– Aoom.– Aoom.– Aoom. 10 young people sit in the lotus position with their hands together in front of their chests, on a grassy area below the Nøsen yoga and mountain hotel. The mantra they hum marks the entrance to the day’s second yoga session in the clear September air. – For me, it’s about finding peace within myself. The values that really mean something to people, the way I see it. That it’s not bling and money and status and all that. Ørjan is serving his sentence at a yoga hotel. Ørjan has a body full of tattoos. A lot of drugs and crime have made life difficult. He also has several judgments. He is now serving a sentence for biting one police officer and kicking another during an arrest. He is also convicted of drunk driving and drug possession. UTEYOGA: Skogshorn mountain in the background in the direction of Hemsedal. Photo: Knut Are Tornås Because he has followed the yoga lessons during his sentence, he has now been given the opportunity to serve the last three months of his sentence of two years and three months, here at the yoga hotel. The yoga has also given him an idea of what he can do when he has finished serving his sentence. Serving time outside prison Sometimes all or part of the sentence can be served in an institution. It could be, for example, a drug treatment institution, a nursing home or a yoga hotel. Presupposes that the person serving time has special needs, it can be done in a safe way and contribute to the inmate wanting to stop criminality. The institution is closely monitored. If, for example, the person serving time breaks the parole rules, he can be sent back to prison. There are around 350 people who complete section 12 probation in the course of a year. By comparison, there are around 3,200 inmates in Norwegian prisons at any given time. Called section 12 sentencing because it is mentioned in section 12 of the Execution of Sentences Act. Source: Directorate of Prisons and Probation Gangsteryoga Alexander Medin is the founder of the yoga offer and believes this type of training gives good results for both drug addicts and criminals because it makes the individual responsible: – There is nothing glamorous about being a gangster, there is nothing cool about being a drug addict. When you have tried everything and nothing works, for those who are able to turn their attention inward and realize that it is I who must make a difference, I am the one in charge of my life, I cannot blame anyone else; Then yoga becomes a tool that creates change. SUPPORT PLAYER: Founder of gangster yoga, Alexander Medin with Ørjan after the yoga session. Photo: Ola Hana In addition to the yoga training, the participants receive talk therapy, living and work training. Director of the Directorate of Correctional Services, Heidi Bottolfs is impressed by the results they can show at the yoga hotel and says that all the four or five convicts they have had at the hotel so far have completed their stay without violations and no one has committed a new crime. – But some will react to prisoners being allowed to serve time in a yoga hotel. What do you say to that? – We must meet convicts where the convicts have a need, as long as it is justifiable in terms of security. We have very good results with Section 12 sentencing, Bottollfs replies. There are around 350 people who complete section 12 probation in the course of a year. By comparison, there are around 3,200 inmates in Norwegian prisons at any given time. IMPRESSED: Heidi Bottolfs in the Directorate of Correctional Services says they see good results from Section 12 sentencing. Photo: Trygve Indrelid Those who serve time are followed closely by the correctional service, even if the time is spent outside prison. In the event of a breach of the leave rules, they will be returned to prison. The project also receives support from the Conflict Council and Oslo Municipality. In addition, the Directorate of Health has contributed 2.5 million this year: – They reach many participants throughout the country and they collaborate with both municipalities and the voluntary sector across the country and they show good results and a good user experience for the users, says department director in the Directorate of Health, Elise Husum. Meeting yourself on the mat – Eeeen. – Tooooo. – Treee. – Fiiire. – And five. DEMANDING EXERCISES: Stian Rysjedal leads the weekly yoga class for “Back in the Ring” Stian Rysjedal gets the most out of the participants at the afternoon yoga session in central Stavanger. Several of the participants have experience with drugs and crime. The training is run by the foundation “Back in the Ring”, which is based in 25 Norwegian cities. They are for “people who want to make a comeback in life”, as Stian has also done. In 2015, he was so down that he had given up on life completely and thought he had to have the drug to feel good. By chance he came across yoga and was allowed to stay for a longer period at the yoga hotel on Nøsen. – After a yoga practice, I suddenly felt that life was worth living. I wanted to live and I wanted to be drug free. So then a light or hope lit up in my life that; I want more of this. DEDICATED: Stian Rysjedal has tattooed his comeback in life on his left arm. He now has a permanent job in Stavanger municipality, where he conducts outreach work with people with substance abuse and psychiatric problems. At the same time, he is active in “Back in the Ring” and has yoga lessons every week. It was also Stian who advised Ørjan that yoga could be a way out, also for him. – You meet yourself on the mat, in challenging positions. It is demanding. People who have struggled with drug addiction and had a lot of shame in their lives, they know that the shame goes away after a yoga practice. That they know that they can have a good feeling and that life will be good. STAVANGER: “The warrior” is the name of this yoga exercise. Yoga as a method Back at the mountain hotel, Ørjan doesn’t quite know what to think about the future. However, he wants to learn more about yoga: – If there is chaos and stress in everyday life, then I can use yoga. And ground me. I am much stronger now than I was and have many more supporters. He hopes that one day he himself can work on teaching others the practice. – Don’t know how it will turn out. But, in any case, I will continue with yoga. Then we’ll see what happens. FUTURE: Ørjan wants to immerse himself in yoga and perhaps be able to teach it to others himself.
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Ørjan is serving his sentence at a yoga hotel
