Yoga Revolution: Yoga for Incarcerated Populations with De Jur Jones
The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible YogaShow Notes
On Episode 12 of Yoga Revolution, despite a few connection issues along the way, Jivana and De Jur Jones share a moving conversation about teaching yoga in prisons, trauma-informed yoga, generational trauma, and yoga service.
A yoga devotee since 2001, De Jur attended Loyola Marymount University’s Yoga Therapy program and teaches a therapeutic style of yoga suitable for most students. Along with having taught countless mainstream classes, De Jur offers programs to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, unhoused populations, mentally challenged seniors, foster youth, those in recovery, human trafficking victims/survivors, and staff who serve all these groups. De Jur is a contributor to the Yoga Service Council’s best practices book series “Best Practices for Yoga in the Criminal Justice System," an Accessible Yoga Ambassador, and a featured model in “Accessible Yoga, Poses and Practices for Every Body”, “Yoga After 50 For Dummies," and "Embodied Resilience through Yoga: 30 Mindful Essays. De Jur co-chaired at the 2019 International Association of Yoga Therapists Conference and moonlights as a flight attendant. From prison lockdowns to class cancellations to navigating endless streams of bureaucratic red tape, De Jur offers a glimpse into the various difficulties she encounters teaching in prisons, as well as how problematic the (in)justice system is, particularly for folks of color. She also offers pointers around shifting language to be more inclusive and equitable (as well as her hilarious, yet useful phrase and practice of “third eye rolling”).
Learn more about De Jur and her offerings.
Learn more about Yoga Revolution by Jivana Heyman.
Order your copy of Yoga Revolution at Shambala, or wherever books are sold.
Also by Jivana Heyman: Accessible Yoga: Poses & Practices for Every Body (2019, Shambala) The Teacher's Guide to Accessible Yoga: Best Practices for Sharing Yoga with Every Body (2024)
Connect with Jivana: www.jivanaheyman.com @jivanaheyman facebook.com/jivanaheyman www.accessibleyogaschool.com @accessibleyogaschool facebook.com/accessibleyogaschool
More from The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga
In this final wrap up episode, Jivana offers an overview of his book, The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and highlights a few topics that are of particular importance to him. Whether you’ve read the book or not, this episode addresses many key elements in making yoga accessible for yoga teachers and yoga therapists.
How does being a student of yoga translate into teaching yoga? Loving the practice and wanting to share it with others is at the heart of becoming a teacher. As a teacher, you also continue learning and evolving, deepening your own understanding and practice. This journey of teaching and learning is a continuous cycle that enriches both teacher and students.
“All we're doing is preparing for that moment, where grace just drops in." - Tracee Stanley
According to the yoga teachings, pranayama is among the most powerful practice we have. Yet, many of the common breathing practices are taught in ways that are not accessible or trauma-informed. How can teachers make pranayama more accessible to their students?
Initially, Shavasana may seem like a simple posture. But, when we approach the practice with a little more depth, we can discover a powerful restorative practice with profound and multifaceted benefits.