The Prison Phoenix Trust
Encyclopedia
The Prison Phoenix Trust is a charity registered in England that offers help to prisoners through the disciplines of meditation and yoga, working with silence and the breath. The PPT encourages prisoners – and prison staff – to take up a daily practice, and supports them with classes, free books and CDs, and personal correspondence. It also sends out quarterly newsletters, written mostly by inmates. The PPT is non-denominational and works with those of any religion or none.
The Trust trains and supports qualified yoga teachers for work in prisons, where they run yoga and meditation classes through substance mis-use, anger management or education programmes, paid from prison budgets. There are 163 regular classes in 91 prisons in the UK and Ireland, 25 of them for staff. Training events for teachers are held several times a year, and on alternate years the PPT delivers a 5-day teacher training module for the British Wheel of Yoga, called ‘Teaching Yoga in Prison’.
The PPT has its offices in Oxford and is run by 2 full-time and 6 part-time staff, with the help of 20 volunteers. Its Director is Mr Sam Settle.
The PPT Scottish Link was set up in 1996 to increase the number of yoga classes in the 16 prisons in Scotland. At the end of 2009 there were 15 classes in 12 prisons and one in the Secure Medical Establishment at Carstairs State Hospital.
In 2003 The PPT Irish Link was formed to bring together the prison yoga and meditation teachers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and to encourage the sharing of experiences. Numbers of classes in Ireland rose to their largest ever in 2009 with 36 classes in 15 prisons: six in Northern Ireland and 30 in the Republic.
, Oxford, investigating spiritual experiences arising from imprisonment. This involved her in correspondence with many prisoners. Stemming from these letters, Ann discovered that there was a spiritual hunger that was not being met from other sources. It occurred to her that being shut in cells for much of the day could provide prisoners with an opportunity to turn a negative situation into a positive one.
Ann believed that if prisoners could be introduced to disciplines like meditation and yoga, and supported in their efforts, they might come to feel differently about themselves.
The Trust was founded in 1988 and supported initially by The Princes Trust and The Gulbenkian Foundation. Its work is now funded by other Trusts and individual donors. Former patrons include Sir Stephen Tumim
, who was Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
from 1987 to 1995.
, a former life prisoner, writing in his regular column in The Guardian
, described the effect of the yoga class in a prison:
The yoga teacher had brought much peace and harmony to one of the closed prisons in which I had spent some difficult years. His gentle but determined tutoring had introduced a desperately needed method of relaxation to those who attended his class. More than that, he created a venue where case hardened prisoners could lower defences and communicate in the manner of ordinary people. His respectful attitude encouraged self-respect among his students, reminding us we were human and that it was ok to feel a mite vulnerable occasionally. I’m not sure if he ever realised it, but we took a great deal of what he taught us back to the landings and because of that I believe his good influence radiated in some measure throughout the wings.
A manager at a young offenders’ institution, HMYOI Huntercombe, set up a yoga class there and saw many benefits: “Yoga helps the young people cope with cravings, by giving them relaxation techniques. If they’ve been drug users for years, and especially if they’re underweight, it can be a stepping stone to other physical exercise – it gives them the confidence to start using the gym. And it helps some with attention problems so that they learn to concentrate. Getting eight young people to be silent in a room for 20 minutes - as our yoga teachers do - is an achievement in itself!”
These include:
The Trust trains and supports qualified yoga teachers for work in prisons, where they run yoga and meditation classes through substance mis-use, anger management or education programmes, paid from prison budgets. There are 163 regular classes in 91 prisons in the UK and Ireland, 25 of them for staff. Training events for teachers are held several times a year, and on alternate years the PPT delivers a 5-day teacher training module for the British Wheel of Yoga, called ‘Teaching Yoga in Prison’.
The PPT has its offices in Oxford and is run by 2 full-time and 6 part-time staff, with the help of 20 volunteers. Its Director is Mr Sam Settle.
The PPT Scottish Link was set up in 1996 to increase the number of yoga classes in the 16 prisons in Scotland. At the end of 2009 there were 15 classes in 12 prisons and one in the Secure Medical Establishment at Carstairs State Hospital.
In 2003 The PPT Irish Link was formed to bring together the prison yoga and meditation teachers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and to encourage the sharing of experiences. Numbers of classes in Ireland rose to their largest ever in 2009 with 36 classes in 15 prisons: six in Northern Ireland and 30 in the Republic.
Origins
In 1986 Ann Wetherall, the PPT’s founder, was working on a research project with Sir Alister Hardy at the Religious Experience Research CentreReligious Experience Research Centre
The Religious Experience Research Centre was founded by the distinguished marine biologist Professor Alister Hardy FRS in 1969 as The Religious Experience Research Unit. He and his co-researchers began to gather a unique archive of accounts of religious experience and to publish research into the...
