Almost two million adults are currently incarcerated in America.
Many of them are suffering from trauma, unable to receive support, facing an 80% chance of re-incarceration. This comes at an annual cost of $55 billion to governments, or five times what’s allocated for K-12 education.
What if one thing could begin to shift the equation?
What if we could help break the cycle of re-incarceration by reducing the suffering of those inside the system?
We believe meditation is that one thing.
We provide Meditation training for incarcerated people, formerly incarcerated people and Corrections Officers.
Evidence shows meditation has the power to help heal trauma and release toxic stress, contributing to reduced recidivism.
Let’s light the way for change together.
The Light Inside offers a sustainable and scalable solution through meditation, working from the inside out to equip incarcerated people with a simple mental technique to calm the mind, relax the body, and dissolve the lifetime of stress and trauma many have suffered.
This work paves the way for change at the individual level to create a safer and more harmonious environment at the system level, decreasing the likelihood of re-offending.
Only light can remove darkness.
The Light Inside on TV
Founder Joh Jarvis and The Light Inside were recently featured on Australian television network Channel 10’s The Sunday Project.
THE CYCLE OF INCARCERATION
BY THE NUMBERS
30-60%
The link between trauma and behavior has been well established. A 2014 study found 30-60% of men in state prisons suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, compared to 3-6% of the general male population. Wolff, Huening, Shi, and Frueh, 2014.
56-82%
The rates of sexual violence victimization are so high for incarcerated women that some researchers suggest sexual abuse may be a pathway to prison for women, likely through the development of mental illness, including substance abuse. Karlsson and Zielinski, April 16, 2018
500%
The number of incarcerated people in the US has increased by 500% over the last 40 years, mainly due to changes in sentencing law and policy, not changes in crime rates. These trends have resulted in prison overcrowding and financial burdens on state penal systems, despite increasing evidence that large-scale incarceration is not an effective means of achieving public safety. The Sentencing Project,
Step Inside The Circle is an initiative created by the Compassion Prison Project. The program highlights the impact of adverse childhood experiences and the flow-on effect to society. The project stresses the importance of care, not punishment, in healing.
Without tools to release the embodied stress accumulated by past trauma and foster lasting mind-body change, detainees are statistically more likely to be re-incarcerated.
LET’S END THE CYCLE.
WHO DOES IT AFFECT?
Resolution of the inner conflicts that can determine human behavior benefits not only those who learn meditation, but those around them.
While 1 in 100 Americans is currently incarcerated, this cycle affects 100 out of 100 Americans every day.
Both incarcerated people and corrections staff face the risk of violence and emotional distress daily.
Their families and loved ones worry about them
Their children are at higher risk of developing psychological distress.
Governments struggle with resources.
The national average cost of incarceration for one inmate is $65,000/year.
The annual cost of incarceration for one inmate in Rikers Island was $556,539 in 2021.
There isn’t a single person in this country unaffected by this cycle.
SUPPORT THE LIGHT INSIDE
TAKE ACTION TODAY
Help reduce the suffering of the incarcerated.
Help relieve the workplace stress of corrections staff.
Help shape the system for the better.
Help disrupt the cycle of recidivism.
Donate to The Light Inside
Bring The Light Inside to your facility
THE PROGRAM
LEARN TO MEDITATE
A four-class course in Vedic Meditation
In only 90 minutes per day over 4 consecutive days, the expert teachers at The Light Inside can train incarcerated people, staff and administrators in Vedic Meditation.
The training fosters self-sufficiency so those who’ve completed the program can continue practicing the simple, effortless technique on their own thereafter.
As the grip of stress and trauma unwinds, a deep inward calm sets in, decreasing reactivity and hostility and increasing capacity for patience and reflection.
THE BENEFITS
Reduced anxiety, depression
Reduced anger and raging
Improved mood and outlook
Less impulsivity and greater patience
Reduced risk of heart disease
Normalization of blood pressure
Relief from insomnia
THE RESEARCH
Science is increasingly confirming the benefits of meditation.
Scientific American and Time Magazine have reported on the most recent key findings.
MEET OUR TEAM
TLI teachers have been expertly trained for 2,000+ hours in Vedic Meditation practice and theory.
WORKING WITH
Joh Jarvis
FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Joh Jarvis is a New York City–based Vedic Meditation teacher who has brought transformative meditation programs into some of the most high-stress and complex environments in the U.S. corrections system. Since 2020, she has led immersive, multi-day meditation trainings inside the Rikers Island jail complex—one of the largest and most challenging jail systems in the country. She has delivered similarly comprehensive programs at the North Dakota State Penitentiary, James River Correctional Center, and Heart River Correctional Center for women, working closely not only with incarcerated residents but also with correctional officers, senior staff, and wardens.
Through these programs, Joh has taught hundreds of people within the prison system how to access inner stillness and release the deep stress that fuels anger, grief, and emotional disconnection.
