\'\'When I do Yoga I feel like I am surrounded by this field of positive energy and protected from the negative vibes of prison life.\'\'
\'\'Now that I'm out, I wanted to let you know that I am practicing Yoga every day.
It really helps me to calm down and helps me to deal with my addiction issues.\'\' - A.B.
\'\'I used drugs and alcohol for many years basically to kill the pain of my life.
Yoga has helped clear my mind, deal with the pain, move into the present and just love myself and who I am.\'\' - J.B.
\'\'I am out and after years of struggling with my addictions I have finally reconciled myself to a life of sobriety. I have completed an important phase of my re-hab program and now plan to seriously pursue my spiritual practices, especially Yoga. I am grateful to the powers that be for having put a teacher such as yourself in my life.\'\' - R.C.
"; quotes += "\'\'I have a strengthened identity with self and a sense of something universal.
It has given me the ability to affect my own well being and peace without dependency upon someone else or chemical substance.\'\' - T.W.
\'\'In my opinion the teacher has thrown a pontoon to a bunch of swimmers who believe they are not going to make it because we can't see the shore. Yoga is remarkable.\'\' - M.S.
"; quotes += "\'\'I have experienced decreased anxiety and improved ability to deal with stress.
I have also been able to relieve back pain and in general manage pain and injuries.\'\' - S.L.
\'\'I came in contact with yoga before I came to prison but always thought it was for hippies or older folks. But now that I have taken yoga, I feel less physical pain, I sleep better and I'm more at peace with myself.\'\' - D. W.
"; quotes += "\'\'I've been incarcerated for almost 26 years and have participated in numerous programs.
The Hatha Yoga class is second to none. What a wonderful experience being able to practice such a beneficial program in prison.\'\' - R.S.
I would also like to add that all the other IPP classes have a common theme, one of turning inward. Until I started practicing Yoga I wasn't fully understanding what was being taught. I was \'learning\' what the teachers where teaching, but I wasn't \'feeling\' what was being said. I guess what I'm trying to say is my other classes make me think \'hmmm.\' Yoga class makes me go \'ah-haa\'.
"; text_content += "After six months of Yoga, I am now beginning to \'live\' in the present. Yoga has opened-up my soul to receive what the other classes are teaching, making them really work for me in ways I can't really describe with my limited vocabulary. For myself I have to say that Yoga is the key to my learning and changing that is going to keep me out of prison and once again be a productive member of society. I can't thank you James enough.
"; text_content += "- J.B.
"; return text_content; } testimonials_widget.prototype.project_artwork_text = function () { var text_content = "I originally started drawing and painting my wife in advanced yoga postures (she is an accomplished yoga practitioner and martial artist), but now the majority of my artwork is devoted to my own practice of yoga.
" + "I first tried yoga at a health club back in 2002. As a bodybuilder, I was in very good shape but was blown away by how difficult and demanding yoga could be. In 2005, I was sent to San Quentin and ended up in H-Unit. I was amazed and surprised to learn yoga classes were being offered for those of us enrolled in the Success Program, a voluntary rehabilitation program operated by San Quentin and the Insight Prison Project. The program offered a variety of self-help classes ranging from violence prevention and addiction recovery to yoga and meditation.
" + "When I signed up for yoga I expected to be either intimidated or that it wouldn't be a very good class. But I was wrong on both counts. I got excellent, almost one-on-one instruction from the teacher, James Fox, and the class really helped me to be at peace under difficult circumstances. I have a long way to go in perfecting the asanas but feel I realized the deeper more meaningful benefits from the practice.
" + "I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn more about the real intention of Hatha Yoga, and not just its physical aspects. Yoga has filled a void for me where spiritual and physical meet and enabled me to express that experience through my art.
" + "Brett CrawfordNot long ago my new cellmate and I had a serious disagreement over an item of his personal property. An item, if found in the cell would be a minor infraction for him, but would cause for me to never be given a release date. There are two sets of rules. One for \'short- termers\' and one for lifers, and the system punishes the most anyone who trys to do what is right, welcome to prison. I had offered solutions to him for a week or so and his reaction was always the same: \'F--- You! Mind your own business.\' So one morning when I suggested that he find another cellie that he would be more compatible with, his reaction was the same. That afternoon when I got \'home\' from work and was bending over to untie my shoes, he dove on me from my left side in the tight confines of the cell! My focus went to the core of my being, (where your center of gravity is) in the area of the first two chakras. I simply stood up and let his motion continue, and pushed him to the right side of me. I said, \'You need to chill out!\' and I exited the cell. I immediately went to my breath and noticed my calmness, and my balance. I wasn't breathing heavy or fast, my adrenaline wasn't pumping and I really wasn't even mad. I had no \'ill will\' towards my cellie, just a little sad that things had to be this way. But I knew that the feeling, like a cloud, would pass. After I ate dinner I had an evening self-help group to attend so I went.
