Noel’s talk will share his personal journey of trauma and marginalisation. Noel served a life sentence, spending years in some of the country’s toughest prisons, not only did he survive, but he taught himself yoga and mindfulness and fought the system to be allowed to become a qualified teacher. Whilst he was doing this he acted as a Samaritans listener, supporting other prisoners who were suicidal and self-harming. Noel will explain how learning the mindfulness practice of freeing his mind, and focusing on his own personal growth enabled him to light his own light and have hope for the future. Noel is a major advocate in positive change and believes everyone has the capability to unlock their highest potential. His journey comes from an extensive lived experience in criminal justice, after serving 15 years 2 month in Prison. Noel now spends his time passionately sharing his experience and knowledge through training frontline professionals and working with people experiencing multiple disadvantages. Noel became a yoga teacher whilst serving his life sentence and developed a 10-week mindfulness-based yoga course. He now delivers this in Prisons nationwide to share the practice and give hope to others incarcerated, he fundamentally believes we can all be the light at the end of our own tunnel. As a motivational speaker he shares his journey which is both empowering and inspiring. He talks about loss, the journey to success and staying on track. Noel has the attitude that personal growth can be found in any of us and within any environment. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.