Prison Yoga Project

Prison Yoga Project
Formation 2000 (2000)
Type Non-profit
Purpose To bring about behavioral change in prisoners who’ve been impacted by chronic interpersonal trauma most of their lives through dignity and understanding.
Headquarters San Quentin, California
Region served
Worldwide
Founder and Director
 James Fox
Mission Prison Yoga Project's mission is to bring yoga and mindfulness into prisons worldwide.
Website Prison Yoga Project

Prison Yoga Project is an organization committed to prisoner rehabilitation and wellness.[1] The organization aims to reduce recidivism by addressing issues of PTSD and chronic interpersonal trauma in prisoners through methods of mindfulness and yoga.[2]

History

Prison Yoga Project began in 2000 when its Founder and Director James Fox witnessed male youth in a juvenile detention responding positively to yoga and mindfulness practices.[3][4]

In 2002, Fox began a program at San Quentin State Prison predominantly for male prisoners serving life sentences with the possibility of parole. Initially met with skepticism by guards and inmates, the program is now well established with several weekly classes and a lengthy waiting list for enrollment.[5]


Classes and Workshops

The Prison Yoga Project teaches weekly classes at San Quentin.[6][7] In 2012, the National Council on Crime and Deliquency published an evaluation suggesting that longer inmate participation in programs such as Prison Yoga Project is associated with positive health benefits.[8]

Director James Fox conducts workshops all over the world.[9] There are currently over 120 jails and prisons in the United States with Prison Yoga Project replicated programs. [10]


References

  1. ↑ "Prison Yoga Project website Mission Statement".
  2. ↑ Craig, Kenneth (November 25, 2015). "Prisons offer yoga to help rehabilitate inmates". CBS News.
  3. ↑ "How Yoga Can Help in California's Overcrowded Prisons - Video". TIME.com. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  4. ↑ "Prison Yoga Is Helping Inmates Transcend Their Cells | VICE | United States". 2015-09-27. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  5. ↑ "Prisons offer yoga to help rehabilitate inmates". Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  6. ↑ "Prisons offer yoga to help rehabilitate inmates". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  7. ↑ Pilon, Mary (2013-01-03). "A Series of Poses for Fitness, Inside and Out". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  8. ↑ Center for Crime and Deliquency. "Insight Prison Project Evaluation" (PDF). Center for Crime and Delinquency.
  9. ↑ "The Prison Yoga Project". prisonyoga.org. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  10. ↑ "The Prison Yoga Project". prisonyoga.org. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
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