What Prison Yoga Project does

Prison Yoga Project (PYP) is a US-based nonprofit organization founded in 2002 by James Fox at San Quentin State Prison, delivering trauma-informed yoga and embodied mindfulness programs to incarcerated and justice-impacted individuals across 220+ correctional facilities in 20 US states and 11 countries. Its core offering is direct, in-facility yoga instruction rooted in a proprietary trauma-informed framework that recognizes social causes of trauma including poverty, racism, and gender discrimination, and that prioritizes participant autonomy and self-regulation over punitive correction. The supporting product surface includes a 34-hour Foundational Training program (3,000+ alumni since 2010), a 19-week 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certification, published books distributed free of charge to incarcerated people (42,000+ copies), an e-commerce store, a podcast, and a graphic novel aimed at justice-involved youth.

The organization monetizes through a hybrid nonprofit model: individual and institutional donations (including named partnerships with Stand Together Foundation and Lululemon Center for Social Impact), tiered training-program tuition with full scholarships for justice-impacted learners ($120,000+ awarded to 227 recipients in 2023), $9,600 unit-priced program sponsorships, and one-time book sales through shop.prisonyoga.org. Distribution occurs via direct facility partnerships, government collaborators (CDCR, UK HMPPS), a federated regional-director structure covering Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, the Netherlands, the UK, Australia, and Scandinavia, and a volunteer facilitator network of 2,500+ trained teachers. PYP Scandinavia was incorporated as a separate Swedish nonprofit in February 2026, signaling continued geographic formalization.

Name

Prison Yoga Project

Legal name

Prison Yoga Project

Website

https://prisonyoga.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Prison Yoga Project is a US-based nonprofit that delivers trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness programs to incarcerated and justice-impacted individuals across 220+ correctional facilities in 20 US states and 11 countries, supported by facilitator training, free publications, and a global volunteer network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Correctional Rehabilitation Services

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Trauma-Informed Mindfulness & Somatic Mind-Body Practices (HSADAJAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Guided Meditation Instruction (1:1 & Group) (HSADAJAA), General Yoga Instruction (Hatha/Vinyasa/Flow) (HSADACAA), Recreation Therapy, Stress Management & Mindfulness Programs (EDALAFAO)

Keywords

• Trauma-informed yoga
• Corrections rehabilitation
• Yoga teacher training
• Mindfulness programs
• Justice-involved services

Headquarters

HQ city

Bolinas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: PYP relies heavily on donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate partners. $10 covers cost of sending a book to someone; $200 covers yoga mats for an entire class; monthly giving supports ongoing operations. Major donors, foundations, and corporate funding sustain long-term initiatives.
2. Training Program Fees: Tiered-pricing model with Community, Supporter, and Benefactor levels. Foundational Training and 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certification Training generate revenue while scholarships support access. $2,880 covers full tuition for yoga teacher certification training.
3. Publications and Materials Sales: Books including 'Yoga: A Path for Healing and Recovery' and 'Freedom from the Inside' are distributed free to incarcerated people but sold to loved ones and the public through the online store at shop.prisonyoga.org.
4. Program Sponsorship: Organizations and individuals can sponsor local programs. $9,600 contribution fully funds a program in a community and provides vital income for a facilitator.
5. Scholarship Fund Donations: In 2023, PYP awarded over $120,000 in scholarships benefiting 227 recipients. Donations support scholarships for those most impacted by incarceration to participate in training programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Prison Yoga Project delivers trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness programs to incarcerated and justice-impacted individuals inside correctional facilities. The organization complements direct service delivery with a published methodology, yoga teacher certification training, and digital/print publications that extend its curriculum to facilitators and the public.

