100 Year Old Yogi Reveals a Top Secret

In Today's Email:

• This 100-Year-Old Yoga Instructor Shares Her Extraordinary Life Story: What is her secret to a long life?

• Probiotic Powerhouse: Spicy Korean Kimchi has compounds that can stave off colds and flu.

• Evening Yoga routine: These poses wind down the body physically and energetically, so you can truly practice the art of being.

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The Secret of a 100-Year-Old Yoga Instructor

Age is truly just a number for Tao Porchon-Lynch. Though she may be one of the oldest yoga teachers to ever live, the Padma Shri Award-winning yoga instructor from New York had no plans to stop practicing and teaching. Of Indian and French descent, Ms Porchon-Lynch first encountered yoga at the age of seven in India, reports ABC News. She came across the sight of a group of boys doing yoga poses on a beach and was transfixed.

When her aunt told her that the movements were not "ladylike," she retorted, "If boys can do it, I can do it."

By the time she was a teenager, Ms Porchon-Lynch was already teaching yoga.

"Yoga can be the joy of life, and it's not just about putting our bodies into specific postures," she says to Yoga Journal. "It's about expressing what comes from inside of you and showing up when you meet other people to create oneness."

Before World War II, she moved to France, according to The New York Times, and helped her aunt hide refugees from the Nazis. Later in life, she channeled her activism toward preserving and protecting endangered wildlife, wrote a book of meditations titled Reflections: The Yogic Journey of Life, and became a competitive ballroom dancer. According to Huffington Post, she won over 700 dance competitions, and her impressive footwork was even featured on America’s Got Talent.

Clearly, Tao was incredibly dedicated to everything she did, and nothing could get in her way. Not even a slip on the dance floor and three subsequent hip replacements. “I don’t believe in calamities,” she told Yoga Journal in 2014. “I don’t want to know what I can’t do. I’m only interested in what I can do.”

Staying active was her key to a long, fulfilling life. She was also a vegetarian, but when asked if she thought the diet contributed to her impressive age, she shrugged. “Maybe,” she said. “I don’t believe in getting old. In America, look how many beautiful trees are hundreds of years old. They are losing leaves but they are not dying—they are recycling. In a few months, spring will start up again. You can learn so much from nature.”

That’s why—even at 101—she always wore high heels. They brought her closer to nature’s most elevated elements. “I wear high heels because I climbed Machu Picchu … I climbed up into the atmosphere and I felt I was just one with the whole of nature,” she said in an Instagram video. “It takes me on another level of consciousness.”

Every thought and action she put into the world was full of wisdom, but there’s one piece of advice that stands out: Wake up every morning with a positive mindset. “Whatever you put in your mind materializes,” she told The Times. “Within yourself, there’s an energy, but unless you use it, it dissipates. And that’s when you get old.”

Tao may have passed away, but she never got old.

🧐Did You Know?

What’s a good source of omega-3s for yogis who don’t eat meat or fish? HEMP SEED. One serving of this complete protein has an array of essential fatty acids, including omega-3s, in addition to fiber and several minerals. Plus, hemp seeds don’t contain carbs, which vegetarians and vegans tend to overdo. Sprinkle a tablespoon into a smoothie or on top of a salad for a big nutrition boost.

Probiotic Powerhouse

Historically, it hasn’t always been possible to grow fresh vegetables throughout the year.

Therefore, people have developed food preservation methods, such as pickling and fermentation — a process that uses enzymes to create chemical changes in food.

Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish made with salted fermented vegetables. It typically contains cabbage and seasonings like sugar, salt, onions, garlic, ginger, and chili peppers.

It may also boast other vegetables, including radish, celery, carrot, cucumber, eggplant, spinach, scallions, beets, and bamboo shoots.

Though kimchi is usually fermented for a few days to a few weeks before serving, it can be eaten fresh, or unfermented, immediately after preparation.

