San Quentin is one of the nation's most notorious maximum security prisons. But it is also known for an unusual inmate rehabilitation program. Insight-Out's Guiding Rage Into Power (GRIP) Program offers an in-depth journey into the participants' ability to understand and transform violent behavior, track and manage strong impulses, and replace these behaviors with an attitude of emotional intelligence. The year-long program enables men to "turn the stigma of being a violent offender into a badge of being a non-violent peacekeeper." Not only have many of the men transformed their own behavior, they have become "agents of change," people with skills to defuse conflicts around them. This 5 minute video offers a glimpse into the process.

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  • Michelle

    I think I need more information about the participants journey. I saw many pictures of inmates doing yoga, and the graduation, but what I need to see and be informed about is the deep substance of the project. thank you for this introduction. I will look at the website.

  • Rose

    It offers such hope for others, both inside and outside prison who have walked this troubled road...thank you for sharing your program. There is another way ....

  • Maira

    I am so incredibly moved I struggle to put it into words. SO beautiful!!! Hard core making the world a better place. Thanks for sharing it with us. And thank you very much for doing the work! Please keep at it. May you bless as many people as possible with your GRIP.

  • Brian

    Amen! The power of inner peace...starts with the heart...transformation is for all of us...Thank God for the program and may the new graduated leaders find joy in the peace they have built within...and pass it on!

  • Ursula

    This is fantastic! There is never any person who is beyond the healing power of love!

  • Susan

    Everything! This is the way to spend pennies and achieve amazingly positive results. I am so touched!

  • Marc

    Murder is one step further than some of the thoughts we have all had. The difference between rage and power really is what you do with it. I love what they are doing in this program. I wish more of us would watch this and realize that we don't have to be in prison for taking a life to need to examine our actions and reactions. Yes yoga Seneca, but let's keep going and realize the truth of this video applies to every one of us.

  • Denis Khan

    "Love courses through everything, No, Love is everything. How can you say, there is no love, when nothing but Love exists? All that you see has appeared because of Love. All shines from Love, All pulses with Love, All flows from Love-- No, once again, all IS Love!"-- Fakhruddin Iraki

  • Jenny Hardy

    This is very brave of these men. Why aren't we doing more of this stuff everywhere?

  • Marjolein

    What a power, love and beauty. It gave me a BIG smile!

  • T.L. Smith

    I usually steer clear of anything regarding prisons, probably because to me they seem like such hopeless places. What hope! What beauty! What true repair of the soul portrayed in this video. Thanks to all involved and heartfelt congratulations to the graduates of GRIP.

  • Joan Harrison

    I loved the line 'hurt people, hurt people' because that is what happens in life. When someone's hurting is understood it can lead them to great healing. I hope all of the people in this video go on to lead more inspiring lives as a result of what they have learned.

  • Jacqueline Stokes

    I am a life coach/Registered Nurse. I am always interested in what people are doing to make themselves aware of the only real change that is sustainable is the change that they make within themselves. Being responsibel for their own actions. This Video was truly a blessing. It brought tears to my eyes. Keep up the good work. God Bless you.

  • Jagdish P Dave

    Watching this heart touching and heart lifting video affirms and strengthens my conviction that at the core we all are good, God's children, and we all can be transformed by compassionate people and by us. Accepting our dark side, the shadow, and letting our heart be touched and connected with others by people who really care about us is healing on both sides-the "sinner" and the "sinned".This is the message of Jesus Christ, Buddha, Mahavir,Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and many other compassionate beings. We can make a radical shift from hate to love, cruelty to kindness, from darkness to light.As a parent, teacher and a counselor I see such shifts in me and others on a daily basis.I am enthused and inspired by watching such big changes by the power of the heart. Thanks for sharing such an uplifting and inspiring true story. Jagdish P Dave

  • gloria

    What a beautiful view of life and people. we all make mistakes. not all can admit to them. Certainly this is truly a healing process for all!

  • erin

    This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!!!

  • Kristin Pedemonti

    thank you for your much needed work. Yes, Hurt people, hurt people. To recognize this and see the human being beneath the layers and help them to peel back those layers to find peace is beautiful work. And the work begins with the heart. I do work with bullying and Always focus on Compassion & the Heart. Thank you! HUG from my heart to yours. Kristin

  • pat

    The warden is incorrect. I am the public and this interests me. I AM concerned with prisoner rehabilitation, which creates a better society, as is evidenced by this program. Someone finally gets it!

  • Rita Andriello

    Thank you for your good work. I also work with inmates, using the labyrinth as a meditation tool for inner awareness...It is amazing how it helps them to realize they are more than what they are experiencing.

  • Janece

    This is SO inspiring! My hope is that more programs like this will be implemented in prisons throughout the U.S. What a change that would make! Kudos to those who are conducting this wonderful program.

  • Janece

    This is SO inspiring! My hope is that more programs like this will be implemented in prisons throughout the U.S. What a change that would make! Kudos to those who are conducting this wonderful program.

  • Liz

    This is so timely for me. My family is currently writing letters to the Judge that will be sentencing my nephew's 15 year-old killer. I have been struggling with the fact that the most time this kid will get is another 50 years. It sounds like a lot of time but that puts him out at 65 years old. He going in an angry young man and will probably come out an angrier older man. But not old enough to be deemed useless. He can still act out on his anger at age 65. What else do I ask the Judge to do. Anger management in prison sounds like a no-brainer - in any form. I may just forward this video to the Judge.

  • Seneca Sim

    This is amazing. I knew it would work! I tried to volunteer to teach yoga to a juvenile hall in the SF Bay East Bay 7 years ago and was simply laughed at. I worked with juveniles in a mental health center and had never seen anything work as well as yoga and meditation techniques. I am so happy with this wonderful project! I did a volunteer class in a public school during lunch time for students and the class via word-of-mouth was packed to the brim. The kids stayed out of trouble and focused better. Of course when I began this most of the kids were in it so they could get away from bullies in the cafeteria and playground, but their confidences bloomed and then some of the kids invited the "bullies" to join. It was a popular class, full to the brim, with a waiting list. The number one thing I kept hearing was it was the only time they felt like they were taught how to get inner peace in a crazy world. I was only surprised to hear from the so-called bullies, that they were more compassionate and able to control their anger. I can name countless stories of transformation, miracles to some of the families! I can totally see how this would work for the SQ inmates. Just think how mindful this country could be if everyone did yoga?

  • Page 1

  • Watch this PBS video for an in-depth look at the Guiding Rage Into Power (GRIP) Program, highlighting the spiritual underpinnings of the program.
  • Learn more about Insight-Out, an NGO that organizes initiatives that create personal and systemic change to transform violence and suffering into opportunities for learning and healing. 
  • Make a resolution this week to become aware of your repsonse to irritating or frustrating situations. What is happening inside of you? Before you react, breathe to a slow count of 21 and  then consider your response.

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