Originally published February 7 2014
World's oldest yoga teacher spills secrets of youth and healing
by Raw Michelle
(NaturalNews) Tao Porchon-Lynch can balance all of her weight on her forearms, lifting her entire body up and parallel to the floor without the need for support from her legs. She also engages in competitive dancing, cutting a rug with dancing partners half her age.
The big deal?
She's 95.
Clearly, Porchon-Lynch demonstrates extreme flexibility, endurance and energy, making it easy to understand why she's been a yoga teacher for over 20 years. In fact, she continues to hold the Guinness World Record title of "the world's oldest yoga teacher," a healthy habit she discovered as a young girl while living in her native India.
The secret to longevity
Staying active. Porchon-Lynch, who won the "best legs in Europe" contest during WWII and had several modeling and acting careers in Paris and America, says that staying active is the key to youth and agility. "Yoga and dancing," she explains, "are something that live within me and make me face the world. I'm going to teach yoga until I can't breathe anymore, then it's going to carry me to the next planet."
She also takes regular dance lessons, meditates, teaches at established yoga centers like the Kripalu Center and Integral Yoga Institute New York and leads international yoga trips.
A vegetarian diet, no medications
"I'm a vegetarian," she says. She explains that she eats small meals throughout the day (she tends to favor a grapefruit at breakfast) and often enjoys vitamin-rich fresh fruit juices. Porchon-Lynch is also a believer in the power of tea's anti-oxidant properties.
"I'm seldom sick and rarely get tired," she says. "There's too much reliance today on medications. Through the study of yoga, I can heal myself. I don't take any supplements - no vitamins or calcium or anything. I take no medications for any medical conditions; I rarely take even an aspirin."
Doing what makes you happy
In addition to staying active, she suggests that happiness acts as a fountain of youth. True to what many people often read about but unfortunately ignore, finding your passion is related to inner happiness. It's no secret what stirs her soul. "Yoga," she says, "brightens [my] day," as does working with her 400+ yoga students around the world.
Not giving up
The world's oldest yoga teacher unfortunately needed hip surgery when she was in her 80s. At that age especially, many people end up using walkers and are forced to forgo their daily routines which may involve exercise. Not for Porchon-Lynch, who, one month after her surgery, was teaching yoga again. "I don't believe in letting age and broken bones get the better of my life. I believe nothing is impossible."
Sources for this article include:
www.youtube.com
www.today.com
www.westchestermagazine.com
taoporchon-lynch.com
About the author:
Raw Michelle is a natural health blogger and researcher, sharing her passions with others, using the Internet as her medium. She discusses topics in a straight forward way in hopes to help people from all walks of life achieve optimal health and well-being. She has authored and published hundreds of articles on topics such as the raw food diet and green living in general. >>> Click here to see more by Michelle
Raw Michelle is a natural health blogger and researcher, sharing her passions with others, using the Internet as her medium. She discusses topics in a straight forward way in hopes to help people from all walks of life achieve optimal health and well-being. She has authored and published hundreds of articles on topics such as the raw food diet and green living in general. >>> Click here to see more by Michelle
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