Anneke Lucas & Liberation Prison Yoga: A Spiritual Revolution
Thirty years after escaping from a child sex trafficking network in Belgium - Anneke Lucas has arrived triumphant and whole, compassionate and hopeful. Her voice is brave and honest as she speaks about her years trapped in the dark underbelly of the world’s power society, the lethal residue of shame and guilt, the techniques the body and mind take on to survive. Her long healing journey has delivered her into a place of action and a clear-eyed, hard won understanding of the tied lineage between abusers and abused. To give herself “a purpose in dark times” Anneke created Liberation Prison Yoga - a program that takes trained teachers of trauma-conscious yoga, meditation and mindfulness into prisons, altering the form of the class to create a safe setting that encourages mind/body/heart integration. “Our work is to remain humble, to share from the heart, we are not there to fix people,” Anneke says, adding “When I was in the network I always wanted somebody to come in and give me hope ~ I wished that someone from the outside would have come in and said ~ ‘I know where you are, I know it’s hard, but here’s hope ~ because I’ve been there and I’m out.’” This is her clarion call; through her story and her actions she is giving hope to others, and in response hearts are opening with sweet love and genuine gratitude. A spiritual revolution indeed.
Meet This Episode's Guest
Photo credit: www.annekelucas.com
Anneke Lucas
“If you’re a survivor, I just want to acknowledge that you are a pioneer, brave beyond words, and I would like to encourage you to recognize this and be extremely kind to yourself, because you are walking this path not just for you today, but for the future of humanity.”
— Anneke Lucas
Anneke Lucas founded Liberation Prison Yoga in 2014. As a survivor of child sex trafficking and extreme violence, she used elements of her own healing journey to develop programs based on how she would have wished to be treated in her young adult life. A close analysis of those people who were able to get through to her when she was shut down by trauma forms the cornerstone of LPY’s philosophy – for Liberation teachers to become those people; aware and unconditionally present for their students.
Anneke is an advocate for sex trafficking survivors and also speaks on the subject. She is writing a book about her healing journey, Seeds Beneath the Snow: Post Traumatic Growth and Purpose in Dark Times represented by Sam Hiyate at The Rights Factory.
Read more about Anneke's story on her website and learn more about Liberation Prison Yoga here!