Yoga and meditation in Portuguese prisons | Inez Aires | TEDxPorto
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0:10 - 0:12What's the first thing
that comes to your mind -
0:12 - 0:15when you think about a prison,
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0:16 - 0:17or jail,
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0:17 - 0:20or any correctional facility?
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0:21 - 0:23And what's the first thing
that comes to your mind, -
0:23 - 0:26when you think
about a monastery or a convent? -
0:29 - 0:32The image you're seeing on the screen
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0:32 - 0:34is a drawing about a utopia.
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0:34 - 0:37In 2013, as an environmental engineer,
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0:37 - 0:40I was involved in
the conception of a building -
0:40 - 0:44that dealt with the rehabilitation
of an old oil platform -
0:44 - 0:47in the sea outside
of San Francisco, California. -
0:47 - 0:52The idea and the form how we restructured
this project was based on the poetry -
0:52 - 0:56of seeing prisons as places
for the transformation of the brain. -
0:56 - 1:00This prison was in the middle of the sea,
so it didn't need walls. -
1:00 - 1:06The ocean itself created enough isolation
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1:06 - 1:10that prisoners needed to have
to rethink their lives, -
1:10 - 1:15to increase their conscience, depending
on the acts they had committed. -
1:16 - 1:18But that was a utopia.
-
1:18 - 1:21A project that was awarded prizes
but didn't go ahead -
1:22 - 1:23and this is the reality.
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1:23 - 1:26A few years ago I had an opportunity
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1:26 - 1:29to visit two prisons in the Americas.
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1:29 - 1:34On your left side, you can see the prison
Garcia Moreno, in Quito, Ecuador. -
1:34 - 1:38And on the right, Tepic, Mexico, Nayarit.
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1:38 - 1:40I visited the prison in Tepic
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1:40 - 1:44because two friends had been
unjustly incarcerated. -
1:44 - 1:47I remember when I arrived at the prison,
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1:47 - 1:49and looked at that enormous space,
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1:50 - 1:53prisoners walking about
and all the time they had in their hands. -
1:53 - 1:55I remember talking to my friends,
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1:58 - 2:03inspiring them, taking books to them
so they could practice yoga, -
2:03 - 2:08practice meditation and make the most
of the countless time they had, -
2:08 - 2:11while they waited to go to trial.
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2:12 - 2:15For 18 years, yoga has been in my life.
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2:15 - 2:18Yoga is a philosophy that integrates
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2:18 - 2:23the three large components
of what it means to be a human being: -
2:23 - 2:26our minds, our bodies and our spirits.
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2:27 - 2:32Yoga works as a philosophy
that covers the mental part. -
2:33 - 2:35It works as a physical exercise
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2:35 - 2:39and, as the science that goes
to the physical side, also our bodies. -
2:40 - 2:42It is also an art,
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2:42 - 2:46and helps us see the qualities
and essences of our spirit better. -
2:47 - 2:52So, the idea that we got this prize for,
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2:53 - 2:56is about creating a national program,
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2:56 - 2:59a platform that may gather
all yoga teachers -
2:59 - 3:02who may be interested,
so they feel inspired -
3:02 - 3:05to teach in a prison.
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3:05 - 3:09Certified yoga and meditation teachers
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3:09 - 3:12who are experienced and may bring
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3:13 - 3:17the benefits of these techniques
to prisons in Portugal. -
3:18 - 3:22So, we distributed teachers
across staggered time plans -
3:22 - 3:25so they can go there weekly
and so we may create a program -
3:25 - 3:28that will help social reinsertion,
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3:28 - 3:33to their physical transformation,
their mental and brain transformation. -
3:33 - 3:37It's true that most prisoners
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3:37 - 3:39suffer from some kind of trauma
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3:39 - 3:43that took place in their childhood
or their adolescence, -
3:43 - 3:46or even in their adulthood.
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3:46 - 3:49And many times these unprocessed traumas
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3:49 - 3:53lead them to commit criminal acts,
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3:53 - 3:59or that, at the very least,
are unlawful in their countries. -
4:00 - 4:03So, we want to teach yoga as a tool
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4:03 - 4:05that will help prisoners
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4:05 - 4:08to have a relationship with their bodies
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4:08 - 4:10and improve that relationship.
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4:10 - 4:14Reestablishing the connection
between body, mind and spirit, -
4:14 - 4:19so they may manage their emotions better.
