At 19 years old, I dragged my broken-hearted college self into a yoga class, hoping it might kick-start some happy hormones - maybe even get me into better shape.

But what dawned on me in the final moments of that class - as I laid in what I now know to be Shavasana - is that:

yoga goes far beyond physical exercise.

Because for that one moment - one brief moment - I felt a huge sense of relief.

For the first time in months I wasn’t thinking about my heartbreak.

In fact, I wasn’t even thinking at all.

But rather, I was noticing my troubling thoughts, floating by as clouds.

This time, instead of letting my thoughts disrupt my mood, I allowed them to just be there. And then watched them float on by.

I was in this space of sweet mental ease and detachment, with no desire to engage in my sad and negative thoughts had I had done before.

And that’s when the truth of yoga came clear to me:

Yoga is actually a way of living!

Since experiencing this shift in my own life, I’ve dedicated myself to being a lifelong student of self-awareness and to support others on their journey, too.