We were originally planning another episode this week, but we decided to release this interview with meditation teacher, yoga teacher and writer Divya Kohli instead. Her new book, Finding Peace in Difficult Times, has been published speedily because of how relevant it is for the current situation in which we find ourselves.

This interview is a little bit raw – we were upset and angry about the murder of George Floyd, and how much rage it took before the police officer responsible was arrested. This came after so many other deaths: Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor most recently, but the systematic issues that killed them are not new.

As we discuss here, activism and wellness are not mutually exclusive. Meditation can help you to see what is – help you to see and feel your own feelings, but also can bring you to see what is happening, what is unjust, in the world. It doesn’t have to be a tool of accepting whatever happens and letting it go. It can make you stronger as you commit to new action to change things.

Divya is is an Indian-born and near life-long Londoner committed to sharing the tools and ways we can stay sane and steady in an increasingly fast, complex and stimulated world. She’s a senior accredited Yoga Teacher and Mindfulness Facilitator, and she has been a dedicated practitioner of yoga and meditation since the 1990s. She worked as a newspaper journalist prior to taking the path of mind-body-spirit teaching where she feels most at home.

In her book Finding Peace in Difficult Times, Divya provides simple ways to lift us out and pull us through the difficult times, and which will keep us nourished. This book is very practical – it tells you the background of her techniques, and then provides very simple exercises that you can use to implement them in the here and now. As you’ll hear, you don’t need to be on a meditation retreat or have the perfect house – or to change anything else in your life – to start.

We first talked to Divya all the way back in Season 1, Episode 14, when we interviewed her about her writing process but also what yoga and writing have in common, and what yoga and mindfulness can bring to your writing practice. It’s worth checking that out, too, if you liked that.

You can find more about her at: www.yogawithdivya.co.uk. You can also find her online at her Facebook page.

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Find us on Instagram @marginallypodcast. Meghan’s occasionally on Twitter @meghanembee, and Olivia’s @roamingolivia

Theme music is “It’s Time” by Scaricá Ricascá. 

Have a question you’d like us to try to answer, or a topic you’d love to have us cover? Interested in being a guest? Contact us here.  Thanks for listening, and get to work!

In this episode:

• Thomas Hardy
• Her writing coach Hud Saunders
• Chris Gillebeau
• Mark Nepo