Prisons often house those who have been through very traumatic experiences in their childhoods which have often been missed by society. A prison environment can be an intimidating and hostile place to visit, so taking time to give people safety and space to check in with themselves, enabling them to cope better is massively important.
Jackie Roberts has drawn on her extensive experience and training in mindfulness and other areas to work with prisoners and their families so they can deal with their emotions better, considering the difficult situations in which they find themselves.
Jackie has taught mindfulness to children and adults and during her time as a Nursery Owner, won ‘Best Nursery In Wales’ and ‘Best Director UK’ purely based on the support and wellbeing practices she promoted and encouraged with both staff and children, especially building emotional resilience for little ones from 0-5 years. This has proved a sound basis for the work she’s now doing in the prison. Jackie says:
“The activities I carry out within Prison are based around breathing techniques, managing emotions, mindful eating, gratitude and compassion. I have also completed 9 week courses within the Prison as well as interventions with families and children, during ‘You and Me’ club or family days.
“I have found the response from families, children and the prisoners positive, as they have been able to apply the skills and understanding to the circumstances in their lives at the present moment.
“The benefits have been quite significant. Some prisoners have completely come off their medication. Some have been able to manage their emotions well enough to be released or moved to Open Conditions. I created a group within Prison called ‘Wellness Within Walls’ which allows men a space to learn about their emotional health and well-being, as well as practice interventions and techniques to improve their own emotions but those of their children and families too.
“I would love to make an impact in areas which are sometimes ignored due to their nature. I know I have made an impact, but it is just me at the moment! I have gathered weekly progress data from the prisoners involved in the training, I have collected questionnaire responses to evaluate the impact and I have also used HeartMath technology, which has also shown the impact of Mindfulness and how it affects a person’s Heart Rate and emotional well-being.
“I have volunteered in a local school to teach a group of students the paws b course, which they loved, but schools have tight budgets and are reluctant to pay for such interventions, which I believe are important for our children”.
Jackie is hoping to continue and expand this work with mindfulness at its heart, supported by NLP, Havening, mBit, HeartMath, EFT, TFT plus other Neuro Science based techniques.
Her vision is Empowering Transformation one heartbeat at a time through her business Myriad Minds which stands for “Manifest Your Resilience Inwardly And Dynamically”.
Email: myriadminds@icloud.com
Facebook: Myriad Minds
Instagram: _myriad_minds
LinkedIn: Jackie Roberts