This month The Prison Phoenix Trust was invited to contribute to a round-table discussion in the Houses of Parliament aimed at shaping impactful policy for women in the prison, hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sport and Physical Activity in the Criminal Justice System. Joining our yoga lead Victoria and prison yoga teacher Sandra was Lisa, who writes eloquently here about her experience of yoga in prison.

From prison cell to Parliament… and all it took was a complete mental breakdown, a handful of handwritten letters, and a few downward dogs in a 6×8.

(Well… maybe a little more than that, but it sounds good for the purpose of this post!😜)

Many years ago, I was completely losing the plot. Twisted up in shame and fear. Detoxing off methadone in a prison cell with zero support, zero structure, and zero hope.

My mind was spiralling and silence was a luxury—inside and out.

Then, a letter arrived.
Handwritten. Personal.
From a charity I reached out to: The Prison Phoenix Trust.

They told me I could breathe.
They told me I could move.
They told me I could sit still in the storm and find a speck of peace.

I started practicing yoga on my cell floor, surrounded by noise and chaos, my body weak but my will quietly rebuilding.

Since then, I’ve never let go of PPT. Or perhaps, they never let go of me.

And now—by some surreal twist of fate—I’m heading into the Houses of Parliament to represent this beautiful, stubbornly passionate, heart-led charity at a roundtable discussion hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sport and Physical Activity in the Criminal Justice System (APPG).

We’ll be digging into how physical activity is delivered (or not) in the female secure estate—and what needs to change.

I’m honoured to be bringing not just my lived experience, but also the voices of countless women who’ve sat in those same cells, aching to move, to feel, to heal.

Movement saved me.
Meditation saved me.

Handwritten letters saved me.

Turning my personal shit-show into some small source of service is the greatest privilege of my life.

To those still trapped ‘inside’, still struggling with self doubt…
Hold on. Breathe. Move. You’re not alone.

The power in having people believe in you when you are barren is never to be underestimated 🌟🧘‍♀️💫