In 2021, she founded The Light Inside, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to meditation for incarcerated individuals and correctional staff across the U.S. Her mission is rooted in the belief that inner transformation is possible for everyone—and that meditation can be a powerful catalyst for healing and change, even in the most unlikely places.
Before dedicating her life to teaching meditation, Joh spent 23 years in the media industry. As a Senior Executive, Executive Producer, and journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, she led national radio networks, award-winning current affairs programs, and large teams of journalists and content creators. Her background in fast-paced, high-pressure environments gives her a deep, firsthand understanding of stress—and the tools needed to move beyond it.
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I began practicing Vedic Meditation in 2006 as a stressed-out media executive, and I haven’t looked back since. This ancient technique has given me access to levels of clarity, creativity, and happiness I never imagined possible.
These qualities lie within all of us—it’s simply a matter of allowing them to emerge. Vedic Meditation works by releasing deeply embedded stress from the nervous system, enabling the mind to settle into peaceful, expansive layers of awareness.
In 2013, I began teaching this simple yet powerful technique in my home country, Australia. After relocating to New York City in late 2015, I continued to teach—eventually bringing the practice into Rikers Island jail. Just before the Covid-19 pandemic, I began volunteering with men in the maximum-security mental health observation unit. My motivation was clear: to share a life-changing technique with people who would otherwise never have access to it.
Before the pandemic temporarily shut down volunteer programs, I had trained 20 men—and I knew this work was only just beginning.
During lockdown, I began planning how to share the benefits of Vedic Meditation more broadly. In 2021, I founded The Light Inside with a mission to bring meditation to corrections facilities across the United States—offering training to both incarcerated people and corrections staff.
Any workplace or home where people meditate becomes calmer and more harmonious. The same can be true for correctional environments. Meditation benefits individuals, but also has the power to shift the collective. When people leave prison equipped with tools like Vedic Meditation, the ripple effects can extend to their families, communities, and beyond.
By helping resolve the inner conflicts that drive destructive behavior, meditation becomes a tool for healing—not just for the individual, but for the wider society.
As of early 2024, The Light Inside has trained nearly 200 incarcerated individuals and corrections staff across New York and North Dakota.
We are actively seeking support to expand this work.
If you are a corrections representative, I would love to speak with you about how meditation can benefit your facility.
If you’re interested in supporting our mission financially, we would welcome your contribution.
Please use the links on this page to contact us, sign up for our newsletter, or make a donation.
The Light Inside Advisory Board
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Rev. Dr. Michelle Anne Simmons
Rev. Simmons is the Founder and Executive Director of Philadelphia-based Why Not Prosper, Inc., an organization helping previously incarcerated women smoothly transition back into society after their release from incarceration. She established Why Not Prosper in 2001 after living through much adversity, including being incarcerated herself. Through her experiences she was inspired to turn her life around and help others.
In the past 20 years, Rev. Simmons has dedicated thousands of hours of volunteer service to help disenfranchised people through prison outreach, missionary work, and mentorship.
In 2015, Rev. Simmons received a full and unconditional pardon for her earlier conviction.
Rev. Simmons practices Vedic Meditation and in 2022 attended a four-day intensive Vedic Meditation retreat in the Blue Mountains, Australia.
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Suzanne Tick
Suzanne Tick is a Vedic Meditation teacher, CEO, textile designer and weaver in New York City. She is the Creative Director at Luum Textiles and Design Partner with Skyline Design. She has dedicated thousands of hours volunteering with myriad nonprofits and community organizations, such as The New Shul, The Fetzer Institute, and God's Love We Deliver.
Suzanne Tick Inc. operates out of Tick Studio in NYC’s East Village and is a NYC-certified Women Owned Business.
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Robert Hammond
Robert Hammond is a Vedic Meditation teacher and Co-Founder and former Executive Director of the High Line NYC, where he led the transformation of an abandoned elevated railway line in Manhattan into an iconic urban park.
Robert has served as a consultant or advisor to many companies and organizations, including the Times Square Alliance, Alliance for the Arts, and the National Cooperative Bank. He currently serves on the boards of Little Island, Grounded Solutions Network, and the San Antonio Museum of Art. He is President and Chief Strategy Officer at Therme Group, North America.
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Nicho Plowman
Nicho Plowman is a Vedic Meditation teacher and the co-founder of Insight Timer, one of the largest global online mental health communities in the world, with more than 20 million users, including teachers, spiritual leaders, and meditators.
Nicho is an investor and advisor to a number of companies and projects in the well-being sector.
Through his foundation, Bay of Grace, Nicho is primarily focused on supporting education programs that bridge the cultural divide between non-indigenous teenagers and indigenous communities in Australia.
SUPPORT THE LIGHT INSIDE
TAKE ACTION TODAY
Help reduce the suffering of the incarcerated.
Help relieve the workplace stress of corrections staff.
Help shape the system for the better.
Help disrupt the cycle of recidivism.