• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home National

Can Yoga in Prisons Help Reduce Recidivism Rates?

Alex Graf by Alex Graf
12/16/19
in National
Beyond These Walls: Social Control and Criminal Justice in America [Part I]

A guard tower rises above the barb-wired walls of a U.S. prison. Photo: AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

One year after the passage of the landmark criminal justice reform bill, the First Step Act, the nonprofit International Association for Human Values (IAHV) hopes to build off the legislative success by bringing their program of yoga, meditation, and breathing exercises into U.S. prisons in order to reduce recidivism rates and help inmates reenter society after incarceration.

The United States has the world’s largest prison population, with over 2 million in prison, accounting for roughly a quarter of the world’s total prison population. Additionally, recidivism, or the rate at which former inmates re-offend and go back to prison, is exceptionally high in the U.S. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 83 percent of state prisoners released in 2005 were arrested at least once in the nine-year period after their release. 

Last December, President Trump signed into law the First Step Act, the first major criminal justice reform bill in over a decade and one of the top legislative accomplishments of his presidency so far. Among other provisions, the bill reduced the disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentences, allocated $375 million in new federal funding to prison jobs and education programs.

The legislation also gave judges more discretion in sentencing and reduced the severity of some mandatory minimum and automatic sentencing laws among other reforms. The bill’s passage marked a rare show of broad bipartisan support in an age of heightened partisan polarization. 

First Step Act Beneficiary, Robert Shipp is no stranger to FAMM. We're so excited to have him celebrate the first anniversary of the First Step Act. ???? To learn more about Robert: https://t.co/3MnfFsfnlN #FirstStepThx #FirstStepAct pic.twitter.com/AHoOStCdQK

— FAMM Foundation (@FAMMFoundation) December 9, 2019

Another important consequence of the First Step Act is the reauthorization of the Second Chance Act. Passed into law in 2008, the Second Chance Act authorizes federal grants for programs aimed at reducing recidivism and improving outcomes for individuals returning from incarceration. IAHV’s prison program is one example of a program the could be eligible for those federal grants. 

The IAHV prison program is a breathing, meditation, and yoga regimen that the organization claims will help to reduce recidivism rates for inmates by giving them tools to process “past trauma and present stresses.” Outside of small fees from two federal institutions IAHV is currently serving, they do not receive federal funding for the program and instead rely on state and county programs, fundraising, and grants for support. 

According to IAHV, over 700,000 inmates around the world, including 20,000 in the U.S., have undergone the program since its inception in 1992. Outside of the U.S., the  IAHV has taught the program in over 60 countries including France, Germany, Dubai, and Taiwan. 

“Our program is based on a breathing system,” Gabriella Savelli, the national director of IAHV told The Globe Post. “We definitely cover knowledge of how to manage your mind and be in the present moment. We do physical exercises that are focused on exercise that is going to increase your flexibility and increase a state of calmness.”

Representatives Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Danny K. Davis (D-IL), along with the IAHV and the non-governmental organization Art of Living Foundation (ALF), held a briefing on Capitol Hill Thursday, December 5 to express their support for the IAHV Prison Program. 

“I want to support the program because I believe this gets at the root cause of what many people in prison are dealing with,” Ryan said. “What I want to do as a congressman and member of the House Appropriations Committee is bring attention to these kinds of programs that actually work and don’t cost us a lot of money.”

Organizers stated the briefing was intended to “raise awareness” about the need for new programs to change the culture of corrections and prepare prisoners to be successful after the end of their sentences.

“We are hosting this series to catalyze action towards reforming the institutions themselves so that they’re rehabilitative and redemptive,” Savelli said. “This inaugural event is to highlight the Second Chance Act and the First Step Act visions to provide tools that transform individuals and prepare them for release.”

Steven J. Steurer, a criminologist and advocate of education and reentry for inmates, told The Globe Post he has seen many programs similar to what IAHV offers and that such programs are “great” for the atmosphere of an institution and make for a more pleasant life in an otherwise negative environment. Steurer, however, cautioned that traditional education like adult literacy, high school equivalency, and college are still necessary to provide inmates with the credentials they need to stay out of prison.

“I would not confuse yoga with GED or auto mechanics classes,” Steurer said. “As good as yoga is for inmates, the inmates still need academic and vocational skills after release to get into a job that pays enough to give up crime. Yoga doesn’t provide that kind of credential.”

While the U.S. Federal Board of Prisons classified IAHV’s program as evidence-based in 2014 and the IAHV website contains testimonials and data on their program’s positive effects on inmates, there is no reliable data indicating the program reduces recidivism. Steurer noted the correctional research community has done little research on “non-traditional” education programs like the one IAHV is offering. 

“I would be suspicious about SMART’s own research unless a reputable outside non-partisan research group validated their programs,” Steurer said. “Corrections, in general, suffers from a lack of funding for research into the effectiveness of programs because the research that needs to be done to prove efficacy is too rigorous and complicated.” 

Editors Note: This article was updated to clarify the Federal Bureau of Prisons classified IAHV prison program as evidence-based in 2014


More On The Subject

Prison Labor is Modern Slavery

ShareTweet
Alex Graf

Alex Graf

Keep up with his latest writing on climate, water, healthcare and more by following him on twitter @mjcabooseman

Related Posts

Donald Trump
National

US Supreme Court Freezes Release of Trump Tax Returns

by Staff Writer
November 1, 2022
Donald Trump
National

US Capitol Riot Probe Votes to Subpoena Trump to Testify

by Staff Writer
October 13, 2022
Steve Bannon
National

Former Trump Advisor Bannon Charged With Fraud in New York

by Staff Writer
September 8, 2022
US President Donald Trump
Opinion

Donald Trump Thanks You for Your Sacrifice

by Stephen J. Lyons
August 17, 2022
Mar-A-Lago raid
National

FBI Raid on Trump’s Home Ignites Political Firestorm

by Staff Writer
August 9, 2022
US President Donald Trump
Opinion

Owning the Words and the Libs

by Stephen J. Lyons
June 16, 2022
Next Post
Nayib Bukele, celebrating with his wife, was declared the winner of El Salvador's presidential election

How Bukele Impressed in His First Six Months as President of El Salvador

People in South Sudan

'Catastrophic' Floods Could Provoke Famine in S.Sudan: WFP

Recommended

Damage from a series of powerful storms and at least one tornado is seen on March 25, 2023, in Rolling Fork, Mississippi

After Tornado Kills 25, Mississippi Faces More Extreme Weather

March 26, 2023
Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
participants of an artificial intelligence conference

How AI Could Upend the World Even More Than Electricity or the Internet

March 19, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
Heavily armed police inspect the area near a Jehovah's Witness church where several people have been killed in a shooting in Hamburg, northern Germany

Eight Dead in Shooting at Jehovah’s Witness Hall in Germany

March 10, 2023
Myanmar Rohingya refugees look on in a refugee camp in Teknaf, in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar, on November 26, 2016

US Announces $26M in New Aid for Rohingya

March 8, 2023

Opinion

Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
An earthquake survivor reacts as rescuers look for victims and other survivors in Hatay, a Turkish province where hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the earthquake

Heed the Call of Our Broken World

March 1, 2023
Top view of the US House of Representatives

‘Cringy Awards:’ Who Is the Most Embarrassing US House Representative?

February 13, 2023
Protesters rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, outside of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, Michigan, on January 27, 2023

How Do Violent ‘Monsters’ Take Root?

February 3, 2023
George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post