Yoga helps with transformation

Yoga helps with transformation in Pollsmoor prison

Photographer, Lee-Ann Olwage, has been wanting to take pictures inside Pollsmoor maximum security prison for some time. When she was eventually allowed in, she witnessed a fascinating sight.

Yoga helps with transformation

As part of the Prison Freedom Project, SevaUnite leads weekly yoga classes for inmates at the prison, and the results have been profound.

When Lee-Ann arrived, she became aware of how positive the effect of yoga has been in the lives of the men taking part. “I could not believe how focused they were today, despite my presence. They were completely present, in the now, and so unbelievably focused on their practice.”

Lee-Ann said the inmates displayed an amazing level of respect for each other and that she was blown away by the focus, clarity, respect, and calmness that she witnessed.

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Lee-Ann believes that SevaUnite’s Prison Freedom Project has managed to transform some of Pollsmoor’s most hardened inmates into brand new people. The prisoners are so taken with what they’ve learned that they are sharing their knowledge and experiences with other inmates.

One inmate approached Lee-Ann after the yoga class and told her the reason he had joined the yoga lessons. “Prison is such a negative place,” he told her. “When I saw how positive, calm and relaxed the guys were after they returned from the class, I decided to see what this yoga was all about. I wanted to feel like they did.”