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Prison Rehabilitation

Based on Art of Living's unique stress management program, Prison SMART stands for Prison Stress Management and Rehabilitation Training. The program is customized to the needs of the prison inmates and to the individuals and institutions that work to end the cycle of violence.

Prison SMART helps prisoners in rehabilitation and in reducing violence and drug dependencies. It also teaches the inmates life skills that enable them to accept responsibility for their past actions and to handle future conflict and stressful situations successfully.

This innovative and results-oriented program serves inmates, residents of halfway houses, those on parole and probation, at-risk youth, victims of crime, law enforcement officers, corrections professionals and individuals that deal with the aftermath of violence such as rape crisis centers, shelters for battered women, runaway shelters and trauma victims of crime and abuse.

Prison administrators have reported that inmates who have participated in the program exhibit less aggressiveness and violent behavior in confrontational situations and increased cooperation with staff.

The cornerstone of the program are the dynamic breathing techniques that are part of the Art of Living Workshops. These release the accumulated effects of stress from the nervous system and help participants manage negative emotions in a safe and non-violent manner.

Reported benefits include:

Improved sleeping patterns.
Ability to accept responsibility for past actions.
Ability to handle conflict and stressful situations non-violently.
Improved confidence and self-control.
By gaining the ability to handle stressful situations in a more calm and clear manner, participants finally gain control over their actions to make positive changes in their behavior and in their lives.

In India, more than 1,20,000 prisoners from prisons across the country have undergone the Prison SMART program with spectacular results. In Tihar Jail (Asia's largest prison) alone, around 4,400 convicts have benefited from the program. Special courses have also been conducted for the prison staff to cope with the stress owing to the nature of their job.