Summer Expansion
Donation protected
Just four months ago, we began offering yoga to those serving time within Alaska’s prison system. Since then, we have taught twenty classes and have become a regular presence at our local prison. As our lawyers prepare to file the final step of our non-profit paperwork with the Federal Government, we stand in awe. Truly, we have moved from an idea into practice. Our next steps include expanding our offerings and receiving further training to help us better serve the needs of Alaska’s incarcerated population.
We have established two regular classes at the Anchorage Correctional Complex. One of these is for the general pre-sentencing population of the prison and another serves those in the Alpha One Detox module. These have an established and regular group of men who participate actively in classes. Already, we have received positive feedback from both prisoners and those that work in that facility.
Now, we are expanding this vision even further by setting our summer goal to travel to Seward four times by the end of August. There, at the Spring Creek Correctional Center, we will provide maximum security prisoners a four part training intensive on the essentials of yoga. This training will be accredited through Yoga Alliance which will allow prisoners to start working up towards receiving a 200 hour teaching certificate.
Alongside traditional yoga postures, we plan to incorporate more meditation into our classes. This June, David Westlake, our founder and primary teacher, will head to Vancouver, BC for the completion of his 40-hour meditation instructor certification through Semper Viva Yoga. He will start bringing this practice further into his classes and start to offer meditation workshops for prisoners and prison staff.
Behind all that is being done, we feel you standing behind us with your support and positive energy. Your encouraging comments and correspondences have been an inspiration to us on this creative and enlightening journey. We hope that you will continue your amazing support by helping us raise the funds needed to propel our ideas into reality. Your contributions will go towards roundtrip drives to Seward, partial expenses for Vancouver training, official Yoga Alliance accreditation for teacher training, and purchasing appropriate props for our new students.
We have established two regular classes at the Anchorage Correctional Complex. One of these is for the general pre-sentencing population of the prison and another serves those in the Alpha One Detox module. These have an established and regular group of men who participate actively in classes. Already, we have received positive feedback from both prisoners and those that work in that facility.
Now, we are expanding this vision even further by setting our summer goal to travel to Seward four times by the end of August. There, at the Spring Creek Correctional Center, we will provide maximum security prisoners a four part training intensive on the essentials of yoga. This training will be accredited through Yoga Alliance which will allow prisoners to start working up towards receiving a 200 hour teaching certificate.
Alongside traditional yoga postures, we plan to incorporate more meditation into our classes. This June, David Westlake, our founder and primary teacher, will head to Vancouver, BC for the completion of his 40-hour meditation instructor certification through Semper Viva Yoga. He will start bringing this practice further into his classes and start to offer meditation workshops for prisoners and prison staff.
Behind all that is being done, we feel you standing behind us with your support and positive energy. Your encouraging comments and correspondences have been an inspiration to us on this creative and enlightening journey. We hope that you will continue your amazing support by helping us raise the funds needed to propel our ideas into reality. Your contributions will go towards roundtrip drives to Seward, partial expenses for Vancouver training, official Yoga Alliance accreditation for teacher training, and purchasing appropriate props for our new students.
Organizer
Darcy Stein
Organizer
Anchorage, AK
