Gaia, Inc.

Gaia was founded by Czechoslovakian-born entrepreneur Jirka Rysavy in 1988.[5]

Gaia was founded in the late 1980s as a Yoga equipment brand, including mail-order exercise videos, amongst other alternative medicine products.[6]

In 2001, Gaia merged with the Californian company Real Goods Solar, a residential and commercial solar power integrator with a focus on off-the-grid living.[7] Gaia continued expansion and in 2003 bought a 50.1% share in its UK distributor Leisure Systems International (LSI).[8]

As Gaia continued to expand its video service, in 2005, Gaia acquired the media assets of GoodTimes Entertainment and Jetlag Productions.[9]

Gaia acquired both Lime TV[10] and Zaadz.com[11] in 2007 to start what was called the LOHAS network (LOHAS stands for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability).[11]

In 2011, the Gaia launched Gaia TV, a streaming service for videos on yoga, meditation, and fringe science.[12] As Gaia grew their streaming services, they acquired Vivendi Entertainment, a DVD distributor from Vivendi subsidiary Universal Music Group Distribution, merging it with its home entertainment division to form Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment.[13][14]

Sequential Brands Group purchased the Gaiam brand and yoga equipment unit for $167 million in 2016, after which the company rebranded to focusing on its video streaming service.

As Gaia's alternative media streaming services continued to grow, 2019 showed increased popularity for the streaming service. USA Today ranked Gaia, Inc as the world's fastest-growing retailer,[15] spending up to 120% of revenue on advertising.[16]

Gaia added live streaming events from a new event center at its Louisville campus in 2019.[17][18][19] Events are live streamed in 185 countries with simultaneous translation.[20]

In February 2021, Business Insider published an investigative piece detailing workplace harassment and concerns about the surveillance of Gaia employees by the company.[21] Concerns stem from blood tests offered to employees by Gaia, and unsupported reports that Rysavy had installed 'a machine' on the roof of Gaia headquarters to 'psychically monitor employees.'[21] Gaia and Rysavy have also been accused of manipulating the building's energy using crystals.

In November 2021, American singer and actor Demi Lovato became the first celebrity ambassador for Gaia. Lovato announced via their Instagram that they were partnering with Gaia, stating, "Thrilled to be a Gaia ambassador, understanding the world around us (the known and the unknown) is so exciting to me!"[22][23][24][25] Lovato came under scrutiny for the partnership from fans due to Gaia's controversial content.[26]

Topics range from mainstream alternative medicine, such as mindfulness meditation and basic yoga, to conspiracy theories and fringe theories. This includes vaccine misinformation, UFO conspiracy theories, astral projection, and the Illuminati.

• Metaphysics, a branch of philosophy that studies ideas about the nature of reality and being and includes ontology, cosmology, and epistemology.[29] Gaia offers fringe metaphysical content, with a focus on Western esotericism topics such as universal consciousness and energy.
• Astrology, the pseudoscience of attempting to divine the future based on the movements of celestial bodies.[30]
• Pseudo-archaeology, fringe theories on ongoing archaeological debates far from the mainstream.[31][32] Gaia's programming ranges from discussion of Turkey's Gobekli Tepe archeological site,[33][34] through to theories on how aliens built the pyramids on Earth as well as on Mars.
• Alchemy, an ancient practice of attempting to transmute matter and create elixiers of everlasting life.[35][36] It is promoted as a current pseudoscience via Gaia's alchemy-focused programs hosted by Theresa Bullard.[37]
• Mysticism, topics such as the classification of mystical experiences, and their nature in different religions and mystical traditions.[38] Mystics differ from culture to culture (e.g. shamans, theurgists, Daoists, Kabbalists, Western esotericism, Buddhists, or Christians).[39] Programs on Gaia address primarily New Age and Eastern mysticism.
• Kundalini, a primal force or energy thought believed in by some Hindu practices,[40] and proposed to be controllable by yoga, meditation, or chanting.[41][42] Gaia has beginner and moderate Kundalini yoga videos.
• Alternative medicine, non-scientific or counterfactual attempts to replicate the healing effects of the medicine. A large portion of Gaia's content centers on energy healing, naturopathy, traditional chinese medicine, Ayurveda or time travel.
• Nutrition, the diet and nutrients necessary to maintain life and health. Some of Gaia's content promotes balanced diets. Some were created in a partnership with Mayo Clinic[43][44] (though this partnership has been controversial).[45] It also promotes practices such as detox, superfoods or Paleolithic diet.
• Meditation, the mental practice of focusing on a particular object, thought, or activity to improve one's mind, has been shown to be valuable for relaxation and stress reduction.[46] Gaia offers different meditation series that range from established relaxation meditation to highly fringe attempts to control reality or cross into parallel universes.

A show hosted by George Noory, covers several pseudoscientific topics such as psychic vampires, Hollow Earth theory, and mummified aliens.[47][48][49][50] This content has been criticized as misleading or falsified.[47][51]