Olivette Baugh Robinson delights in showing others age is no barrier to staying fit.

The 89-year-old Chesterfield County resident has been teaching yoga for the past 20 years.

She currently teaches at two YMCA locations in Chesterfield and one in Powhatan County, in addition to instructing seniors at a Chesterfield retirement community and a senior center.

She also co-authored a 2011 book, “Chair Yoga for You,” a practical and easy-to-follow guide to more than 80 yoga poses and exercises that can be done while seated.

A boon to those who have trouble getting down on a yoga mat on the floor, the chair yoga resource book was the first of its kind on Amazon.com, Mrs. Robinson says, which made her extremely proud.

“I enjoy teaching yoga because it gives me pleasure to see what I can help others do,” she enthusiastically says. “I like seeing their expressions and hearing the comments when students appreciate their accomplishments.”

Mrs. Robinson says she began taking yoga at age 65 while living in New York City. A friend referred her to a good yoga teacher at a senior center.

“She thought I would enjoy the class, and she was right,” she recalls. “Although I was still working (she retired in 1992 as a day care center director), I took the class as often as possible.”

She soon fell in love with yoga, a practice that teaches a person to experience inner peace by controlling the body and mind through physical, mental and spiritual disciplines.

She passionately describes yoga as “way of life, an integrated system of education for the body, mind and inner spirit.”

She earned her teaching certificate in yoga in 1994 at a yoga ranch in the Catskill Mountains in New York. She then began teaching yoga and chair yoga classes at senior centers in Queens, N.Y.

“I was an immediate role model,” she says. “One of my students expressed it this way, ‘If that old lady can do it, so can I.’ ’’

She has taught students as young as 4 and as mature as 92.

She aspires to do more.

Her next goal: To make a chair yoga DVD.

Meet this week’s Personality, Olivette Baugh Robinson:

Date and place of birth: Jan. 12 in Petersburg.

Alma maters: Virginia State College (now University), bachelor’s of science degree in physical education; New York University, master’s degree in early childhood education.

Family: Husband, Bob. We married in 1945. He died in 1988.

Benefits of yoga: By practicing yoga, you become more aware and appreciative of your body. The exercises help you become more flexible, stronger and more coordinated. Breathing exercises help to strengthen your lungs. Relaxing exercises help you relieve tension.

In a yoga class, you learn to have a positive attitude about your ability, without comparison to others.

Doctors have begun recommending yoga for some of their patients.

Why practice yoga: To attain the benefits and it makes us feel good. We are always trying new postures and working to improve our postures.

Why I became an instructor: I love to teach. I wondered if it was reasonable to consider teaching yoga at age 69. I decided that I had to try it.

Number of people I have taught: I can’t imagine.

What is the most fun about yoga: Learning new postures and trying to improve on postures.

Favorite yoga pose: Headstand. In my style of yoga, the headstand is considered the king of postures. I have developed an effective way of helping students learn to do a headstand. It is fun to watch students master a headstand and then work on variations of the posture.

What kind of equipment is needed: For my style of yoga, only a yoga mat. For chair yoga, only a chair.

Best late-night snack: I enjoy apple juice and graham crackers.

Three words that best describe me: Teacher, old and honest.

I place top value on: Honesty.

Person who influenced me the most: My mother. She was a sweet, mild-mannered lady. But if you messed with her children, you would see a bear.

Book that influenced me the most: “Hawaii” by James Michener.

What I’m reading now: “Private” by James Patterson.

If I’ve learned one thing in life, it is: Each of us is given only one body and one mind. I appreciate what I have been given and try to make the best of it. I know that I have been blessed.