Product overview

Prison Yoga Project operates as a single unified offering centered on trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness programs for incarcerated and justice-impacted individuals. The portfolio consists of four core components: (1) Trauma-Informed Yoga Programs — direct yoga classes at correctional facilities worldwide; (2) Trauma-Informed Training — facilitator training including a 34-hour Foundational Training course and a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certification; (3) Publications & Materials — books distributed free to incarcerated people, including 'Yoga: a Path for Healing and Recovery' and 'Freedom from the Inside' (over 42,000 copies); and (4) Advocacy & Consulting — consulting services for institutions. Supporting offerings include an online store, podcast, community membership, and regional products like the Sweden-specific book 'It's an Inside Job' and the graphic novel 'This Time I Choose' developed with Unlikely Collaborators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PYP Scandinavia: Regional division of Prison Yoga Project operating in Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway, and broader Nordic region), with formal nonprofit status in Sweden.

Products and services

• Trauma-Informed Yoga Programs
• Foundational Training: Yoga Through the Lens of Trauma and Incarceration
• 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Certification Training
• This Time I Choose (graphic novel)
• It's an Inside Job (book)
• Advocacy & Consulting

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% of participants felt they benefited from the program
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment agency partner providing access to California correctional facilities for PYP programming and supporting rehabilitation initiatives.
• Trauma Research FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner supporting evidence-based approach to trauma-informed yoga, helping document efficacy and benefits of PYP programs.
• Yoga on the InsidesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization bringing yoga to incarcerated individuals, sharing similar mission and approach to trauma-informed practices.
• His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (UK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK government justice service partner enabling PYP's organic growth in UK correctional facilities since 2017.
• Fundación Acción Interna (Colombia)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerColombian foundation partner supporting PYP programs in Colombia since 2022.
• Unlikely CollaboratorssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative partner supporting the development of PYP's first graphic novel 'This Time I Choose' to promote mindfulness among incarcerated and justice-involved youth through storytelling and visual engagement.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Mindful Schools: Nonprofit providing mindfulness training to educators and K-12 students, including inside juvenile justice settings. Partial overlap with Prison Yoga Project's youth detention audience and trauma-aware mindfulness training expertise.
• True Freedom Project: Mindfulness-based intervention program specifically designed for incarcerated populations, with facilitator training and prison partnerships. Smaller, niche entrant with closely aligned mission and curriculum focus to Prison Yoga Project.

Broad incumbents

• Headspace: Mainstream digital mental health and mindfulness platform offering guided meditation, sleep, and focus content at scale, including some correctional and institutional partnerships. Sets consumer expectations and competitive context for any trauma-informed mindfulness provider.
• Calm: Direct-to-consumer meditation and mindfulness app with broad employer, health-plan, and public-sector distribution. Relevant broad incumbent against which specialized prison yoga nonprofits must differentiate on trauma and justice-system expertise.

Direct peers

• Prison Mindfulness Institute: Provides mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), meditation, and yoga instruction inside correctional facilities, with a specific curriculum designed for incarcerated populations. Directly overlaps with Prison Yoga Project on inmate-focused mindfulness programming and facilitator training.
• Give Back Yoga Foundation: Funds and supports yoga service programs serving underserved populations, including incarcerated individuals, with a focus on trainer stipends and program expansion. Listed as a Prison Yoga Project partner, sharing the same population and grant-funding ecosystem.
• Yoga Behind Bars: Nonprofit that brings trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness classes to people in prisons, jails, and detention centers, primarily in the Pacific Northwest. Operates with a similar volunteer-facilitator and donation-supported model targeting the same justice-impacted population as Prison Yoga Project.
• Liberation Prison Project: Organization offering mindfulness and meditation programs to incarcerated individuals and training facilitators to teach inside prisons. Comparable mission, target population, and inside-facility delivery model to Prison Yoga Project.
• Insight Prison Project: Provides contemplative-based programs, including meditation and mindfulness, to people inside California state prisons, with a strong facilitator-training pipeline. Competes for similar CDCR partnerships and volunteer facilitators as Prison Yoga Project.

Others

• Black Yoga Foundation: Works to make yoga accessible to Black communities through teacher training scholarships and outreach, including justice-impacted individuals. Comparable training-scholarship model and overlapping participant population with PYP's justice-impacted teacher cohort.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@PrisonYogaProject_Peace
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/prison-yoga-project
• Instagraminstagram.com/prisonyogaproject
• Xx.com/PrisonYoga
• Facebookfacebook.com/prisonyoga

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Prison Yoga Project