Banner Health’s commitment to the community extends to inside the walls of Perryville women’s prison in Arizona, where a groundbreaking holistic healing program centered on art and yoga is changing lives.
Banner’s Community Reinvestment Program supports Art of Our Soul, a specialized therapeutic program founded by former news anchor Brandon Lee. The organization partners with the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry to help the most at-risk incarcerated women. Many have histories of trauma, substance use disorder, mental health challenges and violent offenses.
Art of Our Soul began at Perryville in 2024. With dedicated studio space inside the prison, women can participate in art therapy, yoga, breathwork and sound bowl healing -- a relaxation practice that uses acoustic vibrations from bowls to ease stress and anxiety.
The goal of the program is trauma recovery, mental health support and rehabilitation. The state prison system has made Art of Our Soul a priority in its efforts to rehabilitate inmates. Art of Our Soul also provides a health and wellness program for correctional officers.
The program is credited with helping reduce harmful behaviors within Perryville. There are fewer fights, fewer self-harm incidents, a decrease in mental health watches and fewer medical transports.
Banner’s investment also made possible the nation's first-ever 200-hour Trauma-Informed Yoga Teacher Training Certification Program inside a correctional facility, serving the women at Perryville. Trauma-informed yoga is a specialized approach that can reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Perryville Prison inmate Roxanne Lemons, 55, has seen the positive effects in herself and in other inmates. Lemons, serving a 15-year sentence, manages the Art of Our Soul studio inside the prison. Last year, she became a Certified Trauma-Informed Yoga instructor.
“We do yoga three times a week and we paint three times a week. The girls, they love it,” says Lemons, who also serves as a peer support specialist in the prison.
“Those who’ve never been there I encourage them to come at least once. Even those who never have done yoga, they come and they love it. They come in with a frown and leave with the biggest smile. It’s just a joy to see how the girls feel when they leave.”
Lemons says Art of Our Soul changed her in profound ways.
“It helped me with my patience. I can relate to more people. I didn’t have tolerance for a lot of these girls, but now I know it isn’t about me. We’re all going to go through something. Now I just listen to what they’re going through and that calms them down.”
Art of Our Soul founder Lee, a former Emmy Award winning news anchor for CBS News in Phoenix, was inspired to help trauma survivors by his own experiences with childhood trauma and mental health struggles.
“For a lot people who have experienced trauma, they experience a lot of depression and anxiety,” Lee says. “We found that after one art session, the women at Perryville were happier. They were smiling more, they were connecting and talking with other people and were more open during therapy sessions.”
Twenty-five women recently successfully completed the intensive certification program for teaching trauma-informed yoga.
Two graduates have transitioned back to the community after a combined 30 years of incarceration, and both secured employment as holistic healing yoga instructors.
Lemons, a mother of three adult children, hopes to do the same when she is released from prison.
“I’m going to be teaching yoga in the park or wherever I can teach it. I want to give back to the community,” she says. “Yoga is the greatest thing. It’s not about the poses, it’s about the relaxation and how it makes you feel when you’re done.”
Member Portal