James Fox
James Fox
William "James" Foxis an English actor...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth19 May 1939
energy moments awake
If you are deeply connected with yourself, with your energy, staying awake to yourself in the moment, other prisoners tend to leave you alone.
trying awareness intense
Intense asana practice - too much, too soon - can have detrimental effects. It can also promote a dissociation from the personal sensitivity and self awareness that I am trying to encourage. I don't want to contribute to furthering physical or psychological trauma.
strong growing-up mean
The code that most prisoners live by is an extension of the masculine roles they were taught growing up, how they were conditioned about what it means to be a man: you've got to be strong, you've got to be tough, you've got to be in charge.
sadness feelings weakness
Sensitivity is equated with weakness. Feelings are for women. It's OK to express happiness or anger, but it's not OK to feel fear or sadness. This gets exaggerated in prison.
consciousness painful segregation
When you're on the yard, prisoner politics dictate that you only socialize with your own race. If you fraternize with other races, you can get taught a painful lesson. And there are inmates with a level of consciousness who feel it's their duty to enforce this segregation.
yoga african-american separation
Yoga class is intimate even just from the standpoint of taking off your socks. Exposing your bare feet can be a big deal. You may be an African American next to a Caucasian or a Latino. But once practice begins and we drop in, separation dissolves.
important prison sixth-sense
I'm not fearful by nature, but I am vigilant. When you walk into a prison, it's important that a sixth sense kicks in.
teacher stress yoga
Ninety percent of what most yoga teachers do is teach asana practice. While asana discharges stress and so forth, it was never intended to be a standalone practice. The true intent of yoga is personal transformation. What we get out of the privilege of teaching prisoners is the opportunity to focus on our own personal development. You can be of service, and, while helping others transform their lives, you have the deeper opportunity to transform your own. What we teach in prison is how we live our lives.
punishment despair absence
It is the absence of hope, which equals the despair that is the punishment.
philosophy real moving
When I teach a new group of students, I introduce some yoga philosophy, but I don't overload them with information. Just enough so they understand the real tradition behind this ancient practice and that it's not a stretching class. Guys come in and they're a little nervous. I tell them that when they cross the threshold of the door, they're crossing to a different dimension. They're moving from an externally-oriented reality to an internally-oriented one.
self giving thank-god
You will surely smile with me when I say, 'Thank God one can still recognise self-pity as such and not give it any greater dignity than just that.
people assumption made
There's often an assumption you're more privileged if you belong to a family with people who have made a success.
mother loving-life wife
Childhood is so important. Without a loving one, you're vulnerable throughout your life. We're all the things our parents are - the good and the not so good. Thankfully, I have a wonderful wife who's a brilliant mother.
draw drinking games leading longer nighttime period tend
In nighttime games, there's a much longer drinking period leading up to the game. The clientele going to day games is different than at night. Day games tend to draw more families.