Years ago I had the great pleasure of meeting Jane Fonda.  At the time I was a journalist in my late twenties and she had just turned 50.  Fifty!   At first I thought, and this shows you just how thick we are when we are young, “Wow she’s old.”  But then I thought, “I want what she’s having.”She was wearing super hot, low-cut jeans with cowboy boots, a shrunken shirt that just showed her tanned skin underneath and a cowboy hat.  But most of all, she was wearing Attitude.  She was pulsating with shakti, the energy that is indescribably brilliant.I can’t remember a word from that interview, but she I will never forget.  I probably had to ask her about the Vietnam War thing because we did not know then that there were other regrets that would make even better copy such as the time she had been pressured into threesomes by her first husband and walking in on her last husband at a most unfortunate moment.  Yes, life can suck sometimes.  In yoga we call that, “Cit” Happens.  But for all the mistakes she made, it did not diminish her light.  In fact, it made her brighter.Now that I am at that magical age where perhaps someone might give up their seat on a bus for me, I am trying to channel my inner Fonda and all the others like her who remain bright, sharp, vibrant and relevant throughout life.  I believe it is no coincidence that Fonda practices yoga, because to me, yoga is the secret ingredient.  Yoga is what will keep us ageless in our aging bodies.  Yoga restores my inner badass every time I do a handstand on the mat (or at least try). Yoga keeps me sane in an often insane world.  And I also believe it is no coincidence that she has just written her memoir, as I have too, for it is our steadfast courage in remembering both the good and the bad that keeps us on track for a stronger present.Here are some tips from my upcoming book, “Finding More on the Mat: How I Grew Better, Wiser and Stronger Through Yoga,” being published this January by Wildhorse Ventures.  Michelle’s List for How to Stay Badass at Any Age

1. Don’t worry so much about failing because you absolutely will.  But chances are, you already have and you survived.  Be willing to try again, over and over.
2. Remember every time you come to your mat, or to your life, why you came.  Always remember the highest purpose for why you show up, and you will show up brighter.
3. We are bigger than the stuff that happens to us.  The bad things that happen will make us better, although it often doesn’t feel that way at first.
4. Try something new now and then, like yoga!
5. Be a beginner, always.  Once you think you are an expert, you have closed yourself off from learning more.
6. You are your own best teacher, your own Guru.  To those people who say they are your Gurus, tell them to suck it.
7. Desire, death, illness and jealousy are life’s great change agents.  Wake up and listen to your heart.
8. Shut up every now and then.  And also remember to say thank you.  It is the first step toward Grace.
9. There is always more.  Abundance rules.
10. Every moment there is a chance to choose, choose well.  And make the choice that absolutely leaves the world a better place.

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