Fast forward to October 2014, the year that started to throw me into a spin of depression and physical pain. My dad became ill. It started as maybe there was a mix up in his medication and spiraled into stage 4 cancer, giving an expectancy of 8 months and within less than 3 months he was gone. What did me in was that I went on vacation when he passed away. The pain and quilt that settled into my body was so heavy that I felt as if times I could not breath. I was the youngest of all my siblings but somehow my dad handed over the handling of his life assets and estate over to me and I was silently suffocating. My siblings were great but I felt so alone, all the time. I felt that once again I could not grieve as there was so much that need to be done. By this time, I was already seriously deep into a daily yoga practice. It was the only thing that kept me balanced and focused on staying centered, healthy and a great reminder to keep moving forward. I would take all this heaviness and throw it out on my mat. Some days were amazing and some days were a complete struggle of balance and tightness. But I found that if I kept going, kept practicing and kept up my healthier eating habits that I was allowing myself to heal. The diet kept my gut in check, the yoga kept my mind in check. The more you practice, the more you start to read your own body and respond accordingly. You can understand that it is ok to cry, to feel pain and sorrow, but you also learn how to release those feelings and keep those spaces in-between open.