Standing in our Truth

Standing in our truth isn’t always easy. For many of us, it’s a lifelong process of unlearning the ways we were taught to shrink ourselves, especially when parts of who we are have been labeled as too much, too messy, or not enough.

Right now, we’re feeling the weight of systems that try to control our bodies, silence our voices, and erase our stories. But standing in our truth is how we resist that erasure. It’s how we reclaim what trauma and society have tried to take away. It’s the choice to show up fully, even when it’s hard. To speak, even when our voices tremble. To take up space, even when we’ve been taught to disappear.

The recent Hands Off! standout in Easthampton was a reminder of that power. Of what it looks like when we come together—not only to speak our individual truths, but to amplify one another. To remind each other that none of us are alone.

This April, during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we honor the voices of survivors. Especially those who have been told, explicitly or implicitly, to stay silent. In a world that tries to separate and isolate us, standing in our truth becomes more than personal—it becomes an act of collective care. A way we shift culture, protect each other, and build something better.

Our dominant culture often glorifies independence: doing it alone, carrying it all, never needing help. But yoga reminds us of something deeper, that we are all connected. That healing doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and truth doesn’t live in a silo. We are shaped by each other, by our communities, by the systems we move through. As Einstein once said, the belief that we are separate from the whole is a kind of illusion, a prison. Our liberation begins when we widen our circle of compassion, recognizing our lives are intertwined.

To stand in your truth is also to stand with others. To reach for solidarity over silence. To remember that your story—your body, your breath, your presence—matters. And that together, our voices can move mountains.