The One Element of Yoga That Teachers May Be Missing Out On

"A man in his mid-50s with a spine bent in half from multiple bullet wounds, Darryl is practically skipping from cell to cell, rousing the other detainees and encouraging them to join us for class in the makeshift studio-an otherwise unused basketball court with no nets. The gray space is windowless and aggressively lit overhead, yet free of all distractions. If you close your eyes and take a deep, deeply vulnerable breath, ignoring the security guard with a taser on his hip hovering at the door, you can imagine this is a cement sanctuary for silent contemplation, maybe even healing."

"Some inmates are still fast asleep at 10 am, though their bunked cots provide little more comfort than a cardboard box. But Darryl is undeterred. Thanks to his boisterous enthusiasm, others start craning their necks to see what all the fuss is about. Meanwhile, a few of my "regular" students rush in to roll out their mats, Styrofoam cups filled with cold, stale, instant coffee in hand."

"During the two years I have taught 40-minute yoga classes at the DC jail twice a week, I see some students almost every time I visit, and others only once. Darryl was one of the few whom I had the privilege of guiding week after week. At first, he was barely able to sit comfortably on the ground and trembled profusely as he transitioned from one balancing posture to another. Then one day, after over a year, Darryl's feet suspended in the air for three or so glorious seconds in Crow Pose ( Bakasana), his knees neatly stacked on the backs of his forearms. The psychospiritual, mental, and physical transformation I witnessed in him during our brief time together will remain forever etched into my heart. But that's not why I chose to teach "on the inside." After my 200-hour trauma-informed teacher training, I never relied on"

A teacher leads twice-weekly, 40-minute trauma-informed yoga classes inside the DC Jail Mental Health Unit, using a makeshift basketball court as the studio. Attendance varies from regular participants to those who come only once, and the setting is stark, heavily secured, and minimally comfortable. Darryl, a mid-50s detainee with severe gunshot injuries, progresses from trembling and difficulty sitting to briefly holding advanced balance poses. The practice produces visible psychospiritual, mental, and physical changes in some participants, offering moments of contemplative relief and embodied resilience within a constrained institutional environment.

Read at Yoga Journal