While serving an 18-year prison sentence, Dennis received a letter from his daughter asking him to give up drugs and crime. That moment became the turning point in his life.

He connected with The Prison Phoenix Trust and began practising yoga and meditation in his prison cell. He relied on the charity’s written mentoring and free resources to build a daily practice. Slowly, he began to change how he related to himself and his future.

Through yoga, meditation, and later support from the Quaker community, Dennis discovered what he calls his “inner light” — a steadier, more peaceful way of living guided by honesty, responsibility and self-respect.

Now aged 75 and more than ten years after his release, Dennis lives a completely different life. He is an artist, serves as a Quaker adviser within a university chaplaincy team, and continues his daily yoga and meditation practice.

While in prison, a Quaker chaplain once told him:

“Walk in the light. Be in the light.”

At a time when Dennis felt hopeless, those words reminded him that his inner light was still present — even in the darkest moments. Through yoga and the quiet presence of Quaker chaplaincy, he began reconnecting with that light and allowing it to guide his choices, one day at a time.