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98-year-old Tao Porchon-Lynch has held, and will likely hold for many years, the honor of being the world’s oldest living yoga instructor. The title was bestowed upon her back in 2012, and now, in 2017, she’s still not slowing down.
Porchon-Lynch has just launched a new campaign, “Power of She,” with the athletic company, Athleta. Her angle: showcase the “life-changing” benefits of yoga.
For Porchon-Lynch, her own yoga practice began when she was just eight years old, back in India. A group of boys were doing yoga, and she asked, out of curiosity, if she could join. Her passion for the practice only grew stronger over time.
Yoga has been proven to have many beneficial effects on the body. It improves a person’s brain function, helps lower anxiety, and can also be beneficial in maintaining a lower body weight.
These benefits – as well as others – are what keep Porchon-Lynch so dedicated to the practice.
“If you do postures without the breathing you will never change anything,” Porchon-Lynch explained. “When people are known to breathe properly they can survive and do anything. Nothing is impossible when you are in tune with your breath.”
This piece of advice, though seemingly small, is one that Porchon-Lynch actually says to all of her students, whether they’re regulars at her local New York class or students on a 1,000-person retreat in the Bahamas.
The practice of yoga and its foundation of deep breathing allows you not only to be in-tune with yourself, but to also be more positive.
“When you wake up in the morning, say, ‘This is going to be the best day of my life,’” Porchon-Lynch instructs. “People say I changed their life. I didn’t change their life. I just taught them to use their breath.”
You can watch an ad for her Athleta campaign here:
