How can we ensure prisons don’t deepen trauma?
U.S. prisons and jails vary widely in how they treat the people in their care. PYP’s facilitators see this firsthand when they host in-person yoga classes inside the facilities.
“I walk into jail every week and there are correctional officers and staff doing incredible work to try to make lives better for people, but overall, it’s not a place that’s very dignified,” said Hellthaler.
The environment can range from subtly dehumanizing to openly hostile — conditions that The Brookings Institution says harm individual mental health and ultimately compromise public safety when incarcerated individuals return to society.
With 95% of those incarcerated eventually returning to their communities, it’s a problem that affects us all.
“Do we want people to go to prison and leave more traumatized?” said Hellthaler. “They’re only returning to our communities with more obstacles to overcome.”
Research supports Hellthaler’s reasoning. Recidivism, the rate at which individuals are rearrested after incarceration, stands at 70% in the United States — the highest in the world. Studies show that the trauma inflicted by punitive corrections programs significantly contributes to this cycle.
PYP is taking a different approach. “We can be more compassionate, see their humanity, and try to understand the causes and conditions that led to the crime that was committed,” Hellthaler said. This compassion can also encourage incarcerated individuals to extend kindness to themselves and others as they navigate their healing journey.
Yoga facilitates this shift. Hellthaler teaches yoga at jails in Little Rock, Arkansas. Almost all the people in her classes are in recovery from addiction. “They’re constantly using yoga as a source for being a bit more compassionate with themselves and using it to build resilience,” she said.
“It’s a safe way to start to rebuild the relationship with yourself,” she continued. “Once you have that, it’s much easier to build skills, like, as I mentioned, self-regulation, self-control, but also empathy and compassion — that’s what leads to rehabilitation.”
How trauma contributes to cycles of poor decision-making
“Trauma is something we need to understand and address if we are going to create a system in which people are not returning to prison and jail but are able to become compassionate members of their community,” said Hellthaler.
She explained that trauma often leads people to dissociate from their bodies as a survival mechanism. It involves mentally and emotionally detaching from the body or identity in order to cope with overwhelming experiences. Thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and sensations that are typically interconnected become fragmented.
It’s a common subconscious response to trauma, particularly in childhood. When someone cannot physically escape intense pain or fear, their mind creates psychological distance instead. However, chronically persisting in this disconnected state can create additional challenges — with severe consequences.
“When you are disconnected from your body, it is often easier to make bad decisions,” Hellthaler said. “It’s harder to self-regulate when you’re not in tune with the different signals that your body is giving you.”
A person may not realize that trauma continues to affect them or that it contributes to cycles of poor decision-making, as Randall discovered while practicing yoga at San Quentin. “Everything that I felt 23 years ago, right? Everything that I was going through, I still feel today,” he said.
“Yoga can wake you up to that experience a little bit, but in a very calm and slow way,” said Hellthaler. “You start to rebuild that resilience and ability to feel.”
How yoga equips incarcerated individuals for life beyond prison
PYP focuses on restoring dignity and creating a space for healing the root causes of trauma. This helps set incarcerated people on a path to success when they return to their communities.
Hellthaler described the yoga classes as “radical” because participants get to choose what works for them, which tends to be a rare privilege in prison. Her message to participants: “If I show you something that you don’t want to do, that’s OK. I’m going to give you lots of choices. I want you to pick what’s best for your body.”
Instructors stay on their mats and practice alongside participants rather than walking around the room. This avoids creating the feeling of being judged or evaluated, which can be uncomfortable or triggering. Whenever possible, the mats are arranged in a circle so no one feels exposed or watched from behind.
This openness and autonomy of self builds trust and contributes to a safe healing environment. For Randall, the ability to trust has been central to his healing journey.
“The trust it just built,” he said about his experience in yoga classes with James Fox, PYP’s founder. “I knew that he would be there for me, not just in yoga, but it was somebody I can talk to. Somebody who didn’t judge me, who accepted me, and who celebrated my presence every time I came around. … I told myself, I started having these thoughts like, ‘You know what? There is some good people in this world.’ The change begun inside of that yoga room.”
Randall has since been released from prison and is thriving outside of prison, but living as a formerly incarcerated person in the United States is a daily challenge. Every day, he uses the calming and grounding techniques he learned in PYP classes.
“I find myself these days out here in society, having to breathe with intention more than I ever had to,” he said. “I have to breathe with intention, and I have to meditate.”
It’s helping him have more compassion for himself and the people around him.
“Out here, it is so intense,” Randall continued. “[Prison Yoga Project] prepared us all for this moment here to be our best and to be able to recognize what other human beings, little boys and little girls, [are] going through, and be able to say, ‘Hey, you got somebody that’s here.’”
Prison Yoga Project is supported by Stand Together Foundation, which empowers individuals to reach their full potential through community-driven change.
Learn more about Stand Together’s efforts to build strong and safe communities and explore ways you can partner with us.
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