Untitled Document
 For
Tao Porchon-Lynch, age is just a number. Just last week, she was named
the world’s oldest yoga teacher by Guinness
World Records. Mrs. Porchon-Lynch started practicing yoga when she
was 8 years old and has been teaching professionally for 61 years.
So how old is Mrs. Porchon-Lynch? Surprisingly, she is 93 years
old!
Despite her age, Mrs. Porchon-Lynch
teaches an impressive group of about
400 students during her 13 weekly yoga classes all over
New York City, where she resides. She has followers all around the
world, including India, France,
and the U.S. In addition to teaching yoga,
Mrs. Porchon-Lynch takes weekly dance lessons, hosts wine lectures, and films yoga DVDs. And she
has no plans of slowing down. “I don’t believe in letting age and
broken bones get the better of my life,” she said. “I believe nothing
is impossible.”
 Mrs.
Porchon-Lynch was born in a French colony in India. She became
interested in yoga after she observed a group of young
boys practicing yoga on a beach in her hometown of Pondicherry in
southern India. She said she decided then that she could do anything
a boy could do. “As a child with a zest for physical activity, I wanted
to do the amazing things that they
were doing with their bodies,” she said.
Before Mrs. Porchon-Lynch decided to devote her life to yoga as
a teacher, she had a successful career in show business.
Her highlights include winning
a “Best Legs in Europe” contest, working as a cabaret dancer in London
during World War II, modeling in Paris, and moving to America to act
in films like The Last Time I Saw Paris with Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor.
She also marched with Gandhi - twice
- and sat on panels with the Dalai Lama
to promote world peace.
 It wasn’t
until she was 73 that Mrs. Porchon-Lynch decided to concentrate on teaching yoga
and founded the Westchester Institute of Yoga in New York in 1982.
She now spends most of her days there. “I’m going to teach yoga until
I can’t breathe anymore,” she said.
“I just love yoga. It brightens my day and makes
everybody smile. I’m inspired to bring yoga into others’ lives along
with helping people unearth new talents.”
The previous record-holder for oldest
yoga teacher was Bernice Bates, 91, of Florida. She was given the
title last year. On her website, Bates wrote, “Tao is a living advertisement for how to
tap into our human potential. She is unique in her ability to
overcome the effects of aging to control her body and mind
in harmony with yoga’s principles.” |
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