The Prison You Didn’t Know You Were In — And How to Escape It
“If a prisoner wants to escape, what’s the first thing they need to know?” - Rev. Serenity Tedesco
Before you can find your way out, you have to realize you're trapped.
This sounds obvious—but most of us are sleepwalking in a cage we don’t know exists.
During one of our recent classes at Yoga Mārga School, we shared a riddle with students:
“If a prisoner wants to escape, what’s the first thing they need to know?”
Some said: “They need to know the map.”
Others: “Where the keys are.”
One person offered: “They need the will to escape.”
But the answer is much simpler. They must first know they are in a prison.
It’s a powerful metaphor for the spiritual path.
Because before we can begin our healing, before we can release ourselves from cycles of stress, self-sabotage, overthinking, people-pleasing, or perfectionism—we must wake up to the truth that we are bound.
Many of us are trapped in invisible prisons:
– The prison of overachievement, rooted in not-enoughness
– The prison of inherited expectations
– The prison of “success” that someone else defined
– The prison of fear, that says it’s too late, or you’re too much
And yet, the even more essential truth is this:
There is a way out.
Without this belief, no map or motivational speech will help.
Without hope, effort seems pointless.
We collapse into apathy or continue the cycle, thinking it's just "how life is."
But we’ve seen it in our students time and again:
When you realize you’re in a prison and you believe there’s a way out—that’s when transformation begins.
From there, everything else becomes a choice:
– What tools will you use?
– What stories will you unlearn?
– What practices will support your liberation?
At Yoga Mārga, we offer a path not just of practices, but of awakening—awakening to your conditioning, your potential, your deepest longing for freedom.
So we invite you to reflect:
What is your metaphorical prison?
Where did it come from?
Do you believe there's a way out?
When your answer is yes, the journey truly begins.
