Yoga Practice with Prisoners: Brian Bergman at TEDx Westerford High School, Cape Town

Meet a man who goes to jail every week...but not for reasons you'd expect. For the past three years Cape Town yogi Brian Bergman has been visiting Pollsmoor, a high-security penitentiary, to give yoga lessons to the most hardened of inmates.

Founder of SevaUnite Prison Freedom Project, Brian speaks with optimism and passion about the value and potential of yoga as a rehabilitation tool and encourages us to view prisoners differently; to see them as having the potential to emit great light despite the dark place they currently inhabit.

He is passionate about the potential for personal growth that selfless service offers and the uplifting effects it has on society.

the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Intro animation by Luke Bell
Intro music by Al Bairre