At age 97 Ida Keeling broke the US sprinting record for her age group, doing a 100 meter dash in under 52 seconds. More impressive is the fact that she only started running at the age of 67. Keeling took up running to get over her depression. Life has not been easy for her. She lost her husband at age 42 to heart attack. She lost her two sons to gruesome homicides. Then finally when her brothers passed away she took to running to lift her depression at the urging of her daughter. And she has never looked back since then. Ida Keeling meets our definition of an yogi: not allowing life’s setbacks to get to her, staying active and fit, and counting her blessings everyday.
Here is her mantra for life: “Don’t wait for somebody to love you; love yourself. Do what you need to do, not what you want to do. Eat for nutrition, not for taste. And try to stay calm if you can.”
Related:
Ida Keeling on Oprah’s website
Ida Keeling on NY Times news.
Ida, you are truly a inspirational, courageous young lady. I hope to grow in to a great woman like you one day. Thank you for your presence in our world.