Chanda Wilson says she teaches yoga to San Quentin prisoners because it helps them transform their lives.
That was her answer when a health care worker once asked her, “Why are you going into San Quentin?”
“If we all did our part, society could change,” Wilson said. “I feel like this work chose me.”
Having grown up in Flint, Mich., Wilson has seen poverty and death. This keeps her from judging others.
“We all have issues. We all suffer. We all have struggles. We all have committed acts of violence with our words,” Wilson said.
Wilson’s students have reported how yoga helps them.
“Some men said that they had difficulty but they remembered to pause and breathe in the moment and respond appropriately,” Wilson said.
“The greatest feedback I get from people is not about a particular pose they mastered but that they can disengage from a potential conflict based on what they learned from meditation,” said James Fox, the founder of the Inside Yoga Project, in an interview with Amelia Pany for the Epoch Times.
A Journal of Criminal Justice study found meditators have a 35 to 40 percent lower recidivism rate than parolees who only received educational, vocational and psychotherapy, but no yoga, according to an article written by Pany titled Prison Yoga: Is Meditation the Cure for Recidivism.
Wilson started teaching yoga inside San Quentin StatePrison more than a year ago at the request of Fox.
“James is awesome,” Wilson said. “He is so deeply committed to working with this population. It’s a calling for him. I consider it an honor to be part of his prison yoga project dream.”
Wilson’s journey to becoming a yoga teacher started 21 years ago, while in college. She suffered from insomnia. On the first day she tried yoga, she fell asleep in corpse pose. She awoke realizing yoga helped her get over insomnia. She also noticed yoga made her more flexible and stronger. The former active fitness enthusiast continued to practice for 10 years before becoming an instructor.
While teaching public classes, the Resolve to Stop Violence Program asked her to volunteer taking on students in the San Francisco County Jail. RSVP is a self-help program for men who have committed acts of violence against women. She agreed.
“I’m just trying to live up to my potential, and I want to help others do the same,” Wilson said.
After having her daughter three years ago, she took a break from teaching yoga in penal institutions until Fox asked her to teach at San Quentin.
Wilson says teaching yoga in male correctional facilities is not an issue.
“The guys have been incredibly respectful of me. I feel incredibly safe,” Wilson said.
While teaching her students, she also learns from them.
“I think this is a form of monastic life — you could let it destroy you or you can let it become part of your practice,” Wilson said. “I get to see, I get to learn that even under these circumstances you can practice (yoga).
“I also get to see you practice, how my instructions are received, how your body performs in different poses — it helps me be a better teacher.”
She reports hearing about a disproportionate number of San Quentin men complaining of sciatica injuries. She recommends yoga pose Downward Facing Dog or laying on a blanket with your legs held parallel against a wall.
“Opening the piriformis muscle (located in the buttock) can help relieve the pain of sciatica injuries,” said Wilson.
As for teaching yoga, “If it helps even one person feel less pain, less anxiety, less stress, less heartache, then it’s worth it.”
