Back in January of this year, we met Dr. Hari Murthy at the Yoga Journal conference in San Francisco where he told us about a yoga program that he runs for the inmates on Condemned Row in San Quentin. The inmates were in need of a yoga mat donation.

After months of hard work, and months of keeping the yoga mats stored in his own living room, Hari was finally able to get permission to bring the yoga matsinto the institution. He held their first class with real yoga mats in July, and it was amazing. The guys were so grateful for the mats; they had previously been using a combination of cardboard boxes, sheets, blankets, or towels.

Hari has told us about how much they relish learning everything from a vigorous vinyasa style to a more meditative, restful style. A few weeks ago, he held a purification ceremony with water that he had brought back from the Ganges. It was a day of pranayama, kriya, meditation and self-reflection with some of the yoga philosophy he learned at the ashram, followed by a symbolic cleansing with the Ganges water and meditation.

We are grateful to be able to support Dr. Hari, and his program.