Nanammal is a 98-year-old woman from India. In her respectable age she is doing yoga actively and, moreover, she teaches yoga hundreds of students, conducting classes every day. Her youngest student is just 6 years old, but even those who are doing yoga for several years, are amazed of how easily and naturally Nanammal perform movements that are difficult even for those who are much younger than her. She began to practice yoga at the age of 8 with her parents. After Nanammal was married, she continued her studies of yoga with an instructor, and has practiced it almost every day. 90 years of practice give very good results. More strikingly that Nanammal has never been in hospital and never took pillows.
“The secret of my health is simple – I just never stop doing yoga, that’s all”, the woman says. It seems that she can bend in any direction and take any position, even a fairly complicated pose “balasana”, which is not given to every yoga lover. Every day students come to the house of Nanammal to study. “I admire her flexibility, says one of her students. – She can do things that we have difficulties with even after some years of training”. Nanammal’s son Balakrishnan also teaches yoga. “My mom can do completely all difficult asanas, even very painful posture “peacock”, which means that you need to keep your body in a horizontal position, relying solely on the hands”.
Physical condition of Nanammal is really amazing. In her Sari she seems very fragile, but when she performs the exercises, her movements exact and sure. “I do yoga in the evening before going to bed and every morning with my students. While my body is in tension, it remains flexible. If I allow myself relax, my strength will leave me”, says Nanammal.