Homemade Quick Kimchi:

Ingredients

1 Chinese cabbage

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2.5cm/1in piece ginger, grated

2 tbsp fish sauce (optional)

2 tbsp sriracha chilli sauce or chilli paste (see below)

1 tbsp golden caster sugar

3 tbsp rice vinegar

8 radishes, coarsely grated

2 carrots, cut into matchsticks or coarsely grated

4 spring onions, finely shredded

Instructions

1) Slice the cabbage into 2.5cm strips. Tip into a bowl, mix with 1 tbsp sea salt, then set aside for 1 hr. Meanwhile, make the kimchi paste by blending the garlic, ginger, fish sauce (if using), chilli sauce, sugar and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.

2) Rinse the cabbage under cold running water, drain and dry thoroughly. Transfer to a large bowl and toss through the paste, along with the radishes, carrot and spring onions. Serve straight away or pack into a large jar, seal and leave to ferment at room temperature overnight, then chill. Will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks - the flavour will improve the longer it's left.

Evening Yoga routine:

At the end of your day, yoga is a great way to release your grasp on your agendas and open yourself to receive rest, nourishment, and restoration. These poses wind down the body physically and energetically, so you can truly practice the art of being.

1. Uttana ShishosanaExtended Puppy Pose: With shoulder stretch Start in Tabletop. Place your forearms on the mat with the palms flipped up toward the ceiling. Keeping your arms firmly planted, begin to walk your knees back until your arms are fully outstretched. Rest your forehead on the mat as you isometrically drag back on the forearms and keep the seat high. Let the day metaphorically slide off your back in this pose. Hold for 5 to 10 deep, slow breaths, or for as long as you’d like.

2 Parsva BalasanaThread-the-Needle Pose: Return to Tabletop and find a neutral spine. On an inhale, lift the right arm high to the sky, opening the torso to the side while keeping your hips pointed down toward the mat. On the exhale, thread the right arm under the body, twisting the torso until the right shoulder and right side of your face touch the mat. Relax into the twist for 5 to 10 deep breaths, pressing down into the left hand to increase the intensity as you see fit. Repeat on the other side.

3 Pavanamuktasana  Wind-Relieving Pose: Lie on your back with your legs outstretched and your arms at your sides. On an exhale, draw the right knee into the chest, holding the leg close to your body with your hands wrapped around the knee or shin. Lift your head off the floor, bringing it as close to your right knee as you can. Hold the stretch for 5 to 10 breaths while breathing into the back body. When ready, release the right leg and repeat on the other side.

4 Supta Padangusthasana Reclining Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose: variation From your back, extend the right leg into the air perpendicular to the floor, grasping behind the thigh with your hands. (If you can’t fully extend your right leg, bend at the knee while keeping the thighbone perpendicular to the floor.) Flex both feet and keep the sacrum grounded. Hold for 5 to 10 deep breaths, and then release the leg. Repeat on the other side.

5 Supta Matsyendrasana Supine Twist From your back: exhale and draw the right knee into your chest; extend your right arm onto the floor at shoulder height while gently guiding the right knee across your body until your torso twists, keeping your shoulder blades pressing toward the floor. You might turn the gaze toward the right hand as you hold the pose for 5 to 10 deep breaths. Close your eyes, and turn your attention to the rhythmic flow of your breath; no matter how many different thoughts arise, keep returning to your breath. Use this to quiet the mind in preparation for a restful night of sleep. When you feel ready, complete the pose on the opposite side.

6 Sukhasana Easy Pose: with meditation Come to a cross-legged seat on the front edge of a thickly folded blanket. Pull back your buttock flesh until it feels like you’re grounded through both sitting bones. Rest your palms gently on your knees or thighs. Close your eyes and bring your full attention to the breath. With each inhale, imagine that you’re calling back any of your power you may have unknowingly given away to others during the day. With each exhale, imagine that you’re breathing out whatever energies or attitudes no longer serve you. Stay with this meditation until you feel an inner sense of balance emerge.

Meme

NAMASTE ❤️

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