There are literally dozens of beautiful venues, parks, and studios to practice yoga in the vibrant, urban metropolis of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, so I chose a prison yard.
The contrast of practicing yoga – a tradition that encourages non-harming – in a place designed to “inspire penitence in the hearts of prisoners” appealed to me; a poetic element added to the Sunday morning vinyasa flow I attended on the grounds of the Eastern State Penitentiary – the oldest prison in the US.
The prison was operational between 1829 and 1971, holding 85,000 people, including notorious criminals like “Scarface” Al Capone. Said to be “the most haunted” prison in the US, it is now a historic site with a foundation that offers special events like spooky Halloween tours, yoga, and other fundraisers to support a mission of interpreting the legacy of American criminal justice reform. Work is needed in this area, as US prisons are predominately punitive. In contrast, many nations (Norway and Australia, for example) provide rehabilitation and restorative justice with highly successful outcomes for inmates and society.
Lumos Yoga and Barre hosts outdoor yoga at Corinthian Gardens, a small but well-equipped edible forest maintained by the community that sits adjacent to the prison yards. The slow Sunday morning flow was nice and easy. The space’s ambiance was complemented by the late morning sunshine filtering through the communal fruit trees and the chatter of families walking past with dogs and strollers. Whether you welcome that level of distraction or not, the class was utterly worth $18 for a unique experience.
The Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site is located at 22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue, just five blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The former prison is open for daytime tours daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.