We’ve heard from a lot of guys about how yoga has helped ease their back pain, work through stress, or improve their relationships.

Today’s episode has those elements, but it’s also something else entirely: the story of Darnell “Moe” Washington, a former gang member who found yoga while serving a sentence of 35 years to life in prison.

It’s the third and final episode in our Prison Yoga Project series, and it’s one of the most powerful conversations we’ve had on the show.

You’ll learn how Moe connected with former GTY guest James Fox while at San Quentin; the mental and physical capabilities he developed through his practice; and how yoga and mindfulness helped him gain his freedom and prepare for the rest of his life.

Bill Brown was 41 years old when he took his first yoga class, and the experience moved him to tears.

You’ll hear why in this conversation, as well as how Bill wound up directing an organization that brings yoga to thousands of incarcerated men and women around the world.

This is the second of three conversations in our Prison Yoga Project series; Bill expands on the group’s work (discussed last episode with founder James Fox) as well as his own compelling personal story.

Bill also talks about:

• How yoga can help people with trauma and dissociation

• Gaining trust when facilitating yoga classes in prisons and jails

• How stress builds in the body over time and how yoga can help guys work through that

• How yoga helped Bill deal with anger in a much healthier way

• Using the force of the ground in your yoga practice

• How Prison Yoga Project has scaled and has even begun working with corrections officers and other staff

James Fox is the Founding Director of the Prison Yoga Project, which he started in San Quentin and grew to 17 states and beyond.

In part one of a three-part series on prison yoga, James tells Derek about the program's origins (he started in a single juvenile detention center); the unique challenges and opportunities involved; and the story of a participant whose rehabilitation and parole was inextricably linked with the yoga practice he learned while behind bars.

James also talks about:

• How yoga helped him get over back pain from running

• How Prison Yoga Project scaled through word of mouth, teacher training, and their book

• How men and women in prison tend to react to first trying yoga

• The trauma-informed approach they've developed

• The role yoga played in a parole hearing for a participant serving a life sentence