, Oxford, investigating spiritual experiences arising from imprisonment. This involved her in correspondence with many prisoners. Stemming from these letters, Ann discovered that there was a spiritual hunger that was not being met from other sources. It occurred to her that being shut in cells for much of the day could provide prisoners with an opportunity to turn a negative situation into a positive one.
Ann believed that if prisoners could be introduced to disciplines like meditation and yoga, and supported in their efforts, they might come to feel differently about themselves.
The Trust was founded in 1988 and supported initially by The Princes Trust and The Gulbenkian Foundation. Its work is now funded by other Trusts and individual donors. Former patrons include Sir Stephen Tumim
Stephen Tumim
Sir Stephen Tumim was an English judge, and was Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons from 1987 to 1995.Tumim was the son of a barrister, and was educated at St Edward's School, Oxford and Worcester College, Oxford...
, who was Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons is the head of HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the senior inspector of prisons, young offender institutions and immigration service detention and removal centres in England and Wales...
from 1987 to 1995.
Patrons
- Dr Kiran Bedi IPSKiran BediKiran Bedi is an Indian social activist and a retired Indian Police Service officer. Bedi joined the police service in 1972 and became the first woman officer in the IPS. Bedi held the post of Director General at the Bureau of Police Research and Development before she voluntarily retired from...
- Rabbi Lionel Blue
- Dr Sheila CassidySheila CassidyDr. Sheila Cassidy is an English doctor, known for her work in the hospice movement, as a writer and as someone who, by publicising her own history as a torture survivor, drew attention to human rights abuse in Chile in the 1970s.-Early life:Cassidy grew up in Sydney, and attended the Our Lady of...
- Shirley du Boulay
- Fr Laurence Freeman OSBLaurence FreemanLaurence Freeman OSB is a Benedictine monk and Catholic priest of the Benedictine Congregation of Monte Oliveto. He is the Director of the World Community for Christian Meditation, a global network of Christian meditation groups that practice the way of Christian meditation, and of its Benedictine...
- Mr Jeremy IronsJeremy IronsJeremy John Irons is an English actor. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969, and has since appeared in many London theatre productions including The Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the...
- Sr Elaine MacInnes OLM
- Dr Benjamin ZephaniahBenjamin ZephaniahBenjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah is an English writer and dub poet. He is a well-known figure in contemporary English literature, and was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008....
What People Say
Erwin JamesErwin James
Erwin James is the pseudonym for convicted murderer and Guardian journalist Erwin James Monahan. James was released in August 2004 having served 20 years of a life sentence. While in prison he wrote a regular column, and continues to write as well as do charity work after his release...
, a former life prisoner, writing in his regular column in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, described the effect of the yoga class in a prison:
The yoga teacher had brought much peace and harmony to one of the closed prisons in which I had spent some difficult years. His gentle but determined tutoring had introduced a desperately needed method of relaxation to those who attended his class. More than that, he created a venue where case hardened prisoners could lower defences and communicate in the manner of ordinary people. His respectful attitude encouraged self-respect among his students, reminding us we were human and that it was ok to feel a mite vulnerable occasionally. I’m not sure if he ever realised it, but we took a great deal of what he taught us back to the landings and because of that I believe his good influence radiated in some measure throughout the wings.
A manager at a young offenders’ institution, HMYOI Huntercombe, set up a yoga class there and saw many benefits: “Yoga helps the young people cope with cravings, by giving them relaxation techniques. If they’ve been drug users for years, and especially if they’re underweight, it can be a stepping stone to other physical exercise – it gives them the confidence to start using the gym. And it helps some with attention problems so that they learn to concentrate. Getting eight young people to be silent in a room for 20 minutes - as our yoga teachers do - is an achievement in itself!”
Books
The Trust has a range of books on yoga and meditation, which are sent on request to prisoners, free of charge.These include:
- Becoming Free Through Meditation and Yoga by Sandy Chubb and Sister Elaine MacInnes published 1995 by the PPT
- Freeing the Spirit through Meditation and Yoga by Sandy Chubb, Korky PaulKorky PaulKorky Paul is an award-winning illustrator of books for children. He was born and grew up in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1951. He now lives and works in Oxford, England...
and Sister Elaine MacInnes - published 2005 by the PPT ISBN 978-0955033407 for inmates with basic reading skills - Yoga Without Words by Sandy Chubb, Korky Paul and Jo Child, 2008, The Prison Phoenix Trust ISBN 978-0-9550334-1-4
- We're All Doing Time by Bo LozoffBo LozoffBo Lozoff is an American writer, musician, and interfaith humanitarian.-Human Kindness Foundation:Lozoff, with his wife Sita Lozoff, founded the Human Kindness Foundation. He started the Prison-Ashram Project with Ram Dass in 1973...
founder of the Prison-Ashram ProjectPrison-Ashram Project"The focus of the Prison-Ashram Project is to help prisoners and prison staff throughout the world turn inward and use their harsh environments to develop wisdom and compassion."...
in the USA.