Welcome to Prison

I am a Prison Yoga Teacher

            Yesterday I brought a new teacher to the prison to teach yoga. It was her first time and she was nervous. This is a normal feeling – who wants to willingly enter a prison? As we waited in the lobby for an officer to check us in she ate chips and sour Skittles, laughing at herself for stress eating.

            Eventually an officer showed up, we relinquished our driver’s licenses and received temporary badges. As we moved through each door I explained what would happen next, as well as which doors we could open on our own and which we could not.

            We entered the van that would take us to the yard where we teach. Inmates drive the vans. I saw my friend begin to relax as we spoke with the inmates driving the van. I jokingly explained to the inmates that my friend had never been inside a gated community, aka a prison, and they welcomed her. Fairly quickly we arrived at our yard and exited the van.

            We entered our next checkpoint and the officers asked why they were not receiving yoga. My friend invited them to our class. They politely declined and we continued on our way. As we prepared to enter the yard I once again informed my friend that we were about to enter a prison yard, on our own, and that all would be well.

            The walk between buildings in the yard is short, and as we made our way to the classroom my students in the yard began waving at us and welcoming us. We entered the classroom and I introduced my friend to the students. At this point all of her nervousness seemed to vanish. She simply taught a yoga class, interacting with the students just like we do in any class.

            As we made our way out of the prison, my friend excitedly talked about what an amazing experience she had just had. This is my experience too – teaching yoga in prison fills my heart with joy. After feeling so nervous, she asked if she could return on a regular basis!

            I loved seeing this transformation, from nervous to excited to being ready to go again. For me personally, teaching yoga in prison is my purpose. I want to normalize helping our brothers and sisters who are incarcerated. As yoga teachers, we have the opportunity to be a light in the darkness.

If you want to support us in this journey, I am sponsored by Yoga’s Arc. Donations can be made here

You can specify that the funds go to the prison yoga program. Funds can also be donated through Venmo. Simply choose @YogasArc (Kary Sinkule) and specify where you want the funds to go.

            I’ll close by sharing the mantra I use for teaching yoga in prison:

In this room we are all students

In this room we are all teachers

In this room we practice yoga