On this episode of Everyday Injustice, host David Greenwald speaks with Doreena Durbin, founder of a transformative prison meditation program in Texas. A former musician turned meditation teacher, Durbin’s path has been as unconventional as it is inspiring. Her book, An Inner Life: Freedom Is Found Within, and her work behind prison walls share a single message — that peace and self-understanding can take root even in the most unlikely places.

Durbin began teaching meditation in Texas prisons after decades of studying and teaching wellness and mindfulness. “I walked into a room of 200 men and thought—this is the perfect place for me,” she recalls. What began as a small idea grew into a program that now reaches hundreds. Though her work was paused by the pandemic, it has since flourished, offering participants breathing and mindfulness techniques that help them navigate anger, fear, and conflict. “They don’t have to do it long to get the benefits,” she says. “It gives them something no one can take away.”

Greenwald and Durbin discuss how meditation changes not only the people practicing it, but also those who teach it. “Every time I go in, it changes me too,” Durbin reflects. She describes how the men she works with are learning to let go of old patterns, find compassion, and develop awareness that transforms their interactions inside and outside of prison. Some continue their practice after release, teaching the same methods to family members and children.

Durbin’s work also exposes the limits of a system focused on punishment rather than healing. “It’s not about punishment—it’s about rehabilitation,” she says. Her program brings a rare kind of stillness to a place defined by noise and control, proving that the path to peace—and even freedom—can begin in the quiet of one’s own breath.

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