In order to improve the physical and mental well-being of prison inmates, special yoga classes were conducted by Isha for about 5,000 prison inmates across Tamil Nadu in the last 3 months. These classes were conducted in all Central, District jails, and sub-jails of Tamil Nadu including Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Vellore, and Cuddalore.
Yoga teachers trained by Sadhguru visited the prisons and taught Yoga practices like ‘Life Purpose’, ‘Surya Shakti’, and ‘Upa Yoga’. By doing these practices daily, the inmates can get rid of stress and improve their physical health.
The impact of these classes was apparent in the startling experiences of the inmates. Sharing one such instance, an Isha Yoga teacher who took the class in prisons said, “When conducting yoga classes in Cuddalore prison, some 19-20-year-old youths joined the class on the first day against their will. However, after the 3rd day of class, their experiences were the opposite. They felt had they attended such a yoga class earlier, they would not have ended up in jail. They were glad to get the opportunity.”
“This class will help us not to engage in any criminal activities again after we go out,” confided one of the inmates to the teacher.
The eagerness to fully received what was offered even made one of the inmates desire not to come out on bail. “I had applied for bail and all of these days I would be longing to get out on bail. However, after the first day of the class, I prayed to God to not get the bail before the end of the class. I did not get the bail as requested and now I am happy that I completed the 3-day class.”
Isha Foundation has been conducting Prison Programs in various prisons across Tamil Nadu for about 30 years since 1992. These life-transforming programs have touched the very core of the prisoners and have helped them bloom into their natural state of love, freedom, and joy – free from anger and hatred. So far around 40,000 inmates have benefited from these programs.
(This is an official press release from Isha Foundation. The Commune was not involved in creating this content.)
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