Here Richard shares his story for The PPT Winter Appeal, giving back to the charity that helped him in prison.
Richard spent most of his early life in ‘the system’: growing up in care, his autism undiagnosed, he got into trouble, served time in detention centres and borstal, and eventually prison. But today the chaos and suffering that once surrounded him is in the past.
With support from meditation and yoga, he is leading a meaningful life: he volunteers to help others, speaking in public – including in Parliament – about his experiences and providing a role model to others who are lost ‘in the system’.
It was during a move to a new prison, at three in the morning, crammed into a prison van with six officers, blue lights flashing that he decided something had to change.
“I was looking around me thinking, how have I got into this situation? This is a battle I’m losing. I realised I needed to change the battle plan and look at why I’m here.”
He reached out for help to The Prison Phoenix Trust, the UK’s leading charity supporting yoga and meditation in prisons. He wrote – and a mentor from The PPT wrote back, offering to support and guide him from afar as he explored the healing practices of yoga and meditation.
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“Prison isn’t a good place to drop your guard,” he recalls, “but through the letters I could talk more openly and look at myself more. I could put my emotions down on paper that I couldn’t say out loud to anyone.” Continue Reading
