“Uninvited Zen: The Woman Who Turned a Stranger’s Yard into Her Personal Yoga Retreat—And Laughed About It!”
This homeowner got more of the latter from their neighbor’s backyard yoga sessions
Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)
The author tried to politely remind the woman about their boundaries, to no avail
Image credits: Classic-Region-9240
People may disrespect your boundaries because they don’t think you have the right to set them
Image credits: stefamerpik / freepik (not the actual photo)
Based on the author’s story, their neighbor blatantly disrespected their boundaries and held yoga classes that spilled onto their lawn. But as far as the neighbor was concerned, she did not feel like she was doing anything wrong because it was “one big green space,” after all.
She may have felt the homeowner didn’t have the right to set those limits, which is one common reason people disrespect boundaries. This is according to author Steph Sterner, who also focuses on setting boundaries in relationships.
In her article for Medium, Sterner points out that such behavior is expected among people who believe they are entitled to special treatment. These are the same actions the yoga teacher supposedly showed toward the author, whose polite requests had been ignored.
Sterner admits that it may seem easier to give in and keep the peace. However, she discourages it, as it may only enable people to show more disrespect in the future.
“A pushy co-worker might expect you to write up the meeting minutes because you’re ‘so good at that kind of thing,’” Sterner wrote. “Before you know it, you’ll become the official minute-taker at work.”
