SAN ANTONIO -- As she walks into the Southtown MBS Fitness Studio wearing fashionable workout attire, one can easily assume Rainbow Chilton is into yoga.

“I discovered yoga probably about 15 years ago,” said Chilton.

Poised and confident, Chilton says yoga is beyond staying in shape.

“I think I really decided that I wanted to teach yoga when I got to a point that it dominated every aspect of my life,” said the 42-year-old Houston native.

Chilton is now a San Antonio resident. 

“I woke up every single morning and hours before I would have to be at work so that I could at least get in an hour or two of practice," she said. 

A yoga class underway in San Antonio in this image from March 2020. (John Salazar/Spectrum News)

Before yoga became a light of inspiration for Chilton, excessive love of food darkened her spirit.

“Something that some people don’t really know about me is that in that time period of my life I was actually very out of shape,” Chilton said. “I came to a realization when I found out that I was going to have a child that I really needed to get myself into better shape so I could keep up with her.”

In the process of changing her eating and fitness habits, Chilton lost more than 100 pounds.

“I found that not only did it overhaul my physical person,” she said, “but really the way I looked at absolutely everything.”

The single mother then rediscovered her voice.

“Everyone in my family pretty much plays an instrument - or at the very least sings, and sings loudly," she said. "I pretty much grew up in a musical.”

As Chilton worked on her physical, mental and spiritual-self, songs began to flow.

“It seems that it’s an emotional release that just takes over. I’ve said before that it’s almost like I vomit my songs into reality. They just happen," she said. 

Chilton describes how lessons learned through yoga helped make her a better musician.

“Teaching yoga by day I practice quite a bit of mindfulness. So when it comes to writing music, it’s another aspect of my mindfulness which comes through my music," she said. 

Chilton offered wisdom to those who bottle up emotional baggage humans often collect along the way.

“And you can ignore it and let it feature to the surface in strange ways or you can write sad songs," she said. 

Rainbow Chilton leads a yoga class in this image from March 2020. (John Salazar/Spectrum News)