A Systematic Review of Literature: Alternative Offender Rehabilitation-Prison Yoga, Mindfulness, and Meditation

Abstract

For years, jails and prisons have been looking for ways to lower their health care costs. In addition, they have been looking for ways to reduce violence behind walls and reduce recidivism rates postrelease. Recently, criminological research has shined light on the use of alternative rehabilitation to help inmates cope with prison life, improve their overall health, and rehabilitate. Some of these techniques include yoga, mindfulness, and meditation. This article discusses the impact of these techniques in the criminal justice system, highlights the major findings, and identifies the gaps needed to be filled by future researchers.

Keywords: health care cost; meditation; mindfulness; recidivism; rehabilitation; yoga.