How to incorporate yoga and meditation for pregnant female inmates

How to incorporate yoga and meditation for pregnant female inmates by ShareLove.Fund’s Rainbow Women Social Enterprise endeavor and sponsored by your generous donations.

Rehabilitation accompanied by pregnancy becomes a challenging experience for most women. Correctional facilities must incorporate safety measures for the practice of yoga and meditation for pregnant female inmates. State and federal prisons must address the several issues which comprise the imprisonment of pregnant women. These women bear a greater risk of infections and miscarriages owing to the unsanitary conditions in most prisons. Further, according to an article published in the Journal of Perinatal Education, gender-neutral policies are often detrimental to the mental health of women prisoners. 

In this scenario, yoga and meditation can help pregnant women cope with their post-traumatic stress and gain composure to avoid any complications of giving birth. In this article, we will look at the various ways in which yoga can benefit women in their pre-natal stage. We will also analyze the psychological and physiological benefits of yoga on pregnant women in prison. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2409166/

How to Teach Yoga and Meditation to Pregnant Women in Prison

Health and Hygiene comprise a primary area of concern for incarcerated pregnant women. Sanitary conditions are necessary to enable them to be safe during their pre-natal stage. During this phase, the focus of one's attention inwards and relief from any stress-inducing situation must be followed by pregnant women inmates. Rehabilitation through yoga and meditation offers a therapeutic impact on women with a history of trauma.

Yoga For Pregnant Female Inmates:

Yoga Behind Bars– This program organized trauma-informed yoga training for pregnant women in prison at Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) in California. Not only are women taught the techniques of yoga, but there is also a community feeling among the teachers and the incarcerated women, which helps them deal with the stress associated with pregnancy. It reduces emotional vulnerability in women, which gives them a sense of composure. 

Meditation for pregnant women inmates–A prison environment is often a hostile place associated with violence, psychological breakdown resulting from separation from their families for a long duration. In this case, it becomes imperative for pregnant women to relax their minds and focus on their psychological well-being. Meditation allows one to look inwards with a harmony of the mind and the body for recovery. Therefore, when prisons collaborate with organizations providing meditation therapy, it becomes a significant step towards their rehabilitation. 

Benefits of Yoga and Meditation for Pregnant Women- According to a research article published in the NCBI, it has been observed that physical exercise helps in the management of stress, hypertension, diabetes. Often considered as a mind-body practice, yoga also helps in the reduction of anxiety and cortisol levels in women during labor. Pregnancy is a transitional phase in women, hence the exercise of mind and body through yoga and meditation reduces the risk to the fetus. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3424788/

Organizations must make arrangements for the practice of yoga and meditation for pregnant women in prisons. If states take initiatives for providing individual care to pregnant women inmates, they will get a chance to nurture their children with a sense of security. It will help them to overcome their past traumatic experiences and raise their children in a better manner.