Billy Bannon – PYP Los Angeles
Billy Bannon (CYT-500) has been facilitating Yoga & Meditation programs in prisons since 2015. He has led classes at prisons across Southern California – as well as in Uganda – and helped to establish PYP’s Los Angeles Chapter, where he currently serves as PYP-LA’s Program Director. Billy has a passion for community service, social justice and sharing the teachings of yoga with system-impacted populations.
Billy began facilitating yoga practices with the Prison Education Project and has had the opportunity to serve at California Institution for Women, California Rehabilitation Center, Calipatria State Prison, Santa Fe Springs CCTRP as well as Luzira Men’s Prison and Luzira Women’s Prison in Kampala, Uganda.
Billy is also a musician and a teaching artist for Give a Beat, leading DJ workshops for incarcerated as well as formerly incarcerated students. A former college basketball coach turned yogi, he enjoyed a 17-year coaching career where he made a positive impact on countless student-athletes and served as the associate head coach for Cal Poly Pomona’s 2010 NCAA DII Men’s Basketball National Champions. Born and raised outside of Boston, MA, Billy attended Fordham University (Bronx, NY) where he earned his BA in English and played tight end on the football team.
“Yoga is like music: the rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind, and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life.” – B.K.S. Iyengar
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin