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One evening in 1997, while cooking dinner for my dad and husband, I was preparing a Chinese stir-fry with beef and vegetables. As I sliced the meat, a flash of insight hit me: How was this animal’s flesh any different from mine? Though I finished making the meal, I decided that day to stop eating red meat for good.

Without much knowledge, I became a vegetarian overnight. I remember walking through our college town in Texas, feeling overwhelmed by the smell of burgers and BBQ. Back then, I was strict about not eating meat but still consumed eggs and dairy. In 2003, while heavily pregnant and chasing after a toddler, I found myself craving chicken nuggets at a McDonald’s. My family, like most, was conditioned to believe meat was necessary for health, so they encouraged me to eat them. Reluctantly, I returned to eating chicken and fish.

In 2007, while living in the jungles of Sumatra, Indonesia, I took a 45-minute flight to Singapore for my first yoga teacher training. I...