Prison Yoga Santa Barbara

Join Yoga Vie and Mark Belrose for a meditation workshop based upon yoga and Buddhist traditions, to support the non-profit Prison Yoga Santa Barbara program.

Although "how we mediate" hasn't significantly changed over the last 2500 years, "why we meditate" has appreciably evolved over time.  We'll journey through a brief history of Eastern meditation techniques with the goal of understanding what meditation is and what we're trying to achieve. 

Together we'll journey  through Eastern philosophy, starting with bhakti (devotional) yoga as espoused in the Bhagivad Gita and expressed through modern kirtan.  Next, we'll do a concentration meditation using candlelight, based on the principles of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, which teaches us to look inwards towards liberation.  We'll explore various breathing techniques, used to balance and energize our subtle body.  And finally as modern meditation increasingly has become focused on healing ourselves and others, we'll finish with a meta "loving-kindness" meditation.

All donations will go directly to Prison Yoga Santa Barbara. PYSB invites incarcerated individuals in SB County to practice yoga, meditation, and mindfulness as an effective, evidence-based rehabilitative therapy to reduce the impact of life's traumas and the stress of incarceration. Seeking to build the skills and mindsets that increase successful re-entry and reduce recidivism rates, PYSB is the only agency providing yoga and mindfulness skill training to incarcerated youth and adults in Santa Barbara County. Operated entirely as a volunteer organization for five years, Prison Yoga Santa Barbara's goals include:

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  • Cultivating mindfulness through awareness of breath and conscious movement

  • Supporting individuals in releasing stress, trauma, and reactive behavior

  • Empowering them to address the opportunities they face such as mental health, impulse control, and addition recovery.

Support Yoga Vie's Yoga Gives Back program and PYSB in this wonderful event to learn and benefit yourself and others. All levels of meditation practitioners are welcome.

About Mark: Mark Belrose is a RYT500, reiki master, and practicing Buddhist. He completed a 300-hour meditation instructor training at the Shree Mahesh Heritage Institute, in Rishikesh, India, and is certified by the Government of India. Currently he teaches yoga and meditation at Santa Maria Juvenile Hall in the hope that yoga will provide a positive guiding light for our troubled youths. Mark first came to meditation through yoga and quickly found the ability to quiet his mind. A previous a self-proclaimed adrenalin junkie, Mark no longer needs frequent jolts of adrenalin as a guide for his life. He has found immense joy in helping others to find their inner peace through meditation and reiki. 

Suggested donation: $25. This class is a cash donation-based class and all proceeds will be donated to Prison Yoga Santa Barbara. Give what you can.