The Prison Phoenix Trust

© illustrations Korky Paul

The Prison Phoenix Trust encourages prisoners in the development of their spiritual welfare, through the practices of meditation and yoga, working with silence and the breath.

We offer personal support to prisoners around the UK and Eire through teaching, workshops, correspondence, books and newsletters - and to prison staff too. We work with people of any faith, or of none, and honour all religions. We are a registered UK charity.

"Since an early age, I never knew how to deal with all my trapped emotions or how to recognise them. Just sitting still and looking inside has transformed my whole Being. Once I gained some freedom with meditation, I was able to write to my wife, the first contact I had had in more than a year"

Visit to HMP Nottingham, 29th July

Yoga workshop for prisoners.

Fundraising Concert, 24th September

An evening with Benjamin Zephaniah, 6pm to 10pm, at a prison to be confirmed.
Tickets will be £35. More details as they come through.

Dalai Lama

PPT staff and volunteers went to hear the Dalai Lama speak in Oxford's Sheldonian Theatre on 30th May. Afterwards PPT Director Sandy met His Holiness at a reception in the Oxford's Divinity Schools.

Appeal letter

The subject of this year's annual fund-raising letter is prison officers, whose willingness and role in bringing inmates to yoga classes is essential. Without the help of this much undersung group, none of our work could continue.

To read the letter, click here.

Brent Scott sponsored ride

Brent, who is a meditation teacher and friend of the PPT, is riding the Dunwich Dynamo, an overnight ride, on July 19th. Please help him help us by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/brentscott.

Yoga at HMPs Everthorpe and Hull

Kate and Roland are travelling to the North East on July 14th and 15th. They'll give workshops to both staff and inmates in HMP Everthorpe and HMP Hull.

Volunteers visit HMP Eastwood Park

PPT volunteers visited HMP Eastwood Park, the women's prison, on June 3rd, where they met inmates and heard how, in spite of high levels of drug use problems when inmates arrive, they are able to follow classes in beauty, literacy, arts and crafts, and cookery. The volunteers visited the library and saw the well-equipped Mother and Baby Unit.
We are hoping to set up more classes for staff in the near future.

Research...

The PPT organised a clinical trial recently to discover the effects of yoga and meditation on Young Offenders. The early results indicate that these disciplines are effective in reducing aggression and criminal propensity, while enhancing health and spiritual well-being. At the moment we’re in the planning stages to expand this research into other prisons.