This spring, Quaker communities across the UK and Ireland are invited to partner with The Prison Phoenix Trust to support people in prison through yoga, meditation and spiritual practice.
Supporting people in prison through yoga and meditation
Prisons can be noisy, stressful and isolating environments. Through yoga, meditation and reflective practice, The Prison Phoenix Trust (PPT) helps people in prison find moments of quiet, reconnect with their inner strength, and begin a journey of personal change.
Each year, The Prison Phoenix Trust supports more than 5,000 people in prisons across the UK and Ireland, providing:
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Free yoga and meditation resources for people in prison
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One-to-one written mentoring and guidance
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Access to spiritual support rooted in compassion and non-judgement
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Encouragement towards reflection, responsibility and rehabilitation
This gentle but powerful prison outreach work often offers something many participants have never experienced before: being listened to without judgement. For many, it becomes the first step towards lasting change and successful resettlement.
Dennis’s story of inner transformation
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.
Partner with The Prison Phoenix Trust
Quaker Meetings can help expand access to yoga and meditation in prisons across the UK and Ireland.
You can support this prison yoga charity by:
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Holding a collection at your Quaker Meeting
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Featuring The Prison Phoenix Trust in your newsletter
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Sharing Dennis’s story through your community networks
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Requesting a fundraising pack to help your Meeting get involved
Funds raised through Quaker communities directly support the creation of spaces of stillness within prisons, helping people find hope, resilience and inner change — even in the most challenging circumstances.
As Selina Sasse, CEO of The Prison Phoenix Trust, shares:
“We are deeply grateful to the Quaker community for its long-standing support. We would love to continue growing this relationship by inviting your Meeting to hold The Prison Phoenix Trust in the Light.”
Together, we can continue supporting rehabilitation, spiritual wellbeing, and positive change for people in prison through yoga and meditation.
Jasper Jameson is a personal trainer, coach and mentor. He brings valuable experience of serving time in prison, where he discovered yoga and meditation through classes with The Prison Phoenix Trust. He says “I am incredibly proud to now serve on the Board of Trustees for The Prison Phoenix Trust. I bring my lived experience to help ensure that the same support I received is available to people in prison now and in the future, and to highlight the importance of these practices in the wider community.”
Congratulations to Yvonne, who has been highly commended in the BBC Make a Difference Awards for her voluntary service supporting people in prison to practise yoga and meditation for 22 years.
On her 40th birthday, Lisa Newman was beginning an 18-month prison sentence for dealing drugs. Today, aged 52 and living in Gloucestershire, she’s a qualified addiction recovery coach, a public speaker, and a business owner. But back then, life felt completely out of control.
By The Prison Phoenix Trust CEO Selina Sasse
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