The Prison-Ashram Project, now administered by Human Kindness Foundation, was started in 1973 by
Bo and Sita Lozoff, in cooperation with
Ram Dass
Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and author. His best-selling 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which has been d ...
, to encourage convicts to use meditation and other spiritual teachings, turning their prison time into an
ashram
An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or a ...
-like experience. "Ashram" is a
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
word meaning "House of God".
Bo and Sita Lozoff were the directors of Prison-Ashram Project for decades, giving workshops in prisons throughout the world and answering up to 100 letters per day.
Bo retired from the project in 2011; Sita now leads the project, along with a board of directors.
The Prison-Ashram Project has a sister project in England,
The Prison Phoenix Trust
The Prison Phoenix Trust (PPT) is a charity registered in England in 1988 that offers help to prisoners through the disciplines of meditation and yoga, working with silence and the breath. The PPT encourages prisoners – and prison staff – t ...
, which offers yoga and meditation to prisoners in the UK and Ireland.
See also
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Prison contemplative programs
Prison contemplative programs are classes or practices (which includes meditation, yoga, contemplative prayer or similar) that are offered at correctional institutions for inmates and prison staff. There are measured or anecdotally reported benefit ...
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Prison reform
Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are impacted by crimes. ...
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Prison religion Prison religion includes the religious beliefs and practices of prison inmates, usually stemming from or including concepts surrounding their imprisonment and accompanying lifestyle. "Prison Ministry" is a larger concept, including the support of th ...
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Religion in United States prisons
Inmates incarcerated in the United States penal system practice a variety of religions. Their basic constitutional right to worship has been reinforced by decades of court decisions and more recently by the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized ...
References
External links
Prison-Ashram Project
{{Incarceration
Religious prison-related organizations
Ram Dass