We all probably wonder what the secret is to living a long life, and now one woman can tell us… or show us.
Phyllis Sues, 93, swears she knows the secret formula, and it includes the Tango, jumping rope, playing tennis, doing yoga, writing music, lyrics, and blogs, flying on a trapeze and skydiving. Oh, did I mention she’s 93?!
“It takes dedication, desire and fearlessness on a daily basis,” Sues said in her mindbodygreen article. “And it wasn’t until my mid-80’s that I really began to make this shift.”
She does the Tango… (How amazing does she look?!)
And enjoys the trapeze…
What can’t Sues do?!
But, a lot of us don’t need to be in our 80s (or 90s!) to make positive changes in our lives or to start frequenting our local yoga studio.
Sues’ secret to a long and healthy life is… yoga! I’d also add that it seems like it’s from leading an overall active lifestyle, too—she had her first ballet lesson at the age of 14.
Then, she danced her way through America and Europe, including performing as a Spanish dancer in a USO tour for the Air Corps, as well as on Broadway.
But back to yoga. There are a countless number of health benefits to yoga, including that it helps boost your immune system, is great for circulation and oxygenation of the body, and decreases blood pressure.
Yoga is Sues’ exercise of choice each day. “I do yoga to live, and I live to do yoga… Yes, there are many other ways to exercise the body, but in my opinion, none are as all-encompassing as yoga.”
She says one’s body is their best friend and needs to be charged. She also jumps rope for six minutes a day. And she throws in doing the Tango for good measure.
The best part? She didn’t start doing yoga until she was 85. She had arthritis in her knees and spine and osteoporosis, and believes that all her movement and yoga have been key—“It’s worth every breath you take,” she said.
“Advanced yoga is like jazz music,” she said in a piece in The Huffington Post. “The best jazz players are gifted and trained musicians. The[y] have the ability to break the rules, because they know them so well. Same goes for yoga.”
Here’s a picture of Sues from the ‘50s.
And she still looks amazing all these years later.
“At birth you were given an amazing instrument—your body,” Sues said. “It’s the only one you’ll ever get in this life, so love it, respect and honor it.”
To get even more inspired, check out this YouTube video of Sues dancing. If that won’t get you up and moving, I don’t know what will.
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