Monroe prisoners use yoga to focus mind, body

MONROE — It’s early morning at the Monroe Correctional Complex. While most inmates are in the weight room, six of them lie on mats on the basketball court. Most are wearing white T-shirts and shorts.

All wait for the instructor to start the one-hour weekly yoga class. Usually about 20 inmates take this class.

Reni Lumey, 33, has been in prison for two years and started yoga a few months ago. He enjoys the class and thinks it’s helped him.

“I am more flexible,” he said. “I can do stuff I could not do, like relax.”

They sit cross-legged and take deep breaths to warm up. They stand and start stretching.

The instructor leads them through breathing exercises where the inmates slowly stretch their arms and legs. She cautions against overextending themselves.

The class is given by Yoga Behind Bars, which teaches the exercise and meditation techniques to incarcerated youths and adults, at-risk youths and people with drug and alcohol dependency.

“Yoga is the inner science of change,” said Natalie Smith, executive director of Yoga Behind Bars.

The men at the Monroe prison range in age from their 20s and 30s to others who have gray hair. As with any yoga class, each works at his own level as the instructor goes through the exercises. But the class isn’t only about flexibility. It aims to change their behavior.

For example, during a balance exercise called the swan dive the instructor tells them to focus on breathing, to be calm and to remember the feeling when they’re in situations where they feel angry or frustrated.

The instructor urges them pay attention to their inner selves. She tells them to think about patterns in their life and which ones they want to break. She tells them to think before they act.

The Seattle nonprofit offers the classes at four prisons, two jails and two youth facilities throughout the state.

The goal is to help teach the convicts how to better adjust to life when they get outside.

There is no study that shows that inmates actually benefits from these classes, but Smith thinks that yoga does change lives. While she does not teach in Monroe, she’s has seen progress from her students in the classes that she teaches in Seattle.

“They come agitated and stressed,” she said. “Afterward, they feel calmer.”

The organization has been asked to expand its services to other facilities but lacks the resources to do so. It is run by volunteers and operates completely on donations, Smith said. There are similar programs in other parts of the country, including one in Portland, Ore.

The program is being run at a time when the state has instituted monthly lockdowns to help the department cut 6 percent of its spending, or about $53 million, by the end of June 2011. Yoga Behind Bars doesn’t charge the department for offering the classes to the inmates.

The nonprofit approached officials at Monroe Correctional Complex in 2008, who were open to the class, Smith said. The only requirement was that volunteers needed to commit to eight months of training.

From the prison’s standpoint, anything that can help inmates relax can only be a good thing.

“Less stress, less problems,” recreational director Bryan Bechler said.

The yoga class is part of the fitness program at the complex, which also includes nutrition classes. Yoga is open to any inmate who passes a medical check up. During one hour, the inmates can focus on something other than the fact they’re behind bars, Bechler said.

That’s the reason why Noel Caldellis takes the class.

Caldellis, 23, practiced yoga even before being convicted. He said the class brings him peace.

“It gives me a needed relaxation, especially in this environment,” he said.

Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@ heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Cassie Franklin, Mayor of Everett, delivers the annual state of the city address Thursday morning in the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center in Everett, Washington on March 31, 2022.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
At Everett mayor’s keynote speech: $35 entry, Boeing sponsorship

The city won’t make any money from the event, city spokesperson Simone Tarver said. Still, it’s part of a trend making open government advocates wary.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.