Low Reincarceration Rate Associated with Ananda Marga Yoga and Meditation

Abstract

Ananda Marga (AM) Yoga was taught to male inmates at Wake Correctional Center in Raleigh, NC. A five-year study of 190 inmates found that those who were taught Ananda Marga (AM) Yoga were significantly less likely to be reincarcerated upon release. Subjects were divided into two groups, those who attended at least one, but less than four classes, and those who attended more than four classes. Differences in reincarceration rates between these two groups during a two-year post-release period were striking. Of those who attended more than four classes, 8.5% were reincarcerated, while 25.2% of those who attended fewer than four classes were reincarcerated during this same period. This difference was found to be statistically significant at the 0.025 level.