Who We Are
Yoga Behind Bars (YBB) is driven to find a way to fundamentally change the current course of the American corrections system. Since 2008, we have shared trauma-informed yoga and meditation with thousands of incarcerated youth and adults in WA State to promote rehabilitation, personal transformation, and a more just society for all.
Trauma-Informed Yoga
Most people in prison and jail suffer from chronic and complex trauma, stemming from early adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Yet there are very few programs and resources offered to safely integrate this unresolved trauma. This is where we come in. We offer trauma-informed programs at 18 prisons and jails all over Washington.
Mass Incarceration
Did you know that more than 2.2 million people in the United States are behind bars? Incarceration has increasingly become an inefficient panacea for many other social issues such as mental illness, racism, poverty, homelessness, and drug addiction. Yoga Behind Bars is committed to breaking this cycle of trauma-stress-prison. Our programs give people behind bars the opportunity to heal, grow, and prepare for their return to our communities by addressing a root cause and result of incarceration: trauma.
What We Do
Overview
We share trauma-informed yoga and meditation with youth and adults who are incarcerated (in Washington State) to promote rehabilitation, personal transformation, and a more just society for all.Currently our 100+ volunteer instructors offer weekly programs at 18 prisons and jails around Washington State, including programs in solitary confinement, special veterans units, and mental health units. We recognize and affirm the humanity, potential, and capabilities of our students. Our approach to compassionate rehabilitative programming is intended to shift the culture in prison from punishment to healing, harm to transformation, and recidivism to reintegration.
Youth Programs (5 locations)
Half of our classes are for young people. Our programs for youth aim to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline and reduce the likelihood of future adult incarceration. We take a resilience-building and practical approach, focused on building inner strengths and connection.
Adult Programs (13 locations)
Our adult programs focus on restorative practices that facilitate nervous system regulation, stress management, and resilience. Our instructors provide weekly programs at 13 prisons and jails throughout Washington State. We work at all custody levels–maximum, medium, minimum, and solitary confinement, as well as mental health treatment units.
Yoga Teacher Training for Incarcerated People
At YBB we strongly believe in cultivating compassionate leadership behind bars. Our students know better than anyone what is needed to transform the prison system and ultimately prevent people from returning (or going to prison in the first place.) That is why we train incarcerated men and women to become yoga instructors. In 2015, our first Yoga Teacher Training behind bars was one of the first of its kind in the country. Currently, 8 incarcerated men are offering 9 weekly yoga classes at 4 different state prisons. In 2018, graduates from the training at the women’s prison started teaching yoga at Washington Corrections Center for Women as well as meditation.
Trauma-Informed Yoga Training
We are proud to have trained over 500 people in our methodology and helped kickstart trauma-informed yoga programs around the country. Our Trauma-Informed Yoga training is open to anyone interested in or currently working with trauma and marginalized populations, including social workers, health care professionals, and teachers. We offer a unique and practical roadmap for leveraging the power of yoga for increased well-being, trauma recovery, and lasting social change.
Details
| (206) 383-6499 | |
| governance@yogabehindbars.org | |
| Elizabeth Poh | |
| Board Member | |
| http://yogabehindbars.org/ |
