World's Oldest Yoga Teacher Shares Her Tips for a Long, Happy Life

Tao Porchon-Lynch has been practicing yoga for over 70 years, and has been teaching it for 45

Tao Porchon-Lynch is 99 years old, and she’s still practices – and teaches! – yoga regularly.

So what’s her secret to staying happy and active?

“Every morning I wake up and say this is going to be the best day of my life – and it is,” Porchon-Lynch tells Well and Good. “My life is my meditation.”

Porchon-Lynch abides by three simple tips to stay upbeat. The first is to not get fixated on bad things that may or may not happen.

“Your mind gets in the way. It plagues you with all of the things that can go wrong,” she says. “I don’t let it get in my way.”

Secondly, she says to stop judging others.

“Don’t look down on anyone,” she says. “Know that you can learn from everyone.”

Finally, Porchon-Lynch says to begin each day feeling happy.

“Wake up with a smile on your face!”

Porchon-Lynch has been practicing yoga for over 70 years, and has been teaching it for 45.

She encourages people of all ages to try yoga, and says it’s never too late to start.

“Don’t give up and think, ‘I’ve done it. Now I can sit back,’ ” she told Newsweek. “You haven’t seen enough of this earth and there is a lot more to see that is beautiful.”

“I went once to a place to do a yoga program for seniors, and they were all sitting around hunched over actually waiting to die,” she told the paper. “I came in with my high heels and said, ‘Are you going to join me?’ One woman replied, ‘Oh no, at our age?’ I said, ‘How old are you?’ One said, ‘I’m 68.’ Another said, ‘I’m 75.’ The oldest was 79. I said, ‘Oh, that’s it? You’re all my children!’ “