Prison Program

What is the Prison SMART Program?

Prison SMART Program

“If people get sick, we take them to the hospital and give them the right medicine to get better. If people’s behaviour is sick, we bring them to the prison, but we forget the medicines.” – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

The Mission

The Prison SMART Programme aims to transform the lives of people working in or incarcerated within the criminal justice system. Prison SMART teaches skills that reduce stress, heal trauma and provides practical knowledge of how to handle negative emotions in order to live to one's highest potential and contribute to society in a positive way.

So far the lives of more than 3,50,000 prison inmates have been transformed through the ‘Prison Smart’ programs

Basic Premise

The basic premise of the program is that no individual is really ‘bad’ but takes to crime due to external stressors which they are unable to deal with effectively.

Prison Program Newsletter,
India

PARIVARTAN - Vol 1
PARIVARTAN - Vol 2

Testimonials

Khodr, Lebanese Juvenile Prison

I never knew that you had a kind of sports for the inside. It relaxes so much.

Femke, 17 years

It was fun doing this with all of our class. Certainly worth repeating!

Ashok Choudhary, State Minister, Home (Jail) Dept

In the bitterness and monotony that surrounds the life of a jail inmate, The Art of Living Foundation has given the inmates an opportunity to vent their emotions and cleanse their psyche

Mahide, 18 years

I now know how to de-stress and keep my nerves under control. I also know that it's not about what you do but that it's about the way you are.

Debbie
Inmate
It’s a fantastic course! I feel more calm, peaceful, and ready to deal with what life has in store for me. I feel my depression lifting, and I have a new way of looking at things.