Jail House Yoga
by Nicole
A British charity has scored a hit amongst prisoners with their Cell Bed Yoga booklet. The instructional pamphlet, which was produced by The Prison Phoenix Trust, offers solutions to the problems incurred when yoga is practiced in cramped surroundings. The 15-step guide adapts classic yoga poses so inmates can practice yoga in their beds - even if they sleep in bunks.
"It's a great way to ease a back that's tired after lying too long on a sagging mattress," said a spokesman for the charity, which according to their website, "encourages prisoners in the development of their spiritual welfare, through the practices of meditation and yoga, working with silence and the breath."
The trust was founded in 1988 with initial support from Prince Charles' Prince's Trust after founder Ann Wetherall began corresponding with prisoners about their spiritual experiences as part of a research project. The organization promotes spiritual wellbeing in prisoners by offering books on yoga and meditation. Their two key works, Becoming Free Through Meditation and Yoga and We're All Doing Time (which are also available on tape for prisoners with reading difficulties), can be ordered from their website.
"Through yoga and meditation my peace of mind has grown beyond my wildest dreams," says a prisoner from Belmarsh Prison in southeast London. "I used to be so moody and angry and the things I used to dwell upon and hold onto don't cause me to resent anyone or anything any more. It's only the gift of meditation and breath that has made me see that I couldn't progress until I let go completely of all the anger from within me"
Illustration by Korky Paul.
| 12/12/07
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Yoga
