PYP Featured on Guys Talking Yoga Podcast!

Derek Vanderwarker, Host of Guys Talking Yoga Podcast, has done a three episode feature on Prison Yoga Project! Perfect content for your morning routine. Check out his amazing website feature as well!

In this compelling three-part series featuring Prison Yoga Project, we begin with James Fox, the visionary behind the Prison Yoga Project, which originated in San Quentin and has since expanded to 17 states and internationally. James recounts the program’s early days in a juvenile detention center, its unique challenges and successes, and a poignant story of a participant whose path to rehabilitation and parole was deeply intertwined with his yoga practice. He shares insights into how yoga helped overcome his own physical challenges, the grassroots growth of the project, and the development of a trauma-informed yoga approach within the prison system.

The narrative then shifts to Bill Brown, who discovered yoga at the age of 41, an experience so profound it brought him to tears and eventually led him to lead an organization that brings yoga to thousands of incarcerated men and women around the globe. Bill discusses the project’s work in more depth, including his personal journey to yoga, the significance of yoga for those dealing with trauma and dissociation, and the project’s expansion to include corrections officers and staff.

The series culminates with the story of Darnell “Moe” Washington, a former gang member whose 35-year-to-life sentence was transformed by his engagement with yoga. Moe’s narrative, facilitated by his connection with James Fox, showcases the mental and physical evolution facilitated by his yoga practice, ultimately contributing to his parole and a new lease on life. This trio of conversations presents a powerful exploration of yoga’s transformative potential, particularly within the challenging environment of the prison system.