Showing Up

Showing up does not necessarily mean agreeing. But it does mean coming together with mutual respect and compassion.

I felt dread as I boarded the plane this morning of June 22, 2025, on my way home to Denver after the SYTAR (Symposium of Yoga Therapy and Research) conference in Atlanta. By then, I'd read the news that Trump had bombed Iran. (A G. Elliott Morris poll released yesterday found that 60% of all Americans were opposed to the U.S. bombing Iran.)

In my journal, I wrote: "When I saw the news at 2am on my phone my first thought was, 'We've woken up to a different world today.' I worried about how the day would unfold. I felt nervous about traveling on this particular day after what had just occurred. Yet in the hotel lobby at 4:15am my fellow conference goers talked in sleepy, hushed tones about ride shares. And in the airport, my fellow travelers scuttled about with suitcases, baby strollers and backpacks, talking to one another about connecting flights, coffee orders and final destinations as if a bomb had not gone off in the neat puzzle of our comfortable American lifestyle. But to my mind, we are in the calm before the storm. We are past the inflection point. We just don't know what comes next."

The dread I feel as a result of the bombing is made even more jarring because of how inspired and heartened I felt just last night at our final SYTAR banquet. Our organization, the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), has been in the "storming" phase of its development for many months now. IAYT has been grappling with the normal messiness that arises at this stage of a group's development. Me and a couple other colleagues had come with the express desire to stimulate compassionate, open conversation with leaders about our concerns. By the end of the conference, we came away feeling seen, heard and like our concerns mattered to leadership.

In addition, the conference itself was filled with fresh perspectives in and outside conference sessions that excited and inspired me. On our first night together, we celebrated Juneteenth with a panel discussion and sound bath led by Reggie Hubbard, a social activist, political strategist, certified yoga teacher and human extraordinaire. I heard a great talk by Niya Bajaj, who integrates Nonviolent Communication, mindful communication and the yamas and the niyamas in her wellness-centered leadership trainings around the world.

Speaking of the yamas and niyamas, the reason the conference was so satisfying for me this year was that collectively as a group we seemed to put yoga principles into practice through our words, actions and behaviors. When my colleagues and I approached two different leaders about our concerns, we did so with compassion, or ahimsa (nonviolence). We spoke our truth, satya. I know for me, preparing for these conversations meant doing some honest self-reflection (svadyaya) about my intentions (sankalpa...not a yama or niyama, but definitely a yogic principle) in speaking up. Our leaders received our feedback with the same ahimsa we'd offered them, and they too showed their willingness to self-reflect. All of us needed to practice surrender, ishvara pranidhana, by letting go of our egos and listening fully to one another. In other words, we showed up.

This seemed to be a theme throughout the weekend. In fact, in a note to her readership, my dear friend and colleague Sherry Brourman reminded me that during his workshop Reggie said: "Whatever happens, we will show up!"

Right now, I want to keep showing up. We can't change the fact that Iran has been bombed. But I personally can continue to practice the yogic values that have been instilled in me to the best of my ability. I can treat others and myself with compassion as we endure this challenging chapter in our shared human history.

With these yoga tools, we can show up for ourselves and one another when one of us feels scared or angry or restless or numb, or all at the same time together, or something altogether different. We can speak our truths to one another bravely and kindly. We can draw lines in the sand when we disagree, but still listen to others' differing perspectives with openness.

This isn't easy, and it's not a one-and-done kinda practice. I know for myself I have to show up moment by moment, and sometimes I don't. I get caught up, or forget. But I keep coming back to the practice of showing up and being present with my life and the people in it, just like coming back to the breath in meditation.

It is so hard to stay centered and show up right now. It's easy to either want to rage against the machine or hide in video games, romcoms and/or a pint of your favorite ice cream. But the more each one of us practices these yoga tools, the more inevitable positive, peaceful change can come about. Each one of us who does this creates a ripple effect that can grow and compound. No act of bravery, compassion or equanimity is too small. Every act counts.