I was recently approached by a staff person at the Advanced Recovery Systems at DrugRehab.com about our yoga related PATH blog posted this past March 18, 2019. They shared with me this really terrific and insightful article written by their content writer, Matt Gonzales’  on the subject: “Yoga For Addiction Recovery”.  I was so impressed that I simply had to share it with my PATH audience due to its relevance.

According to the Center for Prison Health and Human Rights, “Approximately half of prison and jail inmates meet DSM-IV criteria for substance abuse or dependence, and significant percentages of state and federal prisoners committed the act they are incarcerated for while under the influence of drugs. Data from a national study in five major American cities shows that at the time of arrest, 63% to 83% of arrestees had drugs in their system.”

And, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Drugs and Crime Facts: Drug Use and Crime.... In 2004, 17% of state prisoners and 18% of federal inmates said they committed their current offense to obtain moneyfor drugs.

So, you may ask...what does this have to do with Yoga? Yoga is a very powerful tool and mindfulness activity for addiction recovery. I encourage you to read Mr. Gonzales’ article.

Thank you and blessings!

Leslie Lakes, Director

Artwork by Brett Crawford
Sukhasana (Easy Pose) with quote:

“When I do yoga I feel like I am surrounded by this field of positive energy and protected from the negative vibes of prison life”, - Artist, Brett Crawford

Depiction of the seven chakras (from bottom up): Root (gold cube), Vital Force (silver crescent), Power (red inverted diamond), Heart (blue pointed star), Communication (black onyx egg), Third Eye (white winged globe) and Crown Chakra (red rose). 

Images of artwork are Courtesy of James Fox, Prison Yoga Project.




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