Inspiring Seniors

May 04, 2018

Five Tips to Live Like This Active 98-year-old During Retirement

Cecilia Chiang is the 98-year-old former owner of the Mandarin Restaurant in San Francisco, which she opened in 1961 and sold in 1991. Her son followed in her footsteps and is a co-founder of the P.F. Chang’s restaurant chain.

Cecilia has a long list of accomplishments. She received the James Beard Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013, was featured in the book “200 Women: Who Will Change the Way You See the World” and was the subject of a PBS documentary called “Soul of a Banquet.”

Cecilia hasn’t slowed down in retirement. She is a consultant for San Francisco restaurants and works with charities. She goes to movies and the ballet. She still cooks at home and enjoys meals at restaurants in her neighborhood. “I like to work,” she told MarketWatch. “I enjoy what I’m doing. It makes my life more interesting.”

Cecilia Chiang is enjoying a long and active life well into retirement. And she’s planned for it. Advisers say that others should follow her lead. The average woman who turned 65 in 2015 has a one-in-three chance of turning 90, up from one-in-four chance 50 years ago. And for newborns — almost one in 10 girls and one in 20 boys born now will live past 100, according to the University of Southern California’s Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

Here’s what to do to enjoy a retirement like Cecilia Chiang’s:

Enter retirement with a plan. Know what you would like to do in retirement, and have a financial plan.
Go into retirement debt-free. Debt is crushing at any age, but especially during retirement.
Get the right financial and legal advice. Do your homework and select reputable advisers.
Know what your expenses will be. Health care alone will cost at least $280,000 during the span of retirement for a 65-year-old American couple retiring this year, according to a recent estimate by Fidelity Investments. And those are out-of-pocket expenses that do not include long-term care.
Think about a side hustle. Future retirees expect employment to make up a quarter of their income (to supplement their Social Security benefits and retirement account withdrawals). As Cecilia Chiang said “I never really retired.”

Reference: Alessandra Malito, 5 Tips to Live in Retirement Like This Famous 98-Year-Old, Market Watch, (May 1, 2018).

Jun 16

Still Teaching Yoga At Age 97

I have been following Tao Porchon-Lynch for years. Recently, I came across yet another article about her in the New York Times.

Tao grew up in India, and discovered yoga when she was only eight years old. She has studied yoga with several of the notable masters. In May 2012, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized Tao Porchon-Lynch as the world’s oldest yoga instructor at age 93.

In 2013, Tao worked with Tara Stiles to produce a yoga DVD, titled Yoga with Tao Porchon-Lynch, which is available on Amazon.com.

Tao has written two books about the practice of yoga: Reflections: The Yogic Journey of Life, and Dancing Light: The Spiritual Side of Being Through the Eyes of a Modern Yoga Master, which won three 2016 International Book Awards.

Tao’s energy and enthusiasm are an inspiration to me. At 97 years old, she still teaches six to eight classes a week in New York, and leads programs all over the world.

Learn more about Tao in this video: Inspiration, Life & “Dancing Light”

May 27

96-Year-Old Dr. Heimlich Uses His Signature Maneuver To Save A Choking Victim

Do you know what the Heimlich maneuver is?

I learned the Heimlich maneuver for the first time when I was sixteen years old, while working as a nursing assistant. The Heimlich maneuver is one of the techniques taught in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. It involves the administration of abdominal thrusts to a choking victim to expel foreign bodies from the victim’s airway.

The Heimlich maneuver was named after Dr. Henry Heimlich, the surgeon who developed the procedure in 1974. This week, the 96-year-old retired chest surgeon had the opportunity to use his life-saving maneuver to help a choking victim. Although he had demonstrated the maneuver countless times since inventing it in 1974, it was the first time he had actually used it to stop someone from choking.

“The whole thing was very moving to me,” Dr. Heimlich said. “I never thought that I would be saving someone’s life by doing the Heimlich maneuver.” He also said that it made him appreciate how wonderful it has been to save so many lives.

Reference: USA Today, May 27, 2016

May 14

The Lady In Number 6

This Academy Award winning 2013 documentary is very inspiring! It is about the power of optimism and the human spirit. Alice Herz-Sommer was 109 years old and was the world’s oldest living pianist when this documentary was filmed. She was also the oldest living Holocaust survivor. This is a story about how her natural optimism and love of music literally saved her life.

Before watching this 37 minute documentary, it never occurred to me that a woman of her age could be so alive, so passionate about her purpose, and so full of joy. Even at age 109, Alice continued to practice the piano for several hours every day, and to strive for perfection. She said emphatically with a smile, “Without work you cannot achieve anything! When you love something, you work and work and work at it!”

Alice passed away in 2014 at age 110, one week before “The Lady In Number 6” won an Academy Award for Best Documentary. She lived independently and did what she loved until the last day of her life. She left a legacy of optimism and hope for the next generation.

Do you have a message to share with the next generation?

Excerpt: The Lady in Number 6