1. I am stronger than I know. I spent hours upon hours, day after day doing insane amounts of intense yoga. My body did not let me down. On the contrary, it surprised me almost daily by how much it was able and willing to do. There was a point in the week where my body seemed to tell my mind to “STFU. I got this. Quit telling me what I am incapable of. Enjoy the ride.”

2. We are all in this together. One of my favorite moments of the week was laying on the ground in savasana, singing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” while holding hands with a drag performer from Seattle and an architect from Boulder. We had nothing in common; we have everything in common. It is amazing how many friends you find when you realize the only thing that matters is we are all human.

3. That story you tell yourself, the one where you are not good enough, not smart enough, not ready, not worthy? Stop. It is old. It is boring. And it is a lie. It is also holding you back. It is impossible to be where you are, to believe more is possible, to write another chapter when you are busy reading the previous one. So whatever your past is, leave it there. The mf-er is heavy. And you have things to do.

4. Forgive. Tell the truth. Do unto others. In other words, live the golden rule. With yourself and with others.

5. You are responsible for the energy that you bring into a space. So that bad mood, your sadness that you have not dealt with, the unresolved fight with your sister, the frustration from not following your dream, it is not just your business because you are hauling into every interaction in your day.

6. If you want something new, you can not create it from old stuff. Nor can you create anything at all, until you clean your sink. The best analogy of the week, the one that landed with me the most, was the sink full of dirty dishes. It is really hard to tackle when it is overflowing, yet totally doable when there is only one or two. This is life. Deal with the dirty dishes as they come. Do not let the sink get overloaded or it becomes overwhelming and you do nothing.

7. Friends absolutely change everything. In a good way. This applies to all kinds of friends—BFFs, just met you friends, boyfriends, friends that are boys, friends in your city, friends far away, friends you talk to daily, friends you wish you talked to daily. Because what they all have in common is a willingness to take a little bit of your load, your story and leave you with a more manageable amount.

8. Inspire somebody. Like air masks on an airplane, start with you. Then spread that inspiration to your kids, your friends, your spouse, the random guy in line behind you at Starbucks. Let your life be an example of what is possible.

9. Listen to the ultimate teacher. No matter who is leading class or discussion, the teacher is you. You know your body and heart most, you can be your own guru.

10. Practice yoga. Daily.

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Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Christina Russo, a new contributor to Daily Cup of Yoga. Find more of her work at LittleWindmillYoga.com.

Photo credit: Cam Lee on Facebook