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Inside every culprit, there is a victim crying for help. That person is also a victim of ignorance, small-mindedness and lack of awareness. It’s the stress, lack of broad vision about life, lack of understanding, and bad communication that leads to violence in society.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The Art of Living Prison Program serves the entire criminal justice community: incarcerated adults, juveniles and their families; ex-offenders; victims of violence and crime; correctional officers and law enforcement administrators.
The Challenge: Stress is a common thread conecting everyone affected by the criminal justice system.
Incarcerated individuals have little control over their circumstances or future. Years of confinement result in greater loss of self-worth, a growing sense of anger, anxiety and despair.
Ex-offenders find that freedom from the impact of incarceration does not end at the moment of relesae. Years of built up anger and frustration accompany them as they transitoon back into th ecommmunityed. Many will recidivate within a year of release.
Families of the incarcerated are also doing time. The burden can be crippling. Half of all male children of inmates will also enter the system as juveniles.
Law enforcement officers are the first line of the defense in dangerous and life-threatiening circumstances. The day-to-day challenges tax the body, mind and emotions.
Prison staff on a daily basis,work incredibly stressful working conditions. The overcrowding that exists in many institutions adds tothe anger and frustration of inmates which results in more frequent altercations between inmates and increased threat of staff assault.
Communites suffer a wide range of effects; 90% of all incarcerated individuals will someday be released. The majority of those will be released into zip codes of urban areas already struggling with economic problems, lives of fear of victimization from violent crime, property crime and substance abuse.
Our Solution:
The Art of Living Prison Program exists to circumvent the loss of valuable human resource that so often accompanies cycles of incarceration and release, and whose consequences reverberate through all sectors of society.
The Art of Living Prison Program provides the structure to deliver the common goal of uplifting human values within the criminal justice community. The program is a valuable tool for all those working to end the cycle of violence and abuse in society, whether through law enforcement, social rehabilitation, conflict resolution or human development. We work in tandem with probation departments, family and juvenile court systems, administrators and correctional officers of penal institutions, law enforcement departments.
We form strategic alliances with social service agencies and organizations whose clientele deal with the aftermath of crime and violence - i.e., ex-offenders’ transition, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, substance abuse programs, families of murder victims - to offer tools that alleviate the experience of trauma.
Studies conducted in the criminal justice arena have shown that inprison programs help to reduce recidivism. The Art of Living Prison Program is adaptable to serve the needs of institutions, law enforcement departments and communities.
The Program:The Art of Living Prison Program teaches practical skills that begin to produce results from the very first session. The program uses advanced breathing practices that create dynamic cleansing effects on the body and mind. Participants learn how to use their own breath to gain relief from the accumulated effects of stress and negative emotions.
The cornerstone of The Art of Living Prison Program is a breathing technique called the Sudarshan Kriya (purifying action). Through this unique breathing practice, specific rhythms of the breath are used to eliminate stress, support organ function in the body, transform overpowering emotions and restore a calm and alert mind.
Trained instructors deliver the course in approximately 20 hours, spread out over 8-10 days. As part of the course, participants are instructed in a personal practice that can be used on a daily basis to further the benefits gained. Participants are supported in continuing to do the practices through weekly follow-up sessions that reinforce what has been learned so that they get the maximum benefit.
Ideally the program becomes a partner with the institution/agency as the stress and anger management component of the facility. The program is cost-effective and, with regular practice, its benefits are sustainable.
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