"; text_content += "I returned to find oId cellie had moved out and a new cellie there. My new cellie said that while he was moving in and the other cellie was moving out, the other cellie was trashing the place. I noticed several items of my personal property destroyed. He'd also taken a black magic marker and written profanities on the wall. He took my toothpaste and squeezed the whole tube onto my blanket. And some of my \'goodies\' form the commissary was missing! Still I did not think or feel there was a need to be upset, I took a deep breath, paused for a moment, and then introduced myself to my new cell-mate and began cleaning up the mess.
"; text_content += "The next day the word on the yard was that I owed that dude a complete ass kicking, and that none of \'his people\' would retaliate be cause of the way he had disrespected me. Everyone was mad at me for not beating the guy up and kept asking me when I was going to do it? Some of the people who I thought were my friends told me they were told that they were not aloud to talk to me anymore, unless I go smash on that guy right now! I told them I'm due to go to the parole board and the last thing I need is a \'write up\' for fighting. How could I then say: Oh but I'm ready for parole now! Later that same day they all said, \'Ok\', when you get done going to the parole board, then you can beat him up. They just didn't get it.
"; text_content += "Only one person commended me for showing tremendous control, and he just happened to be another one of our fellow students from the yoga class! At the next class I took the time aside to personally thank our Instructor. Also to let him know that it was only because of the inner peace and trust that was instilled, developed, and nurtured in the Yoga class, that I was able to respond to that situation with calm. Calmness developed over years, through the months, week to week, day after day, hour by hour, minute by minute, one breath at a time.
"; text_content += "- B.T.
"; return text_content; } testimonials_widget.prototype.teachers_text = function () { var text_content = "\'\'Thanks for inviting me to the yoga class. It was an honor to donate a little time to such a wonderful program and it had a surprisingly potent effect on me. I was deeply touched by the respect, focus, and openheartedness of the men who came to class.\'\' - Scott Blossom
"; text_content += "\'\'I know I'm not alone in feeling cut-off from the real world and access to being of service in it. It is a source of frustration and sadness for many of us who are truly concerned about the state of the world and desire to be of service." + "..It's a little hard to put into words the experience of leading a yoga class at San Quentin. I went in expecting to give and ended up receiving so much. I felt grateful, honored and privileged and deeply touched by these men who live in such stark circumstances, with extremely difficult lives left behind or awaiting their return.\'\' - Christy Brown
"; text_content += "\'\'I have mentioned the men at San Quentin in many of my Dharma talks since my visit, as they really inspired me with the concentration and depth of their practice.
What they showed me was that in the difficult situation they are in, they are able to tap into a deeper inner strength and indeed be free while inside prison.\'\' - Frank Jude Boccio
I hope, as many do, that our collective human consciousness will shift toward a place of greater harmony and compassion and less hatred and violence. As I witness the suffering and injustices in the world, I feel outraged, sometimes depressed and helpless, but always determined to do as much as I can in my self, in the way I live my life, and through practicing and teaching yoga, to be as helpful as I am capable of in any given moment.
"; text_content += "I've felt a desire to teach yoga at San Quentin since I started teaching in 2000. Some years ago at an event in Sausalito, I met James Fox, who is one of the founding members of the Insight Prison Project and has been teaching yoga at San Quentin for more than five years. I told him of my desire to serve. He responded that for those on a spiritual path, he believes that it's part of the natural evolution to arrive at a desire to serve.
"; text_content += "Through James, I came to appreciate more intimately the cycle wherein inmates, born into life circumstances beyond their control, and, trapped in either a moment or a lifetime of inner darkness or darkness of the collective environment, now find themselves trapped, potentially for a lifetime, in San Quentin.
