Yoga Behind Bars

“Yoga has pieced my body and soul back together.” - YBB Participant

Mission & Vision

Yoga Behind Bars (YBB) shares trauma-informed yoga and meditation with marginalized people behind and beyond bars to support individual healing and a more just society for all. We envision a world that prioritizes healing and growth over punishment and believe yoga practices can help facilitate community connectedness that can disrupt cycles of trauma, violence, and harm.

Description

Yoga Behind Bars (YBB) brings trauma-informed yoga to jails, prisons, and youth detention centers. We utilize trauma-informed yoga as a tool to address symptoms of trauma – such as an over-active stress response, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and physical pain. Combining guided meditation, breathing exercises, and yoga postures, trauma-informed yoga is proven to calm and regulate the nervous system, and shift both mental and physical patterns that positively support overall health and self-regulation. 

Half of our programs serve young people, and 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 strength and connection. Most youth behind bars suffer from chronic and complex trauma, stemming from early adverse childhood experiences. Because trauma lives in the body, it can only be addressed and integrated if the body is a central part of treatment and recovery. 

At the beginning of 2023, we began offering a monthly trauma-informed yoga class in the community for people who have experienced incarceration. By the end of each class, our goal is to offer opportunities for students to address their trauma and provide tools that foster positive self-worth and support overall health for the future. The class is a safe and grounding space for people who are recently released from correctional facilities, allowing our program to continue serving students by building on trust built during incarceration to connect them with additional resources and organizations.

In 2023, Yoga Behind Bars:

• We rebuilt our adult and youth programs inside, hosting an average of 16 weekly classes at 9 facilities, totaling over 400 sessions.
• We fostered a culture shift within our organization, embodying a culture of care.
• We embedded ourselves as co-conspirators amongst other disruptors + abolitionists.
• We birthed the Beyond Bars program, introducing monthly community yoga classes.
• And so much more!

Trauma-informed yoga and meditation have proven to be powerful tools, offering our participants opportunities for growth and evolution – whether it's the decision to attend a class or simply taking a long, conscious exhale. This year, we are thrilled to expand our offerings for youth to include artistic expression as well as leadership and relationship building. 

Your partnership fuels our vision – a world where there are no bars to do yoga behind and harm is addressed at a community level.