Three Hours to Cleveland
By Betsie Davis, PYP Operations Coordinator, Regional Program Coordinator (Midwest), Facilitator Three hours isn’t enough time to prepare for what you’re walking into—but it is…
Returning to Joy: Youth Yoga at Pulaski County Juvenile Detention Center
When students begin participating, I often notice a deep disconnection from themselves and from a sense of safety. Many arrive hypervigilant, easily distracted, and unsure…
Full Circle: Welcoming Darnell “Moe” Washington to the PYP Board
With heartfelt gratitude and great enthusiasm, I’m honored to share that Darnell “Moe” Washington—a former participant in yoga programming at San Quentin—is Prison Yoga Project’s…
Living with Balance and Stability
By Andre Williams, Participant in the PYP Sangha at California Men’s Colony My name is Andre Williams. I am 56 years of age and a…
It’s an Inside Job: A Book, a New Beginning, and a Growing Movement in Sweden
We have some big news to share — and we’re taking a moment to celebrate. Prison Yoga Project Scandinavia has officially launched our new website,…
Life-Shifting Epiphanies in the Chaos of a Maximum-Security Facility
Life-shifting epiphanies in the chaos of a maximum-security facility seem unfathomable. An environment where every human being, employees and incarcerated individuals alike, exists largely in…
From Incarceration To Leadership: Nicole B’s Journey With Prison Yoga Project
Last fall, I found myself standing beside Jen Lindgren who teaches yoga inside the prison where I was once incarcerated. We were at a public…
Clarity, Community, and the Refusal to Look Away
As of last week, Prison Yoga Project’s 10th cohort of Yoga, Social Justice, and Leadership—our 200-hour virtual yoga teacher training—is officially underway. Our first live…
Yoga as a Path to Freedom: The Journey of Tien Nguyen
I often say that yoga found me when I needed it most. My name is Tien Nguyen, and I am a yoga facilitator with Prison…
The Quiet Work of Changing a Culture of Violence
Earlier this month, The New Yorker published a powerful and painful article titled “A Year of Convulsions in New York’s Prisons”. It recounts the killing…