A transgender yoga instructor who was diagnosed with HIV is speaking out battling depression and drug addiction, as well as facing an HIV diagnosis, before she finally realized that she was meant to be a woman.

Jason Patrick, aka The Bearded Yogi, was a popular yoga instructor, barista, and gay activist living in New York until he moved to the Bahamas to live in the Sivananda Ashram yoga retreat in an attempt to find himself.

And it was here that, after battling through a difficult internal struggle, which left him extremely depressed, Jason finally came out as a woman and began going by the name Jase Cannon.

Inspiring: Jase Cannon (pictured) reveals how she came out as a transgender woman after living for years as 'The Bearded Yogi', a popular male yoga instructor in New York

Throwback: Five years ago, Jason Patrick (pictured before transition) was diagnosed with HIV after struggling with drug addiction. He reinvented himself as The Bearded Yogi, and dedicated his life to wellness

In an emotional piece in Well + Good, Jase reveals: 'Since I was a little kid, I dressed up in my mom’s clothes. I learned from an early age that it was unacceptable and shameful to do that. I learned to hide it.'

At age 18, Jason came out as gay to his mother, but soon afterwards he came to the realization that he was not a gay man, but a woman.

He experimented with dressing in women's clothing, and moved to Atlanta and began dating his first boyfriend.

However, the man soon rejected him because of his love for women's clothing, telling Jason: 'I'm done dating a woman.'

'I never dressed up again,' Jase said, explaining that his former lover's harsh words made him feel all the more ashamed about his self-expression.

He struggled with drug addiction for years, and was diagnosed with HIV five years ago, during this dark time in his life.

'I’ve never felt comfortable with sex,' explains Jase. 'I was sexually abused by my stepfather as a child, and my drug addiction was surrounded by sex.'

Sitting pretty: Today, Jase lives happily as a woman, but it took her years to get here. She says she identified as a girl since age three, but was ashamed and hated herself

Fun class: Jase does a Halloween-themed yoga class in New York. She lived as a man until this summer, when she came out as a woman at an ashram in the Bahamas

Identity: Jason (left, with a friend in 2013) was known for his hipster beard and gay activism. Now, she wears make-up, dresses as a woman, and devotes herself to trans activism

Eventually, Jason moved to New York and began teaching at Modo Yoga and working as a barista at the trendy coffee shop, La Colombe.

He began working with the organization God's Love We Deliver, which provides healthy meals for people who are too sick to cook for themselves.

But deep down, Jason still felt unhappy and as though he was not fulfilling his true identity.

'As a yoga teacher, I would lead self-love practices and meditation. But it was a lie. I thought: 'Why don’t I have that?"' Jase recalls.

He packed up his things, sublet his apartment, and went to the Bahamas to live in an ashram in the hopes of better understanding himself and learning to love himself.

Jason began texting his friends saying he might be transgender, and was met with 'love and acceptance'.

Soon after, Jason came as a woman to his mother, who revealed she took him to the doctor when he was three-years-old because he kept calling himself a girl.

Finding herself: Jason (in the Bahamas seven months ago) felt comfortable to come out as a woman in the ashram this summer

Standing tall: Jase continues to teach yoga and preach wellness and acceptance to his students

He then came out to everyone in the ashram, and shaved his entire body - even the beard he was known for.

Now, for the first time ever, Jase feels authentic and happy in her life.

'I’m no longer the Bearded Yogi. I’ve taken the name Jase. I’ve taken the feminine pronouns, and I get to wear yoga tights and other women’s clothes,' she shares.

'The Bearded Yogi was such a part of my identity, but it was the biggest mask I ever wore,' concludes Jase.

Today, she continues to teach yoga and work at La Colombe, but has became a transgender activist in addition to a gay activist.

She regularly posts photos of her manicures, women's clothing, and make-up to her more than 3,200 followers on Instagram, and serves as an inspiration for others in her community who are struggling with gender identity.