Who inspires you? Who do you know who is aging well?
If you have seen the documentary part of the video Yoga for the Rest of Us, you will understand when I say that yoga student Jo Day, (who just turned 102 last month!), has been inspiration for many. I've talked with and received emails from people who say that watching and hearing Jo talk about yoga, they realize that it is not too late to start a yoga practice! If Jo can do yoga, they can too.
My source of inspiration this weekend was a BIG woman in a petite body, a powerful yoga master by the name of Tao Porchon-Lynch . I signed up for her yoga workshop out of curiosity about what the soon-to-be 90 year old would teach!
I found out right away that her yoga poses are remarkable. She demonstrated poses that I never have been able to do!
And Tao has a hip replacement to boot! When her orthopedic doctor told her she would not be able to practice yoga with the hip replacement, Tao eased back into her practice. Then Tao sent him a photo of her in a yoga pose similar to this. He displays that photo in his office.
Most delightful was Tao's charm, her optimism, and her refusal to accept limitation. I tried and achieved poses I could not have imagined doing. (After the exertion of the workshop, I did sleep very well that night!)
I am turning 60 on my next birthday. If I take Tao's example of actively teaching at 90, that leaves me 30 more years of teaching! That synchs with what I've said: "I'd like to be teaching in my 80s, and in my 90s I'll hope to find a nice class to take".
What about you? What are you inspired to do, simply knowing it is possible?
I'll tell you in the next newsletter an amazing feat that many of my students have achieved. |
