Episode 53: "That Yoga Class is No Joke" - Bringing Yoga to Prisons Worldwide with James Fox
With James Fox
James Fox is the Founding Director of the Prison Yoga Project, which he started in San Quentin and grew to 17 states and beyond.
In part one of a three-part series on prison yoga, James tells Derek about the program's origins (he started in a single juvenile detention center); the unique challenges and opportunities involved; and the story of a participant whose rehabilitation and parole was inextricably linked with the yoga practice he learned while behind bars.
James also talks about:
How yoga helped him get over back pain from running
How Prison Yoga Project scaled through word of mouth, teacher training, and their book
How men and women in prison tend to react to first trying yoga
The trauma-informed approach they've developed
The role yoga played in a parole hearing for a participant serving a life sentence