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4:21 - 4:27So, we can look at the individual
as something complete, holistic. -
4:28 - 4:31This way, by increasing this sensitivity,
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4:31 - 4:35we are able to look at others
in another way, -
4:35 - 4:38to increase our empathy with others,
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4:38 - 4:43increase our compassion and reduce,
ideally, the cycle of violence. -
4:43 - 4:48Logically, it is also
about dealing with vice. -
4:48 - 4:53Yoga gives us techniques
that we can use on the mat -
4:53 - 4:55and also out of it.
-
4:55 - 4:58We can use them in class, or outside class
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4:58 - 5:01and we can integrate
all the dots in our lives. -
5:01 - 5:05That's the idea and here's
the transformational value of yoga. -
5:05 - 5:10During class, one only listens
and practices what the teacher suggests. -
5:10 - 5:14But it is in our daily lives
that we can really see -
5:14 - 5:17that these tools will help us deal
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5:17 - 5:20with our emotions and stress
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5:21 - 5:23and how we deal with life.
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5:23 - 5:27I suppose you have an idea
about the many benefits. -
5:27 - 5:32Yoga helps relieve stress,
helps increase attention, -
5:32 - 5:34focus, concentration.
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5:34 - 5:37It gives us strength and physical health.
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5:37 - 5:40When we feel better
and stronger with our bodies -
5:40 - 5:44we will also feel stronger
with our self-esteem and our minds. -
5:44 - 5:49Our thoughts become clearer,
and so much more. -
5:49 - 5:55There are many case studies
of success worldwide. -
5:55 - 5:59I studied projects
in several states of the USA, -
6:00 - 6:03in China, in France,
and other countries of the EU. -
6:04 - 6:06The results are fantastic.
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6:07 - 6:11The idea was to bring yoga and meditation
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6:12 - 6:15as a practice to help
with social reinsertion, -
6:15 - 6:18to give a new perspective
on life to these people -
6:18 - 6:21who need to be in their
"compulsory retreat" -
6:21 - 6:24and help them realize
that they can change, -
6:24 - 6:28they can transform, and can do
something better with their lives. -
6:29 - 6:32Meditation helps us to see
things as they are -
6:32 - 6:37and yoga is, without a doubt,
the path to freedom -
6:37 - 6:40when we can see ourselves
as a whole being. -
6:41 - 6:42Thank you.
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6:42 - 6:44(Applause)
- Title:
- Yoga and meditation in Portuguese prisons | Inez Aires | TEDxPorto
- Description:
-
Practicing yoga is a powerful tool to restore the relationship of prisoners with their bodies and recover the connection between body, mind, and spirit. It aids the complete development of the individual, so as to increase self-conscience and, consequently, empathy with others. The intention is to establish a national program to involve a group of teachers of yoga and meditation to give weekly classes in Portuguese prisons to aid social reinsertion and physical and brain transformation.
Inez Aires was born in Porto, got a degree in Environmental Engineering (MSc) and is a PADI Rescue Diver. Her path in the physical arts started when she was four years old, in classical ballet, horse riding and sports gymnastics.
She found yoga in 1999 as a response to the many sports she used to practice and the intellectual demands of her degree. She studied Ashtanga and traditional and transformational Hatha Yoga. Always curious, she gets involved in Tai Chi, Qi Gong and Contemporary Dance. She learned, practiced and taught in Portugal and other countries.This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
- Video Language:
- Portuguese
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 06:52
Ivana Korom approved English subtitles for "Yoga" e meditação nas prisões portuguesas | Inez Aires | TEDxPorto | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for "Yoga" e meditação nas prisões portuguesas | Inez Aires | TEDxPorto | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for "Yoga" e meditação nas prisões portuguesas | Inez Aires | TEDxPorto | ||
Nuno Monteiro accepted English subtitles for "Yoga" e meditação nas prisões portuguesas | Inez Aires | TEDxPorto | ||
Nuno Monteiro edited English subtitles for "Yoga" e meditação nas prisões portuguesas | Inez Aires | TEDxPorto | ||
Norberto Amaral edited English subtitles for "Yoga" e meditação nas prisões portuguesas | Inez Aires | TEDxPorto | ||
Norberto Amaral edited English subtitles for "Yoga" e meditação nas prisões portuguesas | Inez Aires | TEDxPorto |