In research papers and on the ground, evidence shows that prison yoga programmes are making a world of difference for those who take part
There’s a mental health crisis happening inside UK prisons. A 2024 study by the University of Oxford, published in the Lancet Public Health journal, found that mental health problems were twice as prevalent among those in prison compared to the general population. It highlighted that 11% had depression, 9.8% had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and 38.9% had a drug use disorder.
In the latest Prison Mental Health Services in England report, it was also found that one in every seven people were getting support from mental health services in prison (rising to more than one in four among women in prison).
“Given almost all people in prison will be released at some point, improving their health during imprisonment has the potential to improve the health of the communities to which they will return,” said Professor Seena Fazel, senior author of the 2024 study, and professor of forensic psychiatry at the University of Oxford, UK.
While the majority of support received by incarcerated people is in the form of talking therapies, the skyrocketing rates of mental health problems beg the question, could more be done? Enter: the Prison Yoga Project.
It began in 2000 in San Quentin, a prison in northern California. Founder James Fox began facilitating yoga sessions in the prison before going on to write a short practice manual, which he sent free of charge to anyone who requested it. From there, things grew naturally, and other teachers were attracted to the cause, including Geoff O’Meara.
“I moved to Leicester eight years ago but, prior to that, I had been living in Austin, Texas,” says Geoff. “I was a yoga teacher, and I was interested in sharing these practices with people in prison. I started with a local prison yoga programme, and then James came to deliver teacher training for those of us who were interested in furthering our teaching within the prison system.” When the Prison Yoga Project (PYP) expanded into Europe, Geoff took up the post of UK Director, training more teachers and facilitating classes in Leicester.
While Geoff saw first-hand the impact that yoga could have on a prisoner’s mental wellbeing, it’s a method grounded in an impressive body of evidence. Another Oxford University study, in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, found that prisoners who took part in a 10-week yoga course reported improved mood, reduced stress, and were better at a task related to behaviour control than those who hadn’t taken part. “Offering yoga sessions in prisons is cheap – much cheaper than other mental health interventions,” says Dr Amy Bilderbeck, co-lead of the study. “If yoga has any effect on addressing mental health problems in prisons, it could save significant amounts of public money.”
“Given the research that’s being done, we can really see the impact that yoga programming has,” says Geoff. “In our methodology, we teach trauma-informed yoga and embodied mindfulness – practices that involve physical movement, conscious breathing, mindful awareness, and relaxation. We see those components have a very particular impact on a person’s autonomic nervous system.
“In working with people who are incarcerated, you recognise fairly quickly that trauma is the root of the larger disturbances that result in people ending up in prisons. With trauma, and people impacted by trauma, they basically get stuck on the fight-flight side of their nervous system. These yoga practices work to settle the nervous system, and switch a person back over into their parasympathetic nervous system. As research is showing, we have the opportunity to cultivate increased concentration, emotional awareness, and impulse control – all these things that, within a prison environment specifically, lead to reductions in anti-social behaviour, increased character maturity, better sleep, and pain relief. It’s a beautiful time for us, the people doing this work.”
As Geoff sees it, any criticism of spending time and resources investing in these sorts of programmes can be addressed by considering that the majority of people in prison will be released within their lifetime.
“I always suggest to those who say, ‘Why are you giving them yoga? Why are you trying to make it easier for them, or help them relax?’ That’s not the aim of our service. These prisoners are going to be back in our communities, living with us, so why wouldn’t we want them to have a chance to take care of themselves – and change their negative behaviours into positive ones – so they can come out and be contributing members of society again?”
That said, in the eight years Geoff has been working in the UK, he has seen a huge shift in the attitude towards teaching yoga in prisons and, now, prisons like the one he teaches at in Leicester, have regular programmes in place. “People decided it was time. It’s been almost three years now that I go in and teach once a week – and it’s only become more consistently attended. It’s been really inspiring to see the prison system itself start to get behind this, and to offer this kind of programming to serve the population that they have to take care of.
“On a personal level, I see the impact every week. I had a class a few weeks ago where two new guys came in, who had never done any of this before, and made a point of coming up to me after the session saying: ‘Wow, I had no idea that this was what it was about, but I can already feel what this could do for me.’ That kind of stuff, it keeps us all going. At this point, I don’t need any more convincing, but it’s really sweet to hear, and to see people take care of themselves in that way.”
Within the context of headlines flagging a record-high prison population, as well as devastating levels of mental illness, addiction, and trauma within that population, support schemes that place compassion and self-growth at their core just make sense – bringing calm and compassion to life on and off the mat.
Images | RJ Donovan
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