A 102-year-old yoga teacher's simple approach to ageing well

On a cloudy Wednesday evening in mid-September, Charlotte Chopin assumed the position she has held for more than 40 years.

- Danielle Friedman

Dressed in a loose-fitting striped cotton top and pants, her short white hair a bit wild, she called her students to attention and began guiding them through stretches, encouraging them to follow her lead.

To a newcomer, Chopin's slight build and reserved demeanor might initially be mistaken for frailty. Then they'd watch her do a series of warrior poses her feet firmly planted on the ground, her arms stick straight, her form effortlessly flowing from one posture to the next.

Since 1982, Chopin, now 102 years old, has taught yoga in Léré, a French village in the Loire region. Its windy roads are lined with ramshackle homes and local businesses, many of the storefronts seemingly abandoned. You may encounter a sheep or donkey, but little else.

Nestled in this landscape is her studio-a small, square room with walls painted peach and housed inside a former police station. Its changing rooms were once jail cells. Her students that night were four local women, ranging in age from 35 to 60.

As class got underway, Chopin beckoned me to partner with her on a deep stretch. We both gripped a wooden pole and bent our knees, supporting each other in equilibrium. I hesitated at first, worried I would pull her over, but she matched my strength with little effort. Later, when I declined to do a daunting-looking move that involved flipping over while holding on to wall straps, she gamely demonstrated the exercise herself, then gestured for me to try. "Voilà," she said, when I succeeded.

In recent years, Chopin has become something of a celebrity in France, thanks to a 2022 appearance on La France a un Incroyable Talent," the French answer to "America's Got Talent. At 99, she performed a dozen near-perfect poses on stage.

"I feel good, with all these people who applaud me," she told the cameras in French. "It's unexpected."