The meditation groups are very important. Most of the prisoners are exposed to meditation for the first time in jail and they report that they would not have been exposed to this tool of their own initiative. Experiencing meditation expands their world and the issues they deal with. Meditation helps them understand the body-soul connection and practicing meditation reduces pressure and helps them cope with the period of incarceration.
Meditation is important as part of the prisoner rehabilitation program, particularly for the addicts, because it enables inward observation, focusing one’s attention and distancing oneself from distractions. In most addiction rehab programs, meditation is mentioned as a therapeutic tool, as part of the treatment. Treatments for addiction, such as meditation, emphasize enhancement of one’s self-awareness, inward observation, as an initial means of identifying emotional and cognitive patterns and their features.
Meditation can be very helpful for coping with severe mental situations and with the harsh conditions of life in jail. Practicing meditationis not dependent on anything, it is performed independently and is available at all times, and enables both internal coping and coping with external situations. There is no doubt that practicing meditation can affect impulsive reactions and thus it can also have the effect of reducing violence.
I see a considerable impact of meditation on the prisoners. They are very connected to themselves, I see them calmer and notice their ability to regulate reactions stemming from pressure and nerves. Prisoners relate that meditation lets them modify their reactions, stop, breathe, observe their responses instead of being within the outburst. The effect of practicing meditation is also evident in rehab groups for drug addiction, domestic violence, and sex offenses.