Spotlight on PYP Canada | Prison Yoga Project Global Programs

Prison Yoga Project (PYP) offers a Restorative Justice practice that focuses on recovery from trauma, development of resilience, and cultivation of empathy, compassion, and personal responsibility. Our evidence-supported, trauma-informed approach to yoga and mindfulness supports people in facing and releasing unresolved trauma safely and effectively.

PYP was founded by James Fox at San Quentin State Prison in California, USA where he and his associate instructors have been teaching trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness classes to incarcerated people around the world since 2002.

Meet the Director:

PYP Canada

Prison Yoga Project has been facilitating classes in Canada since 2019. We are currently operating in facilities in British Columbia and Alberta, with programs reaching women, men, and youths in both Provincial institutions and remand centres.

We are currently training new facilitators to grow the program and expand to other provinces, particularly in Ontario, where a majority of the Canadian incarcerated population resides. Additionally, there is interest in expanding to Federal institutions throughout the country.

Highlights

In February, 2024, we were asked to participate in a pilot project offering yoga at Calgary Young Offender Centre & Women’s Annex as part of the Makoyoh’Sokoi – the Wolf Trail program. This funded program, operated in partnership with University of Calgary, supports a holistic wellness program for Indigenous women. Its central mission is to support the creation of a culturally safe and collaborative environment that addresses physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional well-being.
Over 100 books have been distributed to participants in 2023
Prison Yoga Project Canada received its first mat grant from Give Back Yoga Foundation in 2024 to support its programming in Alberta.

Thank you for showing me how to find my calmness, and thank you for coming for us.

S.K.

Calgary Young Offender Centre, Alberta

It’s time we emphasize healing over punishment

Our mission goes beyond rehabilitation. We advocate for a transformative shift in our culture, from punitive judgment to healing-centered approaches. By investing in healing over punishment, we strive to change society’s perspective on the root causes of harm, addressing issues at their source and breaking the cycles that perpetuate suffering.