Ever since my first yoga class, yoga has been a huge part of my life. It reeked with benefits. It started with calming my mind through asana practice, but it also kept my body was moving, flexible and alive. I’ve always been someone who lives inside her head. My thoughts were louder than my voice, my ideas greater than my actions. I lived more in the past and the future than in the present. And maybe I still do sometimes. But yoga taught me something beautiful, how to quiet my mind through flow, and how to balance through focus. My mind felt clearer, my body lighter, and suddenly there was more space to express myself. My life became all about yoga, I practiced in class, at home, on the street, just about everywhere. I celebrated this new epiphany and wanted to share it with the world.

So I signed up for the Yoga Foundation Training, part of a 200-hours Yoga Teacher Training. I thought I would learn how to teach people asana practice, breathing techniques and meditation, the kind of practice that made me feel light and calm after class. Little did I know that yoga was so much more than that. I thought that I had joined a course to teach others how to practice yoga, but first I had to get to know myself. I didn’t understand that at first, of course I knew who I was, right? But no. Through the process, I learned that we are all like onions, layered by life, shaped by roles and responsibilities. And in this course, we had to peel those layers back to see what was underneath, who we were before the world told us who to be. And fuck, that was hard.

I learned about the yamas and niyamas, yoga’s ethical practice, and to this day I still try to live by them. Yoga became more than a physical practice to quiet the mind, it became a way of life.

Ahimsa (non-violence) taught me kindness, not just being nice, but being kind in thought, word, and action, to myself and to others.

Satya (truthfulness) taught me honesty, not only to speak truth to others, but to be true to myself.

Asteya (non-stealing) taught me not to take what isn’t mine, not just things, but also time and opportunities, from others and from myself.

Brahmacharya (non-excess) taught me to stop before too much, to enjoy without turning pleasure into addiction.

Aparigraha (non-possessiveness) showed me that nothing truly belongs to me, that I shouldn’t hold on to things or people and let go when it’s time to do so.

Saucha (purity) is teaching me to see purity in thoughts and actions, and be aware of the beauty of it.

Santosha (contentment) is teaching me to be grateful for what is whether expected or not.

Tapas (self-discipline) should be pushing me toward consistency, to do what I must, even when I don’t want to.

Svadhyaya (self-study) continues to teach me to know myself, without judgement but with acceptance, curiosity and willingness to grow.

And Ishvara Pranidhana (surrender) taught me to let go of the hopes and dreams I once clung to, and to trust the life unfolding for me.

Yoga might have started in class as asana practice, and I don’t practice as often as I used to, but yoga will always be my way of life. These teachings are etched in my soul, how to live, breathe and just be.