Join the Resistance. Practice Yoga.

We aren’t taught to sit with discomfort. From the time we’re young, we’re encouraged to push away unpleasant feelings—anger, fear, overwhelm, sadness, shame. When something feels too hard to handle, the natural response is to distract, numb, or run away.

But what if avoiding these feelings is exactly what keeps us stuck?

Let’s talk about fear. If you’re sensitive to fear, you’ll do anything to avoid it. It’s human nature. But in avoiding fear, we leave ourselves open to being manipulated by it. When the world is loud about what we should be afraid of—whether it’s news, politics, or societal pressures—it becomes impossible to confront it.

We can’t even look at it if we haven’t practiced sitting in discomfort.

That’s where yoga comes in.

Yoga isn’t just about touching your toes or mastering a pose. It’s about getting on the mat and meeting yourself exactly where you are, especially when it’s uncomfortable. By sitting with your own internal discomfort, whether that’s the burn in your thighs during Warrior II or the tightness in your chest when your mind races with doubt, you’re building tolerance. You’re learning to stay.

Staying with discomfort is revolutionary. It allows us to do the hard work of being human. It builds resilience to bear witness to the world’s atrocities without turning away. It equips us to move through life in a way that lessens horror rather than feeding it.

When we avoid our own emotions—especially the hard ones like fear and anger—we remain powerless to change.

Yoga teaches us that discomfort is a part of the human experience, but it doesn’t last forever. When we practice sitting with discomfort on the mat, we build the strength to face it off the mat.

We build the capacity to hold space for the hard things, both in our personal lives and in the world.

Rosa Parks practicing yoga in March of 1973.

This is why yoga is more than a wellness trend. It’s a revolution in how we relate to ourselves and the world. If we want to stop being manipulated by fear, if we want to take back our power, it starts with the courage to sit with our own discomfort.

To stay, even when it’s hard. And by doing that, we start to create space for change—within ourselves and in the world around us.

So, get on your mat. Feel what you need to feel. And know that sitting with discomfort is one of the most powerful, radical things you can do.

Join the resistance. Practice Yoga.