RENO -- Yoga is being used as a tool for women inmates at the Washoe County Sheriff's Office to manage stress, anger and other emotions.

Around the world, yoga is used for everything from meditation to weight loss. Now, the Washoe County Sheriffs Office is using Asana yoga classes, taught by volunteers, to help women in the custody of the Detention Facility manage stress, anger and other emotions in the hopes that it will prevent actions that could lead them back to jail.

Twice a month, on Saturday afternoons, volunteers facilitate yoga classes for eligible women in custody at the Detention Facility. The classes focus on teaching skills such as breathing exercises and yoga positions known as asanas to help improve individual well-being through the interconnection of mind, body, emotions and spirit.

Recent studies show that women who participate in yoga classes showed significant improvement in emotional control and their ability to calm themselves, the Sheriffs Alternatives to Incarceration Unit Program Coordinator Brooke Howard said. Yoga can also provide a great amount of confidence building while helping women to rejuvenate their mind and body from the trauma of physical, mental, emotional, and verbal abuse.

Howard said the yoga classes are part of the Alternatives to Incarceration Units Womens Empowerment Program. The program focuses on empowering women with skills that they can use to meet the challenges of their daily lives after release from the Detention Facility.

The Womens Empowerment Program is all about giving women skills that can help them make more rational and levelheaded decisions when faced with stressful and emotional situations, decisions that could prevent them from going down a path that leads back to jail, Howard said.

Because the yoga classes are facilitated by volunteers, they are offered at no cost to the County or the taxpayer. Howard said she plans to monitor the participants recidivism rate over the next several years to help determine the programs success.

Womens yoga classes take place at the Washoe County Detention Facility from 1:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. The next scheduled class is this Saturday, July 28, 2012. Sheriffs Office Alternatives to Incarceration Unit Program Coordinator Brooke Howard will be available to speak with media about the program.

Womens Empowerment Workshops at the Washoe County Sheriffs Detention Facility are offered as part of the Sheriffs Alternatives to Incarceration Unit. These programs are aimed at diverting qualified offenders away from costly incarceration and provide a second chance to those who have committed less serious offenses.

The goal of the Sheriffs Office Alternatives to Incarceration Unit is to provide programs that help inmates take steps to make significant changes in their lives. That change is what will reduce recidivism, reduce the amount of money spent by tax payers to house an inmate, and reduce the cycle of criminal behavior for the next generation.

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Yoga classes offered in jail to women prisoners