Your Presence

By Adrian Molina


Last weekend in NYC flew by so quickly. But I still wanted to share something that stayed with me… 

Many students come to me to share amazing stories of success, triumphs, accomplishments. I love giving high fives to their success stories. But there are also the other ones. The stories about heartbreak or illness or difficulties in life… 

A student came to talk to me at the beginning of one of our workshops. It was the kind of story that, after less than a minute, had me in tears.

There were no words of solace good enough. 

There was no scripted line that I could respond with...

There was nothing to be said. Because no words could possibly diminish the pain.

I hugged my student for the longest time. It’s not always your job to provide answers.


Sometimes there are no answers. You don’t even have to say a word.

You just need to allow yourself to share in their pain, to make their burden a little lighter.

Your presence is always enough. Your attention, lovingly given, is enough.

Adrian Molina is a yoga teacher, writer and meditation practitioner living in New York City. He developed the Warrior Flow style of yoga and teaches at Equinox fitness centers, in private sessions, and at retreats. He shares inspiration and teachings frequently on his web site Warrior Flow, his Facebook page, and his Twitter feed.