On Monday, I witnessed how presence reveals itself in unexpected situations.
I was pet-sitting my friend’s cats in her house on the West Coast for a few days, and two girls were supposed to stay there for one night, just as I was leaving. They were meant to arrive at 12:30, but by almost one o’clock there was still no sign of them. Finally, I received a message: their car had gotten stuck in the valley, and they needed help.
We were in the middle of nowhere, with barely any reception. The GPS had led the girls onto a shortcut road that their little Fiat Panda, which they had rented, simply couldn’t manage. The valley and the steep climb ahead were only possible for a strong 4×4. The hill behind them was too steep to return, so they were stuck between two impossible options.
I didn’t risk driving down myself — I didn’t want to end up stuck as well — so I parked near the crossroads and began walking toward them. At the same time, they were walking in my direction, phones in hand, searching for a spot with a signal. We met halfway. They showed me a photo of where their car was stuck, and it was clear that pushing it out would be dangerous. The only real solution was to call a towing service.
Before giving up on alternatives, I tried for almost an hour to reach people in the area who might own a 4×4, but every call came back with a “no.” Finally, they decided to call roadside assistance.
We had never met before, but as we waited, we fell into conversation. One of them was relaxed, but her friend’s mind raced with worry: What if the car gets damaged? What if we have to pay a huge fee? What if the tow driver gets angry? Anxiety took over, even though both of them practiced yoga.
I, on the other hand, had just finished reading Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now that morning. Maybe that’s why I felt so rooted in presence. I wasn’t trying to fix their emotions — just staying calm, making light jokes, and holding space. In that moment, presence was the greatest contribution I could give.
I hadn’t planned on waiting for three hours, but when I let go of time and pressure, the hours passed quickly. We laughed, shared stories, and enjoyed each other’s company. Eventually, after 4.5 hours, their car was freed with no major damage.
This whole experience made me reflect on how yoga is often practiced today. Many approach it mainly through asanas — the physical postures. But yoga, in its essence, is much wider: meditation, breath, self-inquiry, service, and the simple practice of presence. Without these, the mind can still get lost in fear, even for someone who practices regularly.
That day reminded me: true yoga is not only in postures, but in how we meet life. It’s in the ability to stay present when uncertainty arises. Sometimes the greatest help we can offer isn’t solving the problem, but simply being there fully.
Interestingly, today I received a message from them saying that when they returned the car to the rental company, everything was fine. They didn’t have to pay anything extra. It made me reflect on how our mind so quickly projects into the future — imagining problems that may never happen. When we return to the present moment, much of that anxiety dissolves. Breathing through emotions not only calms us, it helps us think more clearly and shift our focus away from the problem toward the solution.
And perhaps most importantly: we often worry about losing money, while forgetting that our health and well-being are truly priceless. Yet we tend to take them for granted.
Reflection for you: How do you handle challenging situations? Does your mind take over and overwhelm you with emotions, or are you able to find that quiet, peaceful space in the middle of chaos? Where in your life do you notice the difference between practicing yoga on the mat and living yoga off the mat?
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