Ground to rise

What yoga is teaching me about dealing with difficult people in a difficult world

Our current world is getting darker every day: it’s rewarding the users, the takers, the selfish and the cruel. It rules in favour of people who have agendas instead of compassion, who plot how to harm others to get ahead themselves.
Giving to build is replaced by taking to survive. Instead of healing from what’s hurting, people become what hurt them.

Trying to be good in a selfish world is painful. It drains the people who feel the deepest. The ones with soft hearts who carry the heaviest loads. And it makes you wonder: is there something wrong with me? Am I too soft? Too naive? Too stupid?

Darling, there’s nothing wrong with you—there’s something right with you. Staying soft and loving in a hard world where the cruel becomes normalized isn’t weakness—it’s incredible strength. It requires courage. And it won’t always feel good at first. Having a good heart comes with consequences.

Yoga literally means to “yoke”, or to unite. Its goal is to unite body, mind, and soul with the Divine or spirit. It wants us to live in peace and harmony with ourselves, and with the world around us.

Unity and harmony are now needed more than ever. But you can’t be united with people who want to be divided, and the disconnect this creates is painful for those of us who are sensitive to it.

That’s where the yoga practice comes in. It reminds us that all we need to focus on is the current moment: the solid ground beneath our feet, the breath in our lungs, the breeze on our skin. When I get discouraged or disappointed, when people’s twisting of the truth makes me question my integrity, when I’m being told I’m wrong for caring—I ground myself.

Take a few deep breaths. Feel the solid ground beneath your feet. Close your eyes and listen to your heartbeat. Remind yourself with every beat: don’t stop loving. Don’t stop caring.
But also: protect your heart from shallow people who are determined to misunderstand you.

I remind myself of the yogic guidelines I try to live by, known as the yamas and niyamas*: nonviolence, truthfulness, nonstealing, nonexcess, nonpossessiveness, purity, contentment, self-discipline, self-study, surrender.
I ask myself what’s more important: how others see me, or how I see myself?

I remind myself that I don’t have to do a anything—I get to do it.

I focus on the kindness that blossoms in dark times, that actually grows and spreads when things get difficult: the little notes and messages dear friends and family send my way. The hug offered (and gratefully received). The acts of generosity almost-strangers and new friends perform.

I focus on the light, the hope that refuses to die, the knowledge that evil never wins in the long-term.

I remember karma.

One of my first yoga photos from 2015. I hadn’t found my power yet.

And I remind myself that finding my voice, stepping into my truth, and fighting for what I believe in are not bad deeds. As Susanna Barkataki says: “Yoga isn’t just about peace, it’s about power. Not the kind that dominates, but the kind that dismantles injustice, centers love, and awakens real change.”

Howl and find your pack. Speak up. Refuse to give in to despair. Be a light. Shine bright. Stand firm. Ground to rise. Together, we got this.

* I highly recommend Deborah Adele’s book The Yamas & Niyamas