Downward Dog with Deviants
The following excerpt describes the interview process in the authors’ study, as well as the fluctuating moods and behaviors that many prisoners experience after beginning meditation and yoga. Farias and Wikholm discuss the dangerous effects that prisoners might have when they are too aware of their emotions, sharing a letter from an inmate.
Downward Dog with Deviants – Yoga For Prisoners
The interview process was quite full on keen to get as many participants as we could, I would often interview several prisoners a day. The majority went very smoothly. All the prisoners were taking part voluntarily, and all of them wanted to do the yoga, so it’s probably not surprising that they were generally co-operative. Many also seemed to be pleased to have the opportunity to speak to a human being who wasn’t a prison officer or another prisoner, even if the conversations mostly involved me asking them about 200 closed questions regarding their mood and behavior.
Only a couple of times did I find myself in an uncomfortable situation. Once, I had to halt an interview midway. All was going well until the prisoner thought that the question ‘How guilty have you felt over the last week, on a scale of one to five?’ implied that he was guilty of his offense. His response was aggressive, raising his voice and slamming his hands down on the table. When he had calmed down enough to give his answer, it was a very emphatic ‘1’ (‘not at all’). We continued for about three more questions until I had to ask: ‘How ashamed have you felt over the last week?’ The response this time was an angry tirade of denial and fury at the criminal justice system – and it was the only time during the interviews that I found myself eyeing the nearest panic button.
While there were no other outbursts relating to prisoners’ perceptions of their own guilt or innocence in relation to their offenses, the notion of criminality was a common theme that arose during the weeks of interviewing. Often prisoners would tell me that they were ‘not really a criminal’, ‘not like these other low-lifes’, or that they personally were ‘not criminally minded’. One man insisted on telling me at the outset of the interview about the nature of his index offense – fraud – and how this was totally different to ‘actual crime’, which he defined as ‘mugging someone or hurting someone’. Another referred to his religious beliefs as evidence of his separateness from other criminals incarcerated for similar violent offenses to his own: ‘I’m not like them; I’m a Buddhist.’ It seemed to me that the vast majority of criminals were dead set on distinguishing themselves from ‘the criminals. On more than a couple of occasions, prisoners expressed seeming concern for my safety while in the prison: ‘Be careful – there are criminals in here,’ advised one prisoner in his late fifties, pointing out the panic button on the wall.
‘I love everyone while I’m meditating, but …’
Is it really that surprising that prisoners might initially find themselves experiencing stronger emotions, or simply becoming more aware of them, perhaps as the practice of yoga enables them to become more in touch with themselves and heightens their awareness of their feelings? Talking to yoga teacher Pollyanna about the possibility of increased negative emotions after starting yoga, she did not seem remotely fazed. ‘We aim to get in there and rattle the cage a bit,’ she smiled. ‘Yoga can bring things to the surface that were previously buried.’
Just as recovery from mental illness or addiction can be a long and slow process, requiring commitment from an individual over a period of time and a solid support network, so it seems too that meaningful, lasting change through yoga or meditation might require much longer than a ten-week intervention.
A prisoner learning these new, unfamiliar techniques might require additional emotional support and guidance as he or she begins this new journey of self-exploration. In our study, we also found that the more yoga classes prisoners attended, the greater their psychological wellbeing. The likelihood is also that continued benefit would require continuing practice.
However, while continued practice may keep the inner enemy at bay – think of the desire for power in ex-druglord Nick (see pp.129–36) – it may not be truly transformational. If people stop their practice, they may revert back to their former selves. This is what the South African woman turned swami and charity director in Reading meant when she confided that, while you are doing meditation or yoga, you may be full of bliss or even enlightened. However, the moment the doorbell rings and you have to get up, you are thrown back into everyday reality – and this reality seems to care little about your feelings of connection to God.
The following letter from a prisoner at HMP Frankland pertinently illustrates how transient and volatile the mental and emotional states acquired during yoga and meditation may be:
‘I am re-establishing contact after quite a few years of madness. I have recently begun again to search for myself and to find true peace and spirituality. I started this process before but despite experiencing massive changes, I let it slip. I fell back into drugs and crime and came back to prison, despite my best intentions. For the four months before I was released from my last sentence, I meditated and did pranayama, and I found such peace and happiness. I, unfortunately, didn’t keep up my practices and it has taken five years of dilly-dallying to find them again! … So for four weeks now, no meds, and I have stuck to a strict routine of diet, exercise, meditation, yoga, and pranayama. I am writing because I would like to have contact with someone who can help me to understand my spiritual path. I have so many questions, and while I know all the knowledge is within me, I feel I need help to unearth it. While I understand principles, I find it hard implementing them. I love everyone while I’m meditating, but as soon as my door opens, I find my ego, pride, judgments, and anger cloud things, and I slip.’
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About the Authors
Dr. Miguel Farias is an author, lecturer, and industry leader. He writes about the psychology of belief and spiritual practices, including meditation. He was a lecturer at the University of Oxford and is now the founding director of the Brain, Belief, and Behaviour Lab group at Coventry University. Farias is also the lead editor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Meditation.
Dr. Catherine Wikholm is an author, clinical psychologist, and a chartered psychologist. She was previously employed by HM Prison Service, where she worked with young offenders. Catherine has worked within the specialism of children and families, both in the National Health Service (NHS), as part of a London child and adolescent mental health service and in private practice. Her current NHS role is as a Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist in a London perinatal mental health service.
Miguel and Catherine worked together on a ground-breaking research study investigating the psychological effects of yoga and meditation in prisoners.
The Buddha Pill: Can Meditation Change You? Excerpt Published with Permission of the authors.
