Yoga Program Started in New York Prison

My name is Per Hoglund from Sweden. After joining the Team Management and Leadership Program I found that
bit by bit I things were moving on in my life at a pace that was not there before. In my second quarter I transferred to the Team in New York City since I created a job there teaching yoga.

I made a committment to start an ongoing yoga project in a prison in New York. I did not know anyone there but as I started to communicate my vision to people they got enrolled and supported me. 5 weeks later I had made my first appointment at Riker’s Island – the City Prison of New York located on an island north of Queens. I started to teach there once a week to young people between 16 and 20 and the response was very, very positive both from the inmates and the staff. These young people were very sweet, innocent and full of hope in their hearts even if their behavoiur and language said the opposite. I went there on the same day for about three months and soon enough the guards reqognized me and referred to me as the “yoga-man”. I am now in touch with one of the inmates once a week to support her and her mother in her going to college. I also enrolled one of my friends, another yoga teacher to continue the project as my visa expired and I left USA.

What amazes me when I look back and realize what an impact this had is that it wasn’t very hard or difficult. I was only being in communication about a thing that inspired me and doing the things I said I’d do and what came out of that will always be with me in my heart.