Yoga instructor Maria Odugba is challenging stereotypes aboutasap.yogi/Instagram The INSIDER Summary:

When Maria Odugba recognized a lack of body diversity in yoga on social media, she set out to change that by starting her own account full of inspiring selfies and yoga poses.

The 23-year-old yoga instructor from Florida also started her own blog, highlighting her personal weight loss and yoga journey.

Odugba started practicing yoga in 2014 and now has over 74,000 followers on Instagram, but she wasn't always so confident about getting into the field.

"When I first thought about doing yoga, my first thought on how people were was that everyone was skinny," she told the Daily Mail. "I was worried that I wasn't going to fit in with the stereotype of a yoga person. And then I slowly started to realize, and do my research, that there are a lot of other people out there that aren't skinny who do yoga and are very good at it."

And Odugba is very good at it.

It has taken her time to get to this point, though, and her posts aren't all perfect. Unlike many people on social media, Odugba keeps it real.

She often posts about her struggles with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which she was diagnosed with at 13, and hyperthyroidism. Both of these can cause weight gain, which is what happened when Odugba went from high school to college and gained between 100 and 150 pounds.

Now, she's dropped from 410 pounds to 290 pounds and has found the practice has been good for her mental health.

"I kind of sprouted out of my little cocoon and I became able to walk around with my chest held high, because for a long time I just wanted to not be seen, I wanted to wear bigger clothes and hide," she told the Daily Mail. "So overall it has made me happy."

Odugba wants others to be inspired by her transformation as well.

"I just wish more people knew that it is possible, plus-size people can get out there and make their lives healthier," she said. "I do believe that everybody should be healthy, that doesn't mean you have to be skinny."

Her followers certainly seem to be motivated.

Odugba's latest post, in which she explains how her life has changed since finding yoga, currently has over 1,000 likes and tons of positive comments calling her an "inspiration."

"Very inspired by your grit and how you stick to what is important to you," one user wrote in the comments.

"Thanks for being so honest about your life and struggles," another commenter wrote. "It is super refreshing and encouraging for gals like me starting the same journey."

"You have motivated me to pick up yoga and get my body back," someone else commented.

Odugba's photos are a reminder that health, self-care, and yoga are for everybody, no matter your weight or size.

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This 'plus-size' yoga instructor proves that yoga isn't just for 'skinny' people - INSIDER