At YBB we strongly believe in cultivating compassionate leadership behind bars. Our students know better than anyone what is needed to transform the prison system and ultimately prevent people from returning (or going to prison in the first place.) That is why we train incarcerated men and women to become yoga instructors. In 2015, our first Yoga Teacher Training behind bars was one of the first of its kind in the country. Currently, 7 incarcerated men are offering 9 weekly yoga classes at 4 different state prisons. In 2018, graduates from the training at the women’s prison started teaching yoga at Washington Corrections Center for Women as well as meditation.

Half of our programs are for young people. Our programs for youth aim to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline and reduce the likelihood of future adult incarceration. We take a resilience-building and practical approach, focused on building inner strengths and connection.

Most youth behind bars suffer from chronic and complex trauma, stemming from early adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Because trauma lives in the body, it can only be addressed and integrated if the body is a central part of treatment and recovery. This is why our trauma-sensitive yoga and meditation programs are so effective.

Our instructors offer weekly programs at 5 juvenile detention facilities in Seattle, Everett, Tacoma, Bellingham, and Snoqualmie.

Since 2008, we have equipped thousands of incarcerated adults with inner tools to break the cycle of trauma-stress-prison. Using our specialized curriculum, YBBs programs focus on restorative practices that facilitate nervous system regulation, stress management, and resilience.

Our instructors provide weekly programs at 13 prisons and jails throughout Washington State. We work at all custody levels–maximum, medium, minimum, and solitary confinement, as well as mental health treatment units. Our approach to compassionate rehabilitative programming is intended to shift the culture in prison from punishment to healing, harm to transformation, and recidivism to reintegration.