About us

Who we are, where we started, and where we're headed.

Goals and Objectives

To promote and advance the physical, mental, and spiritual development of people in prison across Canada through yoga and meditation.
To support and equip the teachers who bring these programs into correctional facilities.

Support Our Work

History of Freeing the Human Spirit

Our Beginnings

Sister Elaine MacInnes (1924–2022) founded Freeing the Human Spirit in 2003, drawing on three decades as a Catholic nun in the Orient, where she became a passionate advocate for yoga and meditation among prisoners — from political prisoners in the Philippines to the UK’s Prison Phoenix Trust, where actor Jeremy Irons, a close friend and admirer, served as patron. An accredited Zen teacher and Officer of the Order of Canada, she built FTHS into 28 prisons across Southern Ontario before retiring in 2013. Sister Elaine passed away in November 2022 at the age of 98. In the years since her retirement, a small group of dedicated teachers has worked to rebuild and revitalize the program she began, restoring classes across the country and carrying her mission forward.

History of Freeing the Human Spirit

A Period of Change

In 2013, seeking the best possible means to carry on and expand the good work to more prisons in more regions, she handed the reins over to the John Howard Society (‘JHS’), who saw an opportunity to support a positive program that fell within its mission to deliver ‘effective, just and humane responses to the causes and consequences of crime’. Further, the organizational infrastructure and breadth of operation of JHS would permit an efficient expansion of the program beyond its Southern Ontario base.

Sadly, the loss of Sister MacInnes’ advocacy and passion; volunteer fatigue; and the organizational challenges and costs of the FTHS program, led to a deterioration in the breadth of the FTHS services from 2013 to early 2019.

However, there continues to be service delivery of meditation and yoga in a variety of institutions, both in association with FTHS/JHS but also services initiated under FTHS but now delivered rather independently by those teachers who started with FTHS some time ago, but who have lost the connection to FTHS. A comprehensive reach-out to those volunteer teachers has generated a widespread enthusiasm and encouragement to rebuild the organization.

History of Freeing the Human Spirit

Time for Revitalization

Two new teachers of the meditation and yoga program in prison, are Richard Boadway and Dan de Luis. Richard is a zen practitioner and a recently certified yoga teacher. Dan is a professional yoga and Wim Hof teacher. Together, they began teaching in three Kingston-area federal penitentiaries-Bath, Millhaven and Joyceville. They were struck by the thankfulness of the inmates and their dedication to practice.

President’s Letter

A bit about the team

Organization

Richard and Dan became passionate about the mission of bringing the benefits of teaching yoga and meditation to more inmates across Canada through the reinvigoration of purpose and enthusiasm in FTHS. Richard spoke to several inmates, teachers, chaplains and to Sister Elaine before preparing a business plan for a renewed FTHS. This plan was presented at a meeting of the board of FTHS on April 2, 2019 and the board agreed to present a new board slate at the ensuing Annual General Meeting on the same date. On April 23, 2019, the new board met and appointed Richard as its President and Chair.

The new board draws on the experience of its members in yoga, meditation, wellness and criminal justice. Three board members with experience in criminal justice, both at FTHS and the John Howard Society (‘JHS’), remained on the board: Catherine Latimer, Janis Aitken, and Pamela Smith-Gander. Other new members in addition to Richard and Dan, have since been added.