Yoga for Youth and Correctional Staff in 2022
I can understand how easy it might be to feel discouraged or even outraged right now with our society so divided. I have a reason to hope, though. Since I began offering yoga in the youth detention center in Little Rock, Arkansas, I’ve witnessed our participants and staff come together in our practices with shared […]
Training Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated People as Yoga Teachers
For those who may not know me, I am Prison Yoga Project’s Program Director in New Hampshire where I’ve been leading programs since 2018. One of the great joys of the past year was launching, along with PYP Program Director and Trainer Chanda Williams, PYP’s first-ever yoga teacher training held outside a prison. We’ve had […]
Demonstrating the Impact and Importance of Our Work
For those who don’t know me, my name is Nicole Hellthaler, and I am PYP’s Assistant Director. I live in Little Rock, Arkansas, where I offer yoga to youth and adults at county detention centers. Since I began working with PYP in 2018, I’ve always been impressed that our leadership team also brings yoga inside. […]
Prison Yoga Project Marked a Major Milestone This Year
It’s nice to have a reason to celebrate, and this year marks an important milestone for Prison Yoga Project. In June, we began operating as an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit. This transition allows us to improve and expand our programming, add needed staff, and open up new opportunities for funding. We are forever grateful to the […]
Congratulations to Our Team in Sweden!
“We were very grateful and excited for the opportunity to share our research within the forensic psychiatry on the most viewed morning news tv show on their best broadcast timing in Sweden yesterday!” Josefin Wikström Congratulations to Josefin Wikström, Nóra Kerekes, and their amazing team in Sweden!
Teaching Series with James Fox
Prajna Teaching Series: Insights, Practices, and Skills shared by Prison Yoga Project Founder, James Fox Join the founder of PYP, James Fox, for the 3rd Friday of every month as he begins his new teaching series, Prajna. Prajna (praj-nah) is the Sanskrit word for a state of wisdom or understanding derived from higher knowledge than […]
Freedom from the Inside – Book Release
AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE TODAY! Join us on March 8th, International Women’s Day, to celebrate the release of our new book, Freedom from the Inside: a Woman’s Yoga Practice Guide. We will be hosting a free webinar featuring the book’s authors Josefin Wikstrom and James Fox. They will discuss the unique situation incarcerated women face, their inspiration for […]
PYP- AL Virtual Sessions, Grant Win, and Covid-19
Prison Yoga Project–Alabama (PYP-AL) was just nearing completion of its second round of 12-week yoga offerings at Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women when COVID-19 circumstances prevented program completion. At the time, we facilitated 3 general population classes and one class for Tutwiler staff. When PYP-AL visited Tutwiler for the last time in early March, neither […]
PYP-UK Wins Grant for Books for Incarcerated People
The Prison Yoga Project received some really good news this week. But, before getting to that, I think it’s important to provide some context. The incarcerated population that the PYP serves is largely a forgotten one – a truth accurately captured in Angela Davis’s words: “Prisons do not disappear social problems … they disappear human […]
