Rajahmundry: Prisoners who have been practising yoga and meditation to gain control on their mind and body at the Central Prison in Rajahmundry are all set to be recogniswd for their efforts shortly.
As many as 40 prisoners including life convicts and those on remand had enrolled for the Yoga Instructor Certificate course offered by Bengaluru-based Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana. They have been practising yoga and meditation over the last nine months and are about to obtain their certificates that would be awarded shortly for successful completion of their course.
The Central Prison authorities, meanwhile, have started yoga and meditation classes for more prisoners interested in the exercise with each trained yoga instructor to train nearly 30 prisoners practice yoga and meditation.
The Central Prison premises at present are abuzz with prisoners practising yoga and meditation seriously from 6.30 am to 8.00 am every day. During the rest of the day, they do the other mandatory works assigned to them.
Yoga trainer Patanjali Srinivas said, "We have completed training the prisoners for nearly nine months on yoga and meditation. Some of those undergoing training are life convicts who committed crime at the spur of the moment in some cases. Besides, some are remand prisoners for minor crime and their trail is still in progress. There is perceptible change in their attitude after practising yoga and meditation as they have become strong both mentally and physically and they are in a position not to be carried away by any situation except to maintain balanced perception to deal with it."
Some prisoners who were released after completion of their jail term and some of those who went out on bail, reportedly confessed to their trainer that they were in a better position to handle very difficult times in their life. For instance, a prisoner after getting released went home in Hyderabad only to find his wife having live-in relationship with another man in their house. He was shocked for the development and called up the trainer to confess it. However, he controlled and convinced himself and moved away from home to start life afresh separately while doing some work to earn money.
The trainer Srinivas said that they got several such instances where the prisoners after practising yoga and meditation for several months developed mental stability and physical strength to take things in right perspective instead of committing crime again in a fit of rage and not trouble others.
Central Prison superintendent P.G. Sairam Prakash said, "We have got cent per cent positive result from prisoners especially with regard to their mental status after practising yoga and meditation for a few months on our premises. We are roping in a few more interested prisoners to practice yoga and meditation with an expectation to get similar result from them."
