Academic literature on the topic 'Yoga, juvenile literature'

Abstract In recent decades, there has been more significant implementation and research of yoga programs in prisons and correctional facilities. Existing literature suggests that adult and juvenile prison-based yoga programs may improve stress-management and self-regulation skills; reduce depression, anxiety, aggression, and addictive behaviors; and increase prosocial behaviors. However, yoga in juvenile correctional facilities is still understudied compared to adult populations. The Prison Yoga Project (PYP) and Yoga FLAME (Focus, Letting go, Anger management, Mindfulness, and Exhaling negativity) are two frameworks used to structure the implementation of prison-based yoga programs among incarcerated adolescents. The present study aimed to describe trauma-related stress and self-regulation levels in a sample of incarcerated youth and to explore yoga’s effects on developing stress-reduction skills. The study collected measures on overall and in-session stress reduction and baseline self-regulation. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and public-safety restrictions, the present study was prematurely terminated after 5 months. Only pre-assessment measures were collected. Across time, participants reported a 38% mean stress reduction from the beginning to the end of a yoga session. Incarcerated youth with higher initial self-regulation levels showed higher pre- to post-session improvements in stress. The present findings provide valuable evidence that yoga practice using the combined PYP and FLAME framework can deliver practical benefits to juvenile correctional facilities. Furthermore, yoga may be used to foster rehabilitation, enhance skill development, and facilitate greater success in youth transitioning back into the community.

Yoga has been making its way into juvenile detention centers, but little research has looked at the pos-sible effects of yoga on this special population of individuals. The purpose of this paper is to review the relevant literature available on the effects of yoga on youth involved with the justice system and its potential for rehabilitation. Notably, the objective here is to highlight the need for gender-specific pro-gramming, specifically those designed with women and girls in mind. This paper takes a gender-responsive and trauma-informed approach when discussing literature on alternative rehabilitation and, importantly, identifies the gaps in previous research while offering ways of improvement. The findings in this review highlight the need for trauma-informed care and gender-specific programming. Importantly, this review identifies the need for race-sensitive programming while addressing cultural, historical, and gender-based issues within the field of criminology and criminal justice. Overall, we find that gender-specific programs are useful but lack in implementation and program evaluation. With that said, more research is needed in this area of study.