It is rec time at the Springer Correctional Center and women are lifting weights, playing cards and chatting on the bleachers of an old basketball court. In the corner, a group of ten is trying to block out the cacophony.
鈥淚 want you to focus on letting everything go. You don鈥檛 hear any sounds,鈥� instructor MC says over laughter and clanking across the gym. 鈥淚f your mind begins to wander, that鈥檚 alright,鈥� she says as an intercom blares. 鈥淛ust come back to our meditation and restart again.鈥�
As she wraps up a round of stretching and breathing, MC reminds the class that the techniques are tools they can always carry with them.
鈥淲hen you get really anxious, and you鈥檙e really upset about whoever you just talked to on the phone who doesn鈥檛 understand what it鈥檚 like to be incarcerated,鈥� she tells her students, 鈥淵ou can take that moment 鈥� just a minute 30 seconds of your time 鈥� to completely reset your brain.鈥�
91暗网 is only using MC's initials because of a Corrections Department policy intended to protect victims of crime.
Women incarcerated at the Springer prison in northern New Mexico have found solace in yoga and meditation classes introduced last year. It is part of the Reentry Division鈥檚 effort to prepare people to get out and stay out of prison. But MC, who is incarcerated herself, said it also helps the participants cope with being locked up.
鈥淚ncarceration makes you feel very solitary and confined,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd when you鈥檙e able to learn new techniques to get out of that confinement, even for a moment, it鈥檚 very freeing. No pun intended there.鈥�
She said the class provides a secular option for people who want to look within.
鈥淎nything like this that doesn鈥檛 necessarily have to do with faith, just faith in yourself, is going to be very provocative to people鈥檚 success,鈥� she said.
Warden Mariana Vigil said she cannot say whether yoga helps people more than the prison鈥檚 other recreational classes, like sports, but she has observed positive impacts on participants鈥� well-being.
鈥淵ou just notice,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey seem to be more, I鈥檇 say, energetic and happier.鈥�
While staff said the program is too new to analyze data on its impact, show yoga and meditation in correctional facilities can ease anxiety and depression, support substance use treatment and reduce the likelihood of going back to prison in the future.
Warden Vigil said the class is growing in popularity since the inmates themselves began leading the sessions, with nearly a quarter of the prison鈥檚 population of 200 or so signed up. Participation nearly doubled when the five incarcerated instructors began teaching.
When the Santa Fe Community Yoga Center first started the program, Coordinator Phoenix Savage was driving four hours round-trip three times a week to teach it.
鈥淎fter doing that for two consecutive eight-week sessions, it became very clear that that was not sustainable,鈥� she said.
But it was not just about convenience. Savage said students relate better to their peer instructors and can discuss and explore the skills outside of class.
鈥淪o, there鈥檚 all this additional opportunity for the connectivity to take place,鈥� she said.
The Corrections Department granted the yoga center additional funding this fiscal year to recruit and train the in-house instructors. In addition to equipment, the $60,000 contract has funded three rounds of instructor training along with weekly oversight from Savage. The funds also cover the cost of a 200-hour professional certification course.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 been able to allow them to do it while they鈥檙e inmates because there are just vetting issues with online programs,鈥� Savage said. 鈥淏ut, when they are released, they will be able to do that.鈥�
She said she is negotiating with the Corrections Department to get the instructors paid for their work on the inside. But, in the meantime, Savage is helping them think of this new skill as an economic opportunity for when they get out.
Instructor Allaya Gibbs, who goes by Yaya, credits yoga with helping her complete the prison鈥檚 Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP).
鈥淢s. Phoenix is actually working with us right now on our business plans for when we get out,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd so, for me, I want to work in rehabilitation with recovering addicts to help them.鈥�
The first of this instructor cohort to get out is a woman with the initials LB. She spoke with 91暗网 just days before her scheduled release and said she planned to follow through on getting certified.
鈥淚 feel like leaving with this skill is beneficial not only for me, but everybody in my life,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ecause I have teenagers at home and I would like to practice yoga with them. I think it would really help them.鈥�
The yoga center is holding to support the instructors with stipends and memberships to yoga studios when they get out, to continue the practices that have helped them inside.