"; text_content += "James arranged for my clearance into San Quentin and had me accompany him to one of his yoga classes. I had the experience when we went in and as we passed through each security check, of gradually entering a different reality. I didn't so much find darkness as much as intensified reality. It was as if being inside of San Quentin and feeling the weight of all that the place represents, stripped away everything but what actually was in every fleeting moment. The impact of every word and action may not actually hold more weight than in the outside world, but it is more obvious, more palpable, and there seems to be a respect for this among those who work inside San Quentin. I didn't fully realize the intensity of being inside San Quentin until I later left the prison and was surprised to find that it took me several hours to readjust.
"; text_content += "That first time going into San Quentin, I was prepared for the worst. I had spoken with a handful of people beforehand and had taken in the various responses I received, which varied from admiration to alarm. In those cases of fear-based alarm, like, ''why are you doing that?'' or, ''it's too dangerous for a woman!'', I found that the reference point of understanding often came from movies. I even heard acknowledgement of it: ''Well, my impression is based on movies, but...'' Oh, how easily our delicate psyches can be shaped by media
"; text_content += "It is true that going into San Quentin is not risk-free. This became most obvious to me when James ran down the list of colors that I could and couldn't wear; in the event that a gun needs to be fired, it needs to be immediately apparent to guards who is an inmate and who is not.
"; text_content += "So, after subjecting my own psyche to the spectrum of responses to my, ''I'm going into San Quentin,'' I was prepared for the worst and was pleasantly surprised to find the experience even enjoyable. Everyone I met was pleasant, including guards and inmates, though I know it's not always so smooth and that I was accompanying the long-established yoga teacher himself. After passing through two separate security checks, which altogether took about an hour, we walked through an open dirt and concrete yard where inmates are allowed to roam about freely. There was lots of activity happening, guys playing basketball, men doing pull-ups or dips on stationery bars, some guys just standing around, and a sweat lodge dominated a portion of the yard. There were some curious glances our way, but not the aggressive catcalls I'd been warned of by some. Once we were inside the office area IPP uses consisted of two closet-size, windowless rooms on either side of a hallway. I met a couple people who work with or in conjunction with IPP to help inmates in a variety of ways and was struck by their down-to-earth dedication and devotion to the cause that I sensed.
"; text_content += "Finally, we went into the classroom where James teaches yoga every week to two different groups of about 20 inmates. It is a long room, on the ground floor, with a couple windows looking onto the yard we'd walked through. Desk tables and chairs were stacked in a corner.
"; text_content += "As the guys came in, many of whom were Hispanic, dressed in some combination of light gray sweats or blue pants with white t-shirt or blue shirt, they said hello to James, gave him their ID cards, and some of them I met briefly. They were all very respectful, and if anything a little shy. They each got a mat, sprayed and cleaned the map with a paper towel, and patiently sat down or laid down on their mats to wait for the class to begin. They had clearly been through this routine many times. James had me put my mat down next to him, with the mats arranged in two long rows facing each other. Before he began the class, he introduced me as a visiting yoga teacher and explained that there would be time for them to ask me questions at the end. As the class proceeded, I began to experience first-hand what James had told me of his emphasis on mindfulness, self-awareness and softening, and how important this is in helping the guys in the class to learn impulse control. I became more acutely aware of how privileged these guys are to have this opportunity; yoga and mindfulness practices don't tend to be readily available to the communities that most of these guys come from.
"; text_content += "The guys in the class were focused and attentive and understood when James called out certain poses by their Sanskrit names. There was an innocence to the way they practiced, and the beginner's mind in this case was genuine. It was a straightforward and meditative practice, with breath and movement in sync, and it went by quickly. James had them partner up for handstand, which he later explained to me is a great pose for accessing the ability to shift perspective. The sivasana and meditation at the end were very still and peaceful. I imagine, and James has told me, that this is likely the only sustained moment of peace that these guys experience in San Quentin. No wonder they appreciate it so much.
"; text_content += "The hour and 45 minute class ended, the guys put away their mats and put the desk tables and chairs back in place, and we stood around, waiting for clearance to leave, which didn't come. Indeed, there was a lockdown. At this particular time in the day, every inmate has to be accounted for and until that happens, nobody goes anywhere. So here we all were together, for another 45 minutes or so, until the lockdown ended. It turned out to have been a clerical error, but it gave me the opportunity to talk to most of the guys, some of whom I spoke with in Spanish. I asked some of them what they liked most about the yoga. Most all of them expressed, in some form or other, that the calming mental effect was most important. And, they had various questions for me: How long had I been doing yoga? How did I learn to teach yoga? Had I been to India? Where do I teach now?
