Empowered people. Connected minds. Transformed lives.

Transformation Yoga Project is committed to increasing access to trauma-sensitive yoga among communities impacted by trauma, addiction, and incarceration.

We know that mindfulness-based practices build resilience in the face of life’s challenges, and are focused on serving populations in the Greater Philadelphia area. Our highly-trained instructors offer a breath-centered yoga practice based on proven methods to decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression, activate the relaxation response, lower blood pressure, and reduce stress. 

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, TYP facilitated classes and workshops that served thousands of people in stated prisons, federal prisons, county jails, juvenile detention centers, alternative high schools and court diversion programs, residential recovery treatment centers, PHP and IOP programs, behavioral health settings, collegiate recovery clubs, and schools in underserved districts. We are currently recalibrating to determine how we can best continue to serve.

Founded in 2013, Transformation Yoga Project has offered classes at prisons, reentry centers, in-patient recovery centers, sober living homes, juvenile detention centers, foster care residences and alternative schools. TYP’s trainings have educated hundreds of area yoga instructors, educators, social workers, and therapists about trauma’s impact on the body and the proven benefits of yoga to build resilience. We’ve worked with over 65 institutions, including the Philadelphia Department of Prisons, the PA State Correctional Institutions at Phoenix and Chester, and the Baylor (DE) State Correctional Institution. TYP received national recognition for its pioneering 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training, a six-month study of yoga and practices that provided teaching certification to men residing at State Correctional Institutions Chester and Phoenix.

TYP’s educational service includes two books: Yoga for Recovery: A Practical Guide for Healing, a practical guide to maintain or create a home-based yoga practice; and Going Om: A CEO’s Self-Discovery Behind Bars, a behind-the-scenes look at life in a men’s correctional facility that reveals the immediate need for prison reform, and the inspiration behind TYP’s founding and vision.

TYP’s core vision and values are enumerated on our here, centering on our belief in the unlimited potential inherent in all individuals and communities: 

• We believe in people.
• We believe in the unlimited capacity of individuals and the radical possibilities of community.
• We envision liberation, justice, and compassion for each of us and all of us together.

Latest News from Transformation Yoga Project

January 2022: TYP releases its 2021 Year-End Report. Highlights include: the distribution of $250,000 to friend and partner organizations, mentorship and distribution of materials to 23 organizations nationwide, continued programming throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, educational, recovery, and behavioral health program creation and support, and a return to in-person programming at state prison.

December 15, 2021: We recalibrated in order to still be of service, and will not be sundowning at the end of the year. Please take a moment to read our updated recent announcement on this exciting news.

May 10, 2021: Please take a moment to read about our recent announcement on our decision to release our remaining assets to fund national and local organizations that will continue our mission of furthering trauma-sensitive yoga classes, mindfulness, and training.

December 20, 2020: Transformation Yoga Project elects Nicole Anderson as Board President, replacing Founder Michael Huggins. View Nicole’s bio here.

April 2020: Transformation Yoga Project donates $30,000 to Philadelphia-based organizations providing front-line support during the Covid19 crisis.

February 2020: TYP releases its 2019 Annual Report. Highlights include: 24,000 participants in attendance, 3,300 classes throughout Greater Philadelphia and Delaware, 65 program partners, over 500 donors, a 10-person team and a roster of 59 dedicated contract instructors.

Contacts:

Nicole Anderson, Board President
nicoleanderson251@gmail.com

Mike Huggins, Founder
mike@transformationyogaproject.org