By Elizabeth Davies
The Independent UK
Relax. Breathe deeply. And feel your blood pressure rise. A Norwegian prison has had to abandon yoga classes after finding that, instead of helping inmates contain their anxieties, many became more aggressive and agitated.
The sessions were introduced on a trial basis earlier this year for eight prisoners at the high-security Ringerike prison, home to some of the country's most dangerous criminals, in a bid to help them keep their anger in check.
But instead of calming them down, the specialised breathing and meditation involved in yoga served to wind them up, explained the prison director Sigbjo"rn Hagen.
"The reactions we received from the prisoners who participated in the classes were very varied, ranging from completely positive to completely negative," he wrote in a letter addressed to the group in charge of the yoga project.
On the negative side, Mr Hagen said, learning the ancient Indian routine - designed to harmonise mind, body and spirit - had provoked "strong reactions: agitation, aggression, irritability, trouble sleeping and mental confusion".
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