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Every three months, I take a yoga challenge. I practice hot yoga for 30 consecutive days, and I also give myself 30 reasons to forgive. Here are 15 of my favorites from my last challenge:

1. I forgive because holding onto judgements about myself and others only shackles my mind and soul to negativity.

2. I forgive because I want to remember more than the wrong that's been done to me.

3. I forgive because we are all humans. Counting what is wrong with others will only bring me down; how long can I keep fighting?

4. I forgive because I am not a victim. Anything that has been done to me was not under my control.

5. I forgive because I will not allow negative people and negative situations to have a hold over my life.

6. I forgive because today is too beautiful to be spent judging and scrutinizing people around me.

7. I forgive because if I don't move past offense, I will drive myself crazy.

8. I forgive because I don't expect people to be kind; I merely appreciate those who are. The only way I can appreciate those who are kind is by forgiving those who are unkind.

9. I forgive because what has happened, has happened. It's time to let it go.

10. I forgive because in this imperfect human body I am in no state to hold anything against anyone.

11. I forgive because I can't expect others to live by my expectations.

12. I forgive because I can't rewrite the past, and I don't want to.

13. I forgive because my sense of peace is not worth sacrificing over something that happened in the past.

14. I forgive because I want to wish others well, including those who have hurt me.

15. I forgive because I want to have hope. Hope is not obtained by holding onto what has gone wrong.