Teaching in prisons

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam,I have recently become interested in the possibility of teaching a class at San Quentin prison.  Does anyone have experience with this, or know others who do?  I've heard there's a successful program in L.A.Peace & Love,Simran You can support human rights with every phone call.  Amnesty Wireless donates 10% of your cell charges to Amnesty International.  You also get a free camera phone & nationwide Sprint service.

[Guest guest]

I do not have any detailed info regarding preparing to tach in a prison, but here is an article for your reflection. Peace~* R --------------------- Prison Practice Yoga programs behind bars help inmates find freedom on the inside By Alison Clare Steingold Terri Cletro goes by two names: her day-to-day and her spiritual alter ego, Gururattan Kaur. But when she rolls her suitcase of yoga paraphernalia and sheepskin mat through the security checkpoint at a juvenile detention center 20 miles north of Los Angeles, this sparkplug of light — standing all of 4’9” — becomes simply “The Yoga Lady.” She glides confidently through the cellblock of young boys, past the showers and into the hallway, to the

room where she leads weekly kundalini yoga classes in affiliation with LA nonprofit Y.O.G.A for Youth. Forget the name on the tag clipped to her flowing white tunic, hidden beneath her mala beads. Upon her arrival, this particular handful of students — all serving sentences for serious offenses like murder, theft and mayhem — exclaim with infectious zeal: “The Yoga Lady is here!” The Yoga Lady is not alone. The practice of hatha and kundalini yoga has been part of mindfulness programs in prisons across the country for over 25 years, ranging from correspondence courses through Siddha Yoga in Oakland to Buddhist meditation, philosophy and asana through the Southern Arizona Prison Project. And in the U.S., where the Bureau of Justice estimates one in every 32 adults is either on probation, in jail or in prison, these types of programs are liberating a growing population behind bars. In states red and blue, as

far-flung as Hawaii, Pennsylvania and Colorado, yoga’s soaring popularity is aiding program viability. The Arizona Prison Project has grand plans to expand its asana program to the 56 nationwide prisons in which it currently teaches Buddhist studies. Remarkably, none of these programs are supported by state funding; all are kept afloat by donations, limited grants and the dedication of volunteer teachers who undergo strict training, travel multiple times per week and endure hours of clearance and security to teach in detention centers. For many prison practitioners, yoga is more than just an alternative to pumping iron in the yard. While some programs prefer to keep spirituality-speak to a minimum, given the predominately Christian faith inside prison walls, others find it a useful tool to empower students. When Nikki Weihe of Blue Flower Yoga in Boise, Idaho, first started volunteering at the South Boise Women’s Correctional Center

four-and-a-half years ago, prisoners and officials didn’t consider her raja yoga classes aerobic exercise; rather, they grouped her under the same umbrella of “religious services” as the priests and the rabbis. Nikki was flattered — and thankful, since this designation opened the door for her to naturally incorporate some more metaphysical elements into her classes. However, she admits some students find yoga’s non-denominational, all-inclusive spirituality a little confusing or off putting at first. “Because I talk about god, some women struggle with that. They wonder how that fits in with their Christian god,” she explains. Whatever initial confusion or doubt her students may have experienced, Nikki’s classes at the South Boise Center have a perpetual waiting list. Each Friday evening, she gathers 20 students for class in a raucous room (a great opportunity to learn pratyahara, or sense withdrawal, Nikki says) to undertake a challenging

asana routine. Nikki feels prison is the ideal classroom to learn sadhana (spiritual practice), because on the outside, yoga students “often just want a toned body or whatever. Here, they’re exposed to true yogic teaching — it helps them sleep better, brings them to their center.” At San Quentin State Prison — the Golden State’s oldest detention facility — up to 300 inmates participate in the Insight Prison Project, an extremely innovative rehabilitation program comprising healing therapies ranging from yoga to Byron Katie’s “The Work.” Separated from the general prison population in dormitories — what could only be described as warehouses with bunks — the IPP holds weekly hatha classes for both “lifers” and re-offenders. Yoga Program Coordinator and Principal Teacher James Fox has been practicing Ashtanga, Iyengar, Yin Yoga and Vipassana for 20 years, and teaching for seven. To teach at San Quentin, Fox

modifies his instruction style considerably (and not just because his classroom lacks traditional Iyengar props). Prison classes are chaotic, and Fox must consider how to “get through” to his students differently. “If the majority come from Christian backgrounds, there’s a stigma [of yoga] as an Eastern cult thing,” says Fox. “It’s important to be upfront about the yoga as more of a philosophy and a science than a spiritual practice. If it becomes a spiritual practice, it’s up to them.” And then there are the tacit rules, like careful word-choice in the classroom. To illustrate, Fox describes a visiting teacher who made the mistake of instructing students in downdog to “stick their butts up in the air.” “That’s just something you don’t say in prison,” he notes. “The way I work: I tell them to rotate your tailbone back and work it toward the ceiling. You’re in a prison environment; there are lots of unspoken ways of operating here.” Fox says lessons imparted through asana and meditation have profound practical applications inside the cellblock. “When things get rough, [the prisoner] can do pranayama (yogic breathing) or remember, ‘Oh yeah, I can do some simple inversion to calm myself down,’ explains Fox. “And that’s what makes the classes different. Though the same issues could be viable outside, in prison, it’s under a microscope.” Back with the incarcerated youth outside of LA, Cletro acknowledges that the pressures of the outside world and the revolving door of prison culture means that many students are beyond even yoga’s reach. “They’re so pumped up in the moment, that [they say] they’re never going to do it again...to return [to the detention center],” she explains with bright eyes. “But then they’re back. And I ask them, is it so they can do more yoga?” But Cletro’s casual banter masks a deeper, sad

acceptance. In the end, it is the ability to take yogic tools and convert them in daily life that will allow for positive changes on the outside. “I am practicing yoga every day,” writes one former-inmate with shock. “It really helps me to calm down and helps me to deal with my addiction issues.” Of his gratitude for his yoga teacher Fox, another San Quentin student writes, “he has thrown a pontoon to a bunch of swimmers who believe they are not going to make it because we can’t see the shore... Yoga is remarkable.” LA-based freelance writer Alison Clare Steingold covers lifestyle topics ranging from dining and food to yoga and health. "We are different frequencies of the same SOURCE"