PrisonSMART - Overview
Inside every culprit, there is a victim crying
for help. That person is also a victim of ignorance, small-mindedness
and lack of awareness. It’s the stress, lack of broad vision about
life, lack of understanding, and bad communication that leads to
violence in society.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The Art of Living Prison Program serves the entire criminal justice
community: incarcerated adults, juveniles and their families;
ex-offenders; victims of violence and crime; correctional officers and
law enforcement administrators.
Deltakere i Prison SMART
The Challenge Today
Stress is a common thread conecting everyone affected by the criminal justice system.
Incarcerated individuals have little control over their
circumstances or future. Years of confinement result in greater loss of
self-worth, a growing sense of anger, anxiety and despair.
Ex-offenders find that freedom from the impact of incarceration
does not end at the moment of relesae. Years of built up anger and
frustration accompany them as they transitoon back into th
ecommmunityed. Many will recidivate within a year of release.
God tid til å tenke seg om...
Communites
suffer a wide range of effects; 90% of all incarcerated individuals
will someday be released. The majority of those will be released into
zip codes of urban areas already struggling with economic problems,
lives of fear of victimization from violent crime, property crime and
substance abuse.
Families of the incarcerated are also doing time. The burden can be crippling. Half of all male children of inmates will also enter the system as juveniles.
Law enforcement officers are the first line of the defense in
dangerous and life-threatiening circumstances. The day-to-day
challenges tax the body, mind and emotions.
Law enforcement officers are the
first line of the defense in dangerous and life-threatiening
circumstances. The day-to-day challenges tax the body, mind and
emotions.
Prison staff
on a daily basis, work incredibly stressful working conditions. The
overcrowding that exists in many institutions adds tothe anger and
frustration of inmates which results in more frequent altercations
between inmates and increased threat of staff assault.
PrisonSMART - The Solution
I took the Art of Living Program to learn some
personal stress management tools to support me in my role as Chief of
the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia. The
techniques are simple, powerful and effective.
- Peter A. Roemer, M.D., Psychiatrist, Government of the District of
Columbia, Department of Correction Maximum Security Facility
The Art of Living Prison Program exists to circumvent the loss of
valuable human resource that so often accompanies cycles of
incarceration and release, and whose consequences reverberate through
all sectors of society.
The Art of Living Prison Program provides the structure to deliver the
common goal of uplifting human values within the criminal justice
community. The program is a valuable tool for all those working to end
the cycle of violence and abuse in society, whether through law
enforcement, social rehabilitation, conflict resolution or human
development. We work in tandem with probation departments, family and
juvenile court systems, administrators and correctional officers of
penal institutions, law enforcement departments.
Amerikansk fange mediterer
Studies conducted in the criminal justice arena have shown that
inprison programs help to reduce recidivism. The Art of Living Prison
Program is adaptable to serve the needs of institutions, law
enforcement departments and communities.
We form strategic alliances with social service agencies and
organizations whose clientele deal with the aftermath of crime and
violence - i.e., ex-offenders’ transition, domestic violence shelters,
rape crisis centers, substance abuse programs, families of murder
victims - to offer tools that alleviate the experience of trauma.
The Art of Living Prison Program delivers:
- Normalized sleep patterns (often the first benefit gained)
- Improved depression & anxiety with subsequent decreased reliance on medication
- Improved concentration, memory & perceptual thinking
- Increased energy & clarity of mind
- Increased resilience to and faster recovery from daily stressors of life
- Increased confidence in having self-control over behavior
- Increased immunity & physical well-being
- Decreased apathy & lethargy
- Decreased interpersonal conflict
- Decreased inclination to engage in destructive behavior
- Increased motivation to participate in other programs for self-improvement
- A strong sense of personal autonomy and self-worth
- Freedom from traumatic scars of the past
- Greater positive outlook on the future
- Greater sense of social bonding and connectedness with others
PrisonSMART - The Program
The Art of Living Prison Program teaches practical skills that begin
to produce results from the very first session. The program uses
advanced breathing practices that create dynamic cleansing effects on
the body and mind. Participants learn how to use their own breath to
gain relief from the accumulated effects of stress and negative
emotions.
Since its inception in 1992, over 10,000 inmates, correctional officers
and law enforcement staff have experienced the benefits of The Art of
Living Prison Program.
of The Art of Living Prison Program is a breathing
technique called the Sudarshan Kriya (purifying action). Through this
unique breathing practice, specific rhythms of the breath are used to
eliminate stress, support organ function in the body, transform
overpowering emotions and restore a calm and alert mind.
Pusteteknikk for å dempe angst og stress
Trained instructors deliver the course in approximately 20 hours,
spread out over 8-10 days. As part of the course, participants are
instructed in a personal practice that can be used on a daily basis to
further the benefits gained.
Participants are supported in continuing
to do the practices through weekly follow-up sessions that reinforce
what has been learned so that they get the maximum benefit.
Ideally the program becomes a partner with the institution/agency as
the stress and anger management component of the facility. The program
is cost-effective and, with regular practice, its benefits are
sustainable.
PrisonSMART - Experiences of People Involved
The Prison SMART Program successfully brings ideas and techniques
for self-exploration and growth to those disenfranchised people who
need it the most. Our inmates benefited greatly from the breathing
techniques and found that the relaxed state of mind it gave them did in
fact put them more in control of themselves and less subject to the
thousand daily provocations inherent in prison life.
They were inclined to take more responsibility for their own lives and
were less prone to act out and project anger. They felt good that such
a powerful tool is totally within their own control and as close to
them as their own breath.
Charles H. Ramsey Chief of Police
Government of the District of Columbia,
Department of Correction Maximum Security Facility
The role of police officer is one of the most intensely demanding
and challenging in the arena of public service. The accruing stress of
this profession frequently impacts the physical and emotional health. I
took the Art of Living Program to learn some personal stress management
tools to support me in my role as Chief of the Metropolitan Police
Department of the District of Columbia. The techniques are simple,
powerful and effective.
Peter A. Roemer, M.D., Psychiatrist
Government of the District of Columbia,
Department of Correction Maximum Security Facility
Contacts for PrisonSMART
Sør-Afrikanske fanger finner pusten sin
Norway
Merete Johansen 
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Phone: 908 55 969
International
Email:
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The PrisonSMART Program is sponsored by The Art of Living Foundation (AOLF), which is a nonprofit 501(c)(3)
educational and humanitarian
organization. AOLF is an international
NGO in special consultative status with the Economic
and Social Council of the United Nations.
The local branch of Art of Living Foundation, Art of Living Foundation
- Norway is a government-approved charitable volunteer organization, registered by Skattedirektoratet.
