From fitness classes with charismatic instructors to multi-level marketing opportunities - there are critics who claim that everywhere we turn, people and companies are using “cult-like” tactics to recruit members.

“In the 1980s, it was reported that there were 5,000 groups identified as cults in North America. A more recent report put that number at 10,000. It’s growing,” says cult specialist and deprogrammer Rick Alan Ross.

Sarah claims she was in an extreme group from 2009-2018 that was fronted by a yoga studio. She says she could never have imagined that yoga could turn into “such a big trap.” She claims she endured body shaming and verbal and sexual abuse.

“If somebody had told me in my early twenties, ‘look out for these things,’ I could have avoided giving my power away to a predator; and I could have avoided recruiting other people into a sinister organization,” says Sarah in the video above.

Watch Wednesday’s episode of Dr. Phil, “Cult Vibes?” to hear more about Sarah’s experience, how she was recruited, and what she says was the turning point that finally convinced her to leave the group.

And later, hear more from Rick Alan Ross about the red flags and warning signs of what constitutes a cult.

Check your local listing for air times.

Rick Alan Ross is the author of “Cults Inside Out: How People Can Get in and Can Get Out.” Available wherever books are sold.

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