As I am integrating back into reality after my Baptiste training in Sedona, Arizona, last week, I’ve been overwhelmed with thoughts, emotions and a real sense of accomplishment. There were so many breakthroughs and ah-ha moments. I’m left with transformation and insight that I could write on for days, and I fully intend to by the way. In the meantime, I’ll share 8 things I learned in 8 days at the Baptiste Yoga Institute.

I am enough.

So many of us carry around this mantra that we are not enough or we are not worthy. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Each of us was uniquely designed to be exactly who we are with gifts and flaws combined. There is not one other person on in this planet exactly like you. You are your own beautiful soul that cannot be duplicated. That is enough. You are enough. We are all enough. Thinking anything less than this for ourselves is inaccurate and absurd.

The moment you want to quit is the same moment you see how far you can go.

There were many moments in my yoga training that I wanted to give up. I didn’t have anything left in me. Or so I thought. I wanted to skip the pose, sleep in late and not do the work. In almost every one of those moments, I pushed through and found that I could go much further than I thought. We always have more inside of us to give if we just muster up the courage to keep going.

Emotions contain incredible energetic weight.

As physical as the practice and training was, the harder part was the mental and emotional aspect of deep self-inquiry they had us doing. I never realized how much of an energetic impact our emotions make on us until I felt a noticeable release. I was bursting with natural energy and my hip pain is completely gone. What this tells me is that we should all learn to feel our emotions and then disperse them so that we can create space for positive, natural and blossoming energy.

We are all one in the same.

So many people that I heard from and spoke to last week all carried fragments of my story within their story. We all had similar concerns and feelings that created such a human connection and gave more depth to the humanity element of life. It made me realize that we all carry the same emotions in the same containers and that we are all one in the same. Having compassion for others and yourself make for a humbling and eye opening experience. It also reminds me that we are never alone. There is always someone who feels the same way you do.

It’s ok to be messy.

I’m tired of trying to be perfect. I declare that I give up that unrealistic need and embrace my messy, imperfect self. And I hope you will do the same. It is in those moments of utter chaos, messiness and imperfectness that we learn and we stretch the most. I can’t tell you how many times I fell out of the poses or cried last week. In the moment, I felt weak and it tested my perfection mentality, but in the end, I am strengthened and renewed more than ever. Go forth, let your hot mess out of it’s cage. Permission granted. Join the party. It’s getting hot in here.

Looking into people’s eyes is profound.

We talk to people all day every day, but do we really look at them? Last week I had to stare into someone’s eyes whom I had never met before for a solid 10 minutes. There was something so intense, vulnerable and deep about this experience. It taught me to really see people for who they are and to look into each other’s eyes with love, light and a sincere listening ear. Try to make eye contact in your conversations and see how they shift into more meaningful experiences.

“If you can, then you must.” – Baron Baptiste

If you have success, determination, a dream or goal, a skill, more strength or a bigger anything inside of you – you must, absolutely must, bring it forth. There were so many times I didn’t want to do a pose because I was tired or sore, but I knew I could do them. Therefore, I had to. And every time I did what I knew I could do, I was pleasantly surprised with an indescribable joy. There is something to be said for and gained from rising to a challenge or occasion. If you can, then you must.

Know your YES. Be a YES.

This sounds kind of silly, but what are you really a YES for? I had to think hard about this and really give some thought to letting go of what I’m a NO for and then actively, relentlessly and selectively begin to pursue that which I am a YES for. Do you know what I’m a YES for? Being fucking unstoppable. There, I said it. And it feels so good. What are you a YES for? What lights you up? Like really brings a charge to you? Find it and be a YES for it.

Yoga is a metaphor for life and is a vehicle for major transformation in the lives of many, including me.

8 days, 8 lessons.

I hope this message serves you. 8 is great. Namaste from Sedona. xo