Reflecting on 2021’s achievements as I look forward with hope to a New Year

Before I get into our plans for 2022, I want to acknowledge some of our accomplishments from 2021. While we’re all too aware that the global situation remains challenging, we feel it’s a vital practice to choose to put your attention on the positive as well.

In 2021, Prison Yoga Project:

• Restarted more than 65 programs the pandemic had shuttered,
• Provided 2,422 books free of charge to incarcerated people who wrote to request a copy,
• Offered more than $50,000 in scholarships for formerly incarcerated and other system-impacted people to attend our training programs,
• Created 20 new videos in English and Spanish for distribution to incarcerated people around the world, and
• Hosted 24 free webinars via our Community website as we spread the word about this important work and continue to educate ourselves.

These are just a few noteworthy highlights for Prison Yoga Project. Recalling them fills me with myriad images of many smaller achievements, personal and professional. I invite you to take a few moments to recall the highlights of your year. If you feel moved to share, I invite you to drop me a line or comment on this post.

If you’ve been following along with the recent emails from James, Nicole, and Jen, you’ll know already that we have a busy year planned. In 2022, we’re rebooting in-person programs with new evaluation processes to demonstrate our impact, training credible messengers to diversify who is offering our programs, and adding new programs and materials for youth and correctional staff. If you haven’t been following along but want to read more, head over to the blog on our Community website to check out the recent posts.

One more important project for 2022 will be launching a new program format we piloted last year. We developed the program while COVID had us locked out. It features a workbook with accompanying practice videos, self-reflective study guides, and practice logs regularly shared with a mentor. We designed the program to assist participants in developing a regular practice that will serve them for the rest of their lives.

The best part of this new format is that it can be offered via a tablet or as a correspondence course and a curriculum for in-person programs. The versatility of this new program format will help us reach incarcerated people in places where access would have been nearly impossible with in-person programming alone.

The financial support we receive from our community is essential for developing these programs. If you’ve never donated to Prison Yoga Project before, there has never been a better time.

If you’ve read this far, show your support and head on over to www.prisonyoga.org/donate.

We’re looking forward to working together in 2022!

With gratitude,

Bill Brown
Executive Director
Prison Yoga Project