagat,” BREATH OF FIRE illuminates the culture of modern spirituality revealing complicated themes of cultural appropriation and the dangers of self-proclaimed gurus. HBO Documentary Films presents BREATH OF FIRE. Directed by Hayley Pappas and Smiley Stevens; executive produced by Matt Ippolito, Hayley Pappas, Smiley Stevens, Agnus Chu, Helen Estabrook, Sarah Amos, Lexy Altman, Sonia Slutsky, Jennifer O’Connell, and Lizzie Fox; co-executive producer, Hayley Phelan.