'A big part of me was craving the time for silence, for meditation and reflection. I had no idea the physical practice would lead me down the path of inner strength that I always needed, and that led to the larger perspective shift that really changed my life.'

Dana admitted that when she first started doing yoga, she doubted that she would be able to do more advanced poses, such as a headstand, because of her size.

'That pose was a far, distant dream worthy of somebody else,' she said. 'I was sure I was too heavy to hold myself upside down. I was trapped in a really bad cycle of negative self-talk, but I kept practicing because I just couldn’t stop, and then things started to change.'

Dana explained that it was her dedication to yoga that eventually changed her mindset.

'I was slowly getting glimpses of possibility - I call them the sparks of the practice. When you start to feel a little float, or you feel at ease in a pose that once felt impossible,' she recalled. 'You start approaching your limits, and to me that’s the whole point.'

She noted that if you practice you will 'prove yourself wrong time and time again', and you will have 'no choice but to realize the limit does not exist'.

Dana said she has been an 'all or nothing person' her entire life. And while she believes it is a trait that may have contributed to her binge eating over the years, it is the same characteristic that taught her to turn to yoga instead of emotional eating.

'It used to be that when I felt anything, whether it be happy, frustrated, stressed, excited, whatever, my response was to eat,' she explained. 'As I continued to practice I found myself wanting to get on my mat instead of looking for food.

'My practice was and is the self-care I always needed,' she added. However, she admitted that she thought her body was in the way, constantly telling herself that here 'belly was too big to fold forward' or her 'thighs [were] too big for binds'.

Contortionist: Dana insists that yoga is for everyone, no matter what their shape, size, and age

When she eventually mastered all of those yoga positions, Dana said she had no choice but to admit to herself that she was using her body as an 'excuse' and that 'those imaginary limits' were all in her head.

Dana, who frequently shares photos of herself contorting her body in complicated yoga poses on her Instagram page, has 79,000 followers and insists that yoga is for everyone.

The encouraging messages she posts along with her photos promote self-love and the idea that women of all shapes and sizes can benefit from regular yoga practice.

Dana explained that she started her yoga-focused Instagram account as a way to track her own progress and keep a 'yoga journal' of her own. The social media star said at first she had no idea there was such a large community of yoga practitioner on Instagram.

'As people started noticing and my following grew, I continued posting just the same - writing and posting for myself,' she said. 'Because of this, I think and hope my posts have remained both transparent and authentic, and this is why people connect to it.' 

Proving herself wrong: Dana admitted that when she first started doing yoga, she doubted that she would be able to do more advanced poses because of her size

Dana understands that her photos mean different things to different people, and while they have helped her to learn to love herself more, she doesn't allow the negative comments to affect the way she views herself.

'Yes, I get hit with nasty comments on a regular basis because I show my body proudly and my body doesn’t make everybody happy,' she said. 'But I don’t care, because these comments aren’t about me at all.'

'Some people see a photo of me and call it me an inspiration,' she added. 'Others see it and call me a whale. I am neither an inspiration nor a whale, I am me. People will see what they want to see.'

Last week, Dana took to Facebook to announce the debut of her online series for Cody, Making Shapes, which breaks down yoga postures and makes them accessible to everyone, particularly beginners and those in larger bodies.

'You get to decide that you’re worth it,' she explained. 'You have to believe that you are worthy of love and happiness and a fulfilling life. Everything else will get in the way as long as you allow it.'