"; text_content += "When the lockdown cleared and each of the guys walked up to the door to leave, each one of them shook my hand, looked me in the eyes, and thanked me for being there. Each eye gaze was a profound moment for me.
"; text_content += "Some weeks later, James suggested I accompany him back to San Quentin to guest teach the same class. He asked me to prepare a theme and a sequence, and after meditating on it, I came up with the idea of breaking down his theme of impulse control. My theme, which I would weave into the practice, would be three-part: cultivating inner calm and stillness, self-observation and opening to the possibility of shifting perspective.
"; text_content += "It's a little hard to put into words the experience of leading a yoga class at San Quentin. Having had some familiarity with the group, I fortunately felt comfortable and at ease. In some ways it felt very normal, just like teaching a class anywhere, only there weren't the extras like music, lighting and candles, and they wore prison clothes, some of them socks. It was stark, which had the effect of stripping the practice down to its purest form.
"; text_content += "I began (and ended) with a seated meditation and gradually led the class into a series of basic standing poses and sun salutations, some floor work, including core-strengthening and twisting poses, gentle back-bending, partial inversions, and a yin-style pigeon. Throughout the practice, I emphasized breath, using and moving from core, and abiding in a quiet, gentle inner space, and I did my best to weave in my three-part theme. I found the group to be cohesive, focused, diligent and endearing. I felt present and a calm joy. Offering what I had to give in that context was deeply rewarding and somehow softened me, though my intention was to help them soften.
"; text_content += "There wasn't a lockdown this time around, so the room cleared more quickly. I stayed and talked to some of the guys afterwards. One of the guys had a long list of questions for me, and I unfortunately didn't have the chance to talk to more of the guys because of this one guy. James later told me that was typical of this particular guy, and so I learned yet one more of the many lessons I learned from my experience at San Quentin: conversational boundaries; don't let one person dominate my time in a group context. This is one of those delicate parts of being a yoga teacher that I continue to work on.
"; text_content += "I went in expecting to give and ended up receiving so much. I felt grateful, honored and privileged to have spent time in San Quentin, and deeply touched by these men who live in such stark and endless circumstances, with extremely difficult lives left behind or awaiting their return, who come to this room every week to do yoga with James, and who were open enough to respectfully allow me to lead them in a practice. They may not be privy to the mainstream world of yoga, but at some deep level, they really get the practice and appreciate it for the real benefits, beyond the physical, that yoga promises: a calmer mind, heightened awareness, and developing the ability to observe oneself and one's reactions and potentially break long-held mental-emotional patterns that create disturbance in our lives.
"; text_content += "It is easy to miss these jewels of the practice out there in the mainstream world of yoga, yet it is here at the heart of the practice where the potential for real change within ourselves, our society and our world lies: expanding and grounding our consciousness, uncovering our inherent light and goodness, and cultivating optimum health in the physical body so that we can remain healthy and alert. The population at large needs practices like this as much as inmates at San Quentin so that we can get to the root of society's failings. Working with inmates at San Quentin, as essential it is, is on one level still treating the symptoms of society's ills. Now, to treat the causes of society's failings means that we all need to work on ourselves. This is the macro-picture practice.
"; text_content += "As I left San Quentin, a sadness came over me which still lingers and calls me back. I was leaving behind a moment of service, which no doubt felt rewarding and fulfilling. I was leaving behind this group to whom I'd opened my heart and felt them receive what I offered. I was leaving this place where reality is stripped to the bare bones, where superfluousness has no place. I was leaving behind a sliver of the world from which we are sheltered and not readily shown in the mainstream.
"; text_content += "Sitting in my car, waiting to meet a friend for dinner, I looked around me and it all seemed a little superficial and blind to the sobering reality of San Quentin, though it dominates the Marin county landscape. I felt torn away from the real world and dropped into a reality that is a little flat in comparison, sheltered, and in denial. And at the same time, I felt more deeply connected to the beauty and grace that is always in abundance and around us.
"; text_content += "I know I'm not alone in feeling cut-off from the real world and access to being of service in it. It is a source of frustration and sadness for many of us who are truly concerned about the state of the world and desire to be of service. Access to creating change in places like San Quentin or the war in Iraq can feel impenetrable. The infrastructure, our government, the media, all the deeply imbedded systems don't make access easy for us. But, as the great Nobel-Prize-winning author from Nigeria, Wole Soyinka, writes in You Must Set Forth at Dawn, ''Futility stared one in the face, but inaction was far more intolerable.'' And, as the ancient teachings tell us, one of the most valuable gifts we can each make is the inner journey toward our own evolution and expanded consciousness. The outer action ultimately extends only as far as the inner action.
