I Am A Yoga Girl - Victoria Zepeda

Ever since I was a little kid I knew I was weird, the funny thing is, I’m 23 now and that weirdness never really went away, I guess it simply evolved, I evolved, and those quirks turned into something beautiful when I started my spiritual journey with the help of yoga. When it calls you, it calls you, am I right?

I was never bullied for my weirdness, at least not by other kids, I simply felt different, I noticed I didn’t quite fit the norm. I dreamt a lot and vividly, I woke up in the middle of the night with floating lights above my ceiling, I was a sleepwalker for some time, I even believed I had some sort of magical powers, heard voices and saw things out of the corner of my eye. I later pieced all of those experiences together with the help of my wonderful teachers, my yoga teachers, and I understood that I was not weird, I was simply awake and in for something greater than I could ever imagine.

I was born in Boulder, Colorado, but I’ve lived in Mexico my whole life. At the age of 5 I was a victim of sexual abuse, this was obviously one of the reasons I felt different from other kids. I can’t say I dealt with it in a healthy way, I mean, I was 5, I kept it quiet until I reached 3rd grade, but it wasn’t until I found yoga that I understood how to truly heal trauma, depression and its very close relative anxiety.

I started yoga when I was 17, a friend of mine, her mom owns a yoga studio, so I thought I’d give it a try and compliment the regular basketball practice I’d been having since I was 6...I’ve never left the yoga studio since then. I recently stopped playing basketball, I’m a certified yoga teacher with 350 hours, aiming for 500, my friend’s mom has become my true guru and I now know why I incarnated into this person.

Through many healing sessions with my teacher, a constant yoga and meditation practice I’ve learned so much about myself and the reality we live in. I found my spiritual path without anyone influencing my belief system. I work on myself everyday and have significantly changed the way I approach the world. I went from being a sad little girl, to a depressed teen, to a yoga student, to a pupil, to a yoga teacher, to a healer and I have yoga to thank for this. Yoga gave me so many tools to heal trauma, to love the body I’m in, to love the people around me. Yoga showed me my true nature, my light body, myself. I am a yoga girl because I face my fears, I am a yoga girl because I push through the tough times and I’m a yoga girl because I go out into the world with love.