Right after my first semester of college ended I started going to my local ashram's yoga studio. I was a beginner who had never previously formally practiced yoga before, so I was able to get the discounted unlimited classes for 40 dollars a month.

I'm not going to conclude that yoga saved my life or anything, but something I can say indefinitely is that yoga raised the quality of my life.

I've struggled with different forms of anxiety throughout my entire life. I was always too busy living 5 years into the future or ruminating on my past at the same time. Therefore, I never really gave my mind the break it needed badly. My mind was always racing and racing and racing. The practice of yoga helped me find moments of serenity and calmness.

My mind had never been still before. The first time I was ever able to locate a moment of stillness in my mind was during salamba sarvangasa, aka a shoulder stand. The moment I closed my eyes after I got into the pose felt foreign: my mind was at a stand still. I didn't even realize the significance of what happened until afterwards. I am aware that being able to find my peace in this practice isn't a "cure." However, the feeling of being free seems like a cure in the moment.

Honestly, the one thing yoga taught me the most was how to push through uncomfortable feelings as you are stretching your body and pushing your mind through each pose. The ability of accepting the burning sensation and sinking further into the pose in yoga can be compared to dealing with struggles in real life.

Usually I say that the 18 dollars I spent on my suede vans from Urban Outfitters is the best deal I've ever taken advantage of, but now the tables have turned.