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 luncheon, representing Prison Yoga Project, answering questions about a program that had quite literally changed the trajectory of my life. The moment felt full circle—and deeply personal.

I first learned about Prison Yoga Project while I was still incarcerated. I came across an article about “Yoga Teacher Training Behind Bars,” and the moment I read it, something shifted. For the first time in a long while, I felt real hope. Not just inspiration, but the belief that I could learn a skill that would matter beyond my sentence—something that could support me after release.

I made copies of the article and brought them to everyone I could think of: the Warden, the Chaplain, the Recreation Officer. I asked question after question about how the women in my facility might access this opportunity. I believed deeply that we deserved the chance to learn something meaningful and transferable—something rooted in healing and accountability.

Around that same time, I met Jen, who began coming into the facility as a volunteer yoga facilitator. I handed her the article and said, “Just tell me you can do this.” She didn’t brush it off. She listened. And she took the challenge seriously.

I kept advocating, and eventually the Warden approved a small pilot group of women to participate in a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher training. I was part of that first cohort, and I graduated alongside women who, like me, were hungry for growth and possibility. Together, we showed what can happen when people inside are trusted with responsibility and offered real opportunity.

After my release in 2022, I learned there was an opening with Prison Yoga Project. I applied—not knowing where it might lead—and today, I serve as the Regional Coordinator for PYP programs on the East Coast. 

This past fall, Jen and I attended the New Hampshire Women’s Foundation luncheon after Prison Yoga Project was selected to receive a grant to support Yoga Teacher Training at NHCF-W. We shared a table, answered questions, and spoke with attendees who were curious and engaged. One question came up again and again: “Do the women really have opportunities post-release after completing YTT?”

Each time, I chose to answer by sharing my own story—how I went from being an incarcerated woman fighting for one chance to learn a skill, to now representing Prison Yoga Project in a leadership role. It wasn’t easy. I rarely speak openly about my incarceration because of the stigma that so often follows us. But in that space, it felt important. It mattered that people understood that having a history of incarceration does not make someone less capable, less committed, or less human.

Standing beside Jen at that event, I could see how powerful relationships within the PYP community truly are. What began as a volunteer coming into a prison classroom grew into a long-term professional partnership rooted in trust, respect, and shared purpose. Together, we were able to show—without theory or abstraction—what is possible when dignity and opportunity are offered.

My journey is just one example, but it reflects the broader impact of Prison Yoga Project’s programs. Yoga teacher training behind bars is not only about learning poses or earning a certificate. It is about restoring agency, building skills, and fostering relationships that continue long after release. Inside and beyond prison walls, those relationships—and the belief they carry—can change lives.