Liberation Prison Yoga Workshop

LIBERATION PRISON YOGA TRAINING (12 hours): 

Joins us for the preliminary step to becoming recognized as a Liberation Prison Yoga Teacher. This training prepares you to start a program and/or teach in a correctional facility on your own accord. We reserve a full scholarship for anyone who was previously incarcerated, and work scholarship at half price for anyone who has trouble coming up with the full fee. 

The workshop will take place on November 9th and 10th from 10am-4pm. Lunch will be provided both days.

$250 general, $275 with 15 Yoga Alliance CEU’s

Registration and payment for the workshop here.

Training Overview:

Different traumatized populations are found inside prisons and jails, and incarceration is itself a traumatic experience. How do we offer a safe space within an inherently unsafe environment? How do we reach people who’ve been shut down by trauma and mental illness? How do we set boundaries?

During this workshop, we will explore power dynamics, within ourselves and as reflected in the outside world, and in the justice system. You will learn tools to work with to heal from trauma, to work with traumatized populations and how to reverse trauma. We will do meditations and mindfulness exercises in the specific Liberation Prison Yoga method, focused on unconditional, non-judgmental acceptance rather than on accountability and changing behavior. No professional teaching certification is required to take the workshop, though having an active yoga/meditation practice is helpful.

In this workshop we will cover:

-Social conscience and the importance of safety in yoga

-Healing global trauma

-How trauma affects the brain: Science behind trauma-conscious practices

-A Liberation Prison Yoga Empowerment Practice – Level I

-The 12 Elements of a Trauma Informed Practice

-Teaching from the heart

-Conversation about race and privilege

-Logistics of volunteering inside a prison or jail

-Working with mothers, babies, and pregnant women

-A Liberation Prison Yoga Empowerment Practice Level II

-The art of connecting to emotionally shut-down students

-The Psychopath-Empath-Apath triad

-Practice-teach break-out groups: discussion, guided meditation and trauma informed yoga

How to set up your own prison program

PLEASE NOTE: taking the Liberation Prison Yoga traing does not automatically grant volunteer teacher placement with Liberation prison yoga facilities. This training is the first step in that process.