AbstractSome contemporary correctional facilities offer one of three kinds of meditative programs: transcendental meditation, mindfulness‐based stress reduction, and in‐facility Vipassana retreats. These rehabilitative efforts are transformative and seek to develop individual‐based self‐mastery. Inmates and prison staff report that participation in meditation programs enhances positive emotional states, develops a mechanism through which individuals can manage psychologically negative emotions, and builds a platform upon which a person can recognize their agency and potential to integrate into prosocial spaces. Consequently, prison meditation programs enhance inmate health, prison personnel well‐being, and institutional order, and promote positive re‐entry outcomes.
