Prisoners benefited from yoga and parenting classes, study finds
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Prisoners who participated in a yoga and parenting program in Wenatchee, Washington, benefited from the instruction, according to researchers who conducted the study.
After completing the program, the inmates reported significant changes in their ability for self-compassion; their ability to feel connected to the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of themselves; and their ability to demonstrate knowledge of positive parenting, the study authors wrote in the California Journal of Health Promotion (PDF). The Washington Post covered the findings.
The inmates participated in 12 sessions of yoga and parenting education, each an hour in length. Out of 112 inmates who participated, 65 completed self-assessment tests before and after.
The authors acknowledge study limitations, including lack of a control group. But the lead author of the study, Jennifer Crawford, told the Washington Post she could see changes in the inmates who took part in the program. She says the inmates’ facial expressions and body language showed they were eager to engage, and they used yoga sessions to release stress.
The program made inmates “more self aware, more appreciative of their kids and gave them more tools to communicate even when they were away from them,” Crawford told the Post.
