by Adhyatma | Apr 26, 2021 | News

Our distance learning programme teaches yoga from the inside-out to help facilitate meaningful transformation for people in prison.
Help us teach freedom from the inside, literally. Our evidence supported, trauma-informed yoga study programme for people in Aotearoa’s prisons offers a year-long distance learning course for beginners through to peer-instructors. For many, this programme is a life-line of self-understanding, empathy, resilience and meaningful transformation.
Our mahi is an important piece in the rehabilitation process. Yoga education programs like ours are being used around the world in prisons, youth detention centers and rehabilitation centers, to help unravel the complex mix of anxiety, depression, PTSD and addiction which many prisoners present with. We find that with the physical and mental tools yoga offers, paihere (people in prison) are better able to manage stress, regulate behaviour and begin to understand what’s possible beyond their offending.
Your donations enable us to continue to deliver our Kei roto I tuku kia haere : Freedom from Within course that currently has 240+ enrolments. Please support us in ensuring the sustainability of this programme, to tautoko more paihere in their quest for freedom from suffering, to heal a sense of despair, break harmful cycles, and build better futures, one breath, one body at a time.
“Yoga has shown me a new way of being. Not only am I physically stronger – I am spiritually stronger. Yoga is more than a philosophy, or a fitness programme – it is a way of being in this world. The pain of prison no longer has to be avoided at all cost. It can now be used, through my yoga practice, as a mechanism for personal growth.” ~ Tauira, Arohata prison.
by Adhyatma | Jun 5, 2019 | News
Calling all Wellington YEPT supporters to attend this lunchtime event. You can register and keep updated through our event page. Please share to your networks and if you have access to a printer you can download an A4 poster to print here to help spread the word.
We hope to make this an NZ wide event next year.
The Hindu Council has approached us to make this a collaboration for next months Yogathon event.
Yogathon – Health for Humanity is returning to New Zealand cities and towns this June from Saturday 15th until Friday 28th. Yogathon launch events will take place simultaneously in cities all around the country.
The participants aim to collectively perform 108,000 repetitions of Surya Namaskara over a period of 2 weeks.
Participants can conduct Surya Namaskar repetitions from the comfort of their homes or as part of the regular group they practice with; in addition, venues will be available in some cities where they can join in group practice with YEPT teachers!
Most of all they would like to encourage people who have never tried Yoga before to join in and give it a go.
We are encouraging our incarcerated students to take part and post in their results.
We will be updating you on our facebook page with opening ceremony times, venues and the list of coordinators from different cities and zones in this national event.
If you are interested to join Yogathon as a participant/volunteer/coordinator, please register at www.yogathon.org.nz or by emailing yogathon.nz@gmail.com
Please share share share these events far and wide on social media and we thank you so much for your support.
by Adhyatma | Nov 25, 2017 | Education
by Adhyatma | Jul 20, 2016 | News
Adhyatma is the director of The Yoga Education in Prisons Trust, a registered charitable trust providing yoga and meditation education in New Zealand prisons.
In July 2016 she was interviewed on Radio New Zealand about the Yoga In Prisons Trust.
You can also listen on the Radio NZ website here >>
by Adhyatma | Mar 26, 2015 | News
We have elected a new Chairperson to replace Heather Cunningham. We are pleased to announce that Gyananidhi – Jane Allen – one of our long-time prison yoga teachers has accepted the role. We had our first official meeting on 30 January and myself, Yogeshwaran and Leigh are excited to be working more closely with her.
Our research project has been launched. Victoria University student Jonathan Muirhead has begun what YEPT hopes will become a 3-4 year Masters thesis into the effects of yoga on the incarcerated. This research may prove to be the most comprehensive international research yet. The challenging part will be getting the researcher into prisons to work with our clients but we plan to work hard alongside the University to make our vision a reality.
With that we would also like to thank our dear sponsors and supporters We’ar and Kara Leah of The Yoga Lunchbox for their continued financial support without which such visions would not become actions. Kara-Leah donates $1 from each of her print books Forty Days of Yoga and The No-More-Excuses Guide to Yoga plus 5% of her online sales of the books.
In closing once again we offer you Seasons Greetings and hope you and yours have had an equally relaxing and inspirational summer as we at YEPT have enjoyed.
More News From The Autumn Newsletter Here from our Newsletter >>