This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Barbara Brown, 83, who works as a yoga instructor in Richmond, Virginia. Brown said her work has been fulfilling, given that many of her classes are at nursing homes. Though she needs to work to supplement her Social Security, Brown said she has no intention of retiring. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
I started working after school at the age of 15 and have been working ever since. My family wasn’t well-off and needed help, so I took it upon myself to attend college at night and work all day.
While I was in school, a gentleman from JPMorgan recruited me to work for the company. I began my career as an auditor after earning my degree in accounting.
I spent over 15 years at JPMorgan, and it was a wonderful experience, but it wasn’t easy. I then worked at smaller companies as a controller, overseeing accounting operations. I also worked for entertainment companies and startups in New York.
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I moved to Richmond about 20 years ago. My husband got sick and had a stroke, so we moved here because my son was going to college here. Richmond is very different from New York, but I found a job at a visual arts place, where I stayed for about 10 years until 2009.
After retiring from that job, I became a yoga instructor, and I’m still running my business full-time at age 83.
I’ve always done yoga
I did so especially when I worked on Wall Street to keep my nerves together. In Richmond, I started doing a lot of yoga while I was working, and it came to a point where I thought I’d like to be a teacher, as I was getting older.
I took my vacation time and spent two weeks at an ashram. I returned six months later to complete my training.
I earned my first certification as a 200-hour yoga teacher and got a job at the Y, where I taught a class during my lunch hour in 2009. I then retired from my full-time job. I distinctly remember my last day, when I boxed everything up and then went to teach my yoga class. I never really stopped working.
I would travel to cafés to teach seniors, and I taught at studios. I made it my business to teach everywhere and continue to study.
I led yoga retreats, taking people overseas to countries like Costa Rica and Guatemala. I would teach twice a day, and we would have vegetarian meals. I did that for seven years, in addition to my regular teaching.
Now, I’m concentrating on teaching at nursing homes
I have five nursing homes that I travel to, and I’m grateful because it’s a great experience for me, as a person over 80, to be in the shape I’m in. I visit several places where people experience memory loss, so I have developed a technique to teach them.
They love music, so I go in with a drum and get them singing. It’s fascinating that people with memory loss often recognize familiar tunes. I can give them a laugh, and even with some loss, they can benefit from yoga.
I teach chair yoga, so I don’t have to get down on a mat. I can sit in the chair and demo to the class what needs to be done. I still privately teach one person on the mat who comes to my house.
There’s a woman who never moves, and they put her in my class, and I looked over and saw her moving her hands and feet. It’s a truly rewarding experience to see that I’m making a positive impact on people’s lives.
I can also work with young people — I can work with anybody. It’s just that I couldn’t work with young people constantly because I’d have to be on the mat, and that would be too much for my body, so this works for me.
I’m not like the average yoga teacher. I’ve handled all the finances for my business and haven’t asked anyone for help. I hope to continue teaching for as long as possible.
I’m also a vegan, and I follow a very strict diet
I’ve been vegan for over 35 years. It isn’t very expensive to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, and I don’t eat a lot. Seeing so many people in the conditions that they’re in, many of whom are younger than me, I wish a lot of them would eat a better diet.
I don’t take any medications. At my last physical, I was told my vital statistics put me at age 40. I don’t feel old. When I went to the chiropractor, one of the staff members asked me how old I was. I said, I’m not going to tell you, because then you put me in a range.
I’m not working just for the money because I really love it, but I need the money to help me financially
I work to supplement my Social Security, which would not be enough on its own.
I bought a house to rent out, but when COVID-19 broke out, the renters didn’t pay me for seven months. I’m still paying back my credit cards. I also have a mortgage on my own home.
Becoming a yoga teacher is also extremely expensive. I could have never done it now. It costs around $10,000 to start, and then you have to keep up with ongoing learning. Even yoga clothes are expensive, and it’s a very upscale activity.
I have a son and three grandkids
My schedule is so busy that I’m not a typical grandmother. I’m not baking cookies and cooking for my grandkids, though I do see them often. Once I finish teaching, I rest, because it is a lot of energy, especially for an older body. I do some breath work when I come home.
Everybody has had challenges of all kinds. Losing my husband and my mother was very hard. I stay in the moment, not looking back or regretting. My time is spent creating. What can I do now to create a better life and to help others have a better life?
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