"; text_content += "Written by Christy Brown"; return text_content; } testimonials_widget.prototype.sarah_powers_text = function () { var text_content = "James asked me to come and teach a 2 hour workshop to a group of men with life sentences, many of whom are in for 2nd degree murder. They have all been there many years, (forever hoping their appeals will be heard), and have been doing yoga for two years once a week. I impetuously agreed, and it wasn't until I sat on my mat waiting for them to enter the small but adequate \'yoga\' room that I realized I may be in over my head. There were no guards present although James assured me he would be in the room with me at all times.
"; text_content += "At this point I am aware of how many film-ic fantasies are playing out in my mind, but am suddenly interrupted by the first inmate who says the others will be late due to a lock-down on floor five. How comforting. Sitting there waiting to share my upper middle class, white girl wisdom about yoga and meditation, I became distracted by the sounds of constant yelling, moaning, and cries. James tells me that a building nearby houses those in behavioral confinement, a constant reminder of immediate and utter suffering. As this anguish continues to permeate the atmosphere, I begin to feel deeply sobered and sad, rather than afraid for myself. My Buddhist practice had centered on sending compassion not only to those who are deserving, but to wherever suffering abides. I was now sitting in a hell realm for many people and knew that if the teachings I had been devoted to for over 20 years had sprouted any understanding in me, I would now be testing myself.
"; text_content += "As the men filed in one or two at a time, I found myself surprised at how clean and respectable they looked, how polite and easygoing most of them seemed. I don't know what I expected, this wasn't Pappillon nor Midnight Express, I just wouldn't have picked any of them out in a lineup if I was going by stereotype.
"; text_content += "As I spoke, the interest in the room began to feel quite high and my confidence in relating to them began to grow. I mentioned that in this room, it is a non-threatening environment with which to investigate our body and mind freshly, and that we are attempting to relax the constant need to manipulate the moment. I reminded them that there are no doubt many moments in their day when they are not busy interacting with the world actively. It is during the inactive but awake moments, that we can learn to turn inward and brighten our minds by resting in awareness, an alert but non-reactive mental perspective.
"; text_content += "Afterwards I wanted to ask them directly what (if anything) had been useful to them in the class. Surprisingly, many of them were eager to share. One said that the opening story about my teacher's teacher being imprisoned by the Chinese in Tibet for 28 years, and how he had used his \'time\' to free his mind, had inspired him. Others said they were now more interested in further meditation skills, and a number of them wanted me to repeat the vow I had begun class with.
"; text_content += "I vow now to awaken to Awareness, for the benefit of all beings. I appreciate its immeasurable value, and feel it is possible for me in this moment, regardless of conditions.
"; text_content += "One man said he had memorized it, and would make copies for the guys." + "I was then asked how it had been for me to teach them. I was moved that they asked. I told them how much I appreciated their sincerity, their interest and respect towards me. I told them I truly felt honored to be let into their worlds for a moment in this way. I reminded them that there are so many distractions on the outside and even with the privileges that abound for many of us, there is an immense amount of suffering everywhere and that the only way out of the inner prisons we all seem to live in different ways, is to discover the wealth that abounds in our hearts and minds. I suggested to them that they think of themselves as beacons, inspirations for the other prisoners, as well as for all of us. I reminded them that they are not practicing for themselves alone, for if they can free their minds in the extreme situations they find themselves in, then others will surely feel it is possible as well.
"; text_content += "As they each left, they came over and shook my hand firmly, thanking me. I felt like I had been given a unique gift from a reality lived so close to mine (the prison is a few miles from my house), yet so far indeed. I turned to James and thanked him for thinking of bringing me. This experience had changed me. I could no longer see these men as abstract throw aways of society. Like all people, they deserve to be shown the tools which help them holistically care for their own bodies and minds. Without these, we all flounder to lesser or greater degrees.
"; text_content += "I hope those who are in a position to help monetarily will consider supporting this organization, remembering that an intrinsic ripple effect occurs when one person's heart/mind turns from ignorance to understanding, we all benefit.
"; text_content += "Sincerely,
