For people like Tao Porchon-Lynch, old is the new young. There’s literally nothing about her that suggests she is 93. The woman has been practicing yoga for over 70 years now, and teaching it to students in India, France, and the US for more than 45 years. What’s more, she participates in ballroom dancing in her free time, an activity she took up at the age of 87.

If the mere mention of her physical prowess is awe-inspiring, wait till you hear the story of how she took to dancing. When Tao Porchon-Lynch had just turned 87, she fell down outside a grocery store and broke her hip. She had to undergo a major hip-replacement surgery, something that would leave most people confined to bed for the rest of their life. But Tao would have none of that. Completely disregarding her doctor’s advice to slow things down, she walked into a ballroom-dancing studio merely one month after the surgery, starting lessons that very night. Today, at the age of 93, Tao participates in ballroom-dancing competitions in New Jersey, New York and Puerto Rico along with her 23-year-old dance partner. All this, while teaching 12 Yoga classes a week.

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Yoga has been around for thousands of years, and the benefits it has for the mind and body are unquestionable, so its ever-growing popularity is not surprising . But what is very surprising is  6-year-old Shruti Pandey, who has been a successful Yoga teacher for two years now.

Interestingly enough, she is not the only “miracle” in her family, as her older brother, Harsh Kumar, mastered all 84 yoga positions by the age of five, making it into the Limca Book of Records and becoming a source of inspiration and motivation for Shruti. But he has never been interested in becoming a teacher.

67 year-old Hari Chetan, Shruti’s instructor, who set up the Swami Brahmachand Saraswati Kaivalya Dham Ashram 35 years ago, is simply amazed not only with her flexibility, which many may find normal for a child this age, but also with her talent and determination. She proved to be e vary quick learner and as she mastered this art for herself, it didn’t come as a surprise when she started teaching others, in classes of around 30 adults that start at 5:30am. Everyone is amazed with her talent and the patience she puts in for everything and every one.

“The best thing about Shruti is she tries to provide an alternative position for the complicated ones that are difficult for an older person like me to do. She’s very patient,” says 90-year-old retired teacher Swami Bhanu.

After only three months of attending Shruti’s classes, 48-year-old businessman Lokendra Pal Singh says: “I have noticed a positive change in my life. I used to be short-tempered, but now I’m able to control my anger to quite an extent and it’s all thanks to a little six-year old.”

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Star Wars and Yoga don’t have that much in common , unless maybe the mysticism that surrounds both the Jedi arts and the ancient meditative discipline, but that didn’t stop a fanboy from combining them in an awesome set of Star wars inspired Yoga positions.

While contemplating names of various Yoga poses, young Matthew Latkiewicz, a big Star Wars fan from the UK, decided to come up with some ingenious poses of his own, inspired by his favorite sci-fi franchise. Before long he came up with some geeky Star Wars Yoga poses that he then sent to Wired UK magazine, who actually published them.

His awesome Star Wars Yoga poses draw inspiration from the original Star Wars trilogy, but Matthew is considering developing  a new series of poses based on the more recent prequels. He says it would be known as ‘The Disappointed Fanboy’. Very inspired name, I must say.

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A lot simpler and definitely more fun that traditional Yoga, the art of Laughter Yoga aims to keep people healthy through laughter.

It’s a known fact that laughter has a positive effect on our body and mind, but sometimes life gets you so down, you can’t find one reason to laugh. That’s where Laughter Yoga comes into play, because you don’t need a reason to laugh. This unusual form of exercise relies on the premise that your body can and knows how to laugh, regardless of what your mind has to say about it. You don’t need to know jokes, be happy, or even have a sense of humor to practice Laughter Yoga. It’s a body-mind approach, not mind-body.

Because laughter has proven a valuable asset in keeping healthy, Laughter Yoga aims to remind people that laughter is a powerful weapon against various diseases. But in order for it to work, practitioners have to laugh wholeheartedly for long periods of time (between 30 and 60 minutes), for no reason at all. You just have to leave all your problems and worries at the door, and laugh like a child with no care in the world.

Sounds like the kind of therapy I’d like to try, and statistics say it really works. In Asia, Laughter Yoga is already a popular practice used in prisons around the Philippines and by Indian policemen. It’s also becoming increasingly popular in the US.

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Prahlad Jani, the amazing Yogi who claims he hasn’t eaten or drunk and fluids, for the last 70 years, was put to the test, by Indian specialists, and proved his claims were honest.

82-year-old Prahlad Jani, who says he has survived the last seven decades on heavenly nectar, poured through a hole in his palette, by a goddess, is now a confirmed unique phenomenon. Prahlad, who was first tested, by scientists, in 2003, has now returned to the same hospital, to undergo a new series of investigations.

Between April 28 and May 6, the incredible Yogi was supervized by 30 video cameras and a team of Indian scientists. During this time he didn’t eat a thing, and only used water to shower and clean his mouth. He also never passed any urine or other waste. Though studies showed urine in his blatter, at one point, it mysteriously disappeared.

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You didn’t think these adorable purring fur-balls were going to stand by and let dogs show off their yoga moves without proving their own flexibility, did you?

Two months ago Dan and Alejandra Borris presented the amazing Yoga Dogs Calendar and now they’re blowing the minds of animal lovers everywhere, with the 2010 Yoga Cats Calendar. Alejandra, a former yoga teacher, borrowed her neighbors’ cats and coaxed them in yoga-like positions while her husband took the photos.

Because they didn’t want to force the cats into anatomically-impossible positions, the couple got them as close as they could get to the desired positions and then Dan used his Photoshop skills to get the right effect.

Have a look at the entire Yoga Cats and Yoga Dogs Calendars on their official site.

via Daily Mail

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Times Square is one of the most crowded places on Earth, but that didn’t stop 200+ people from practicing yoga right in the middle of it.

On the morning of the Summer Solstice, on June 21, 2009 more than 200 yoga enthusiasts gathered in the “Crossroads of the World” for the seventh annual free yoga classes. Participants probably thought it would be  a challenge to achieve total peace and calmness in the center of Time Square.

I wonder if yoga granny took part in this unusual yoga session.

Photos by REUTERS/XINHUA

via People.com.cn

Everyone keeps telling me about the beneficial effects of practicing Yoga, but this is too much.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen what Yoga can do for older people, but that doesn’t make these photos any less impressive. I was around five or six the last time I was able to bring my foot up to the tip of my nose, and this guy puts his feet behind his back with ease, at over fifty years of age. I really have to start practicing Yoga!

via Moobol

Have you ever tried pouring salt water into your nose? No, not for fun, but to cure a runny nose or treat sinusitis. Most people have never heard about Netti Pot, but this is an ancient and simple Ayurvedic remedy used especially by Yoga practitioners.

The Netti Pot method basically consists of pouring slightly salted water into one of your nostrils and allowing it to clean the sinuses until it comes out your other nostril. It might seem a little awcward at first, but after a while you’ll get used to it.

Check out the video at the bottom to see how Netti Pot works.