I was always interested in facilitating postitive change in society and bringing yoga to marginalized and under-represented communities is a major cornerstone of my work as a teacher.
With a 700 % increase in the US prison population between 1978 and 2005 and a total of 2.2 million – the largest prison population in the world – there is a huge community who benefits tremendously from the positive effects yoga has on the body and most importantly the mind.
Studies support the importance of yoga and meditation on the path to rehabilitation. Not only are 60 % of all parole release who meditate still clean after two years but also the reoffending rate of meditators is up to 40% lower than that of convicts who receive only education or psychotherapy.
In 2014 I attended the Prison Yoga Teacher Training led by James Fox, one of the pioneers of bringing yoga to incarcerated people in the US and in 2016 I became part of the Prison Yoga and Meditation project that teaches yoga and meditation to incacerated men and women in Downtown Los Angeles.
Both organizations work with volunteer teachers and staff who are commited to bringing yoga into prisons. This work needs your support, be it morally, through volunteer work or financially.
If you are interested in the Prison Yoga and Meditation project, please check out our fundraiser and feel free to share.
marah nanda yoga 