Actress Jin Yinji, 77, tries yoga for the first time
Veteran actress Jin Yinji is keeping herself active and moving amid her grief over the death of her husband, Mr Anthony Lee, in 2023.
The television star, who recently appeared in Channel 8 series Cash On Delivery (2023), posted several photos of herself trying trapeze yoga on Instagram on Aug 19. It was captioned: “I’m already 77 years old, I’ve got to try everything once.”
In an interview with Shin Min Daily News, Jin said she took up yoga partially to occupy her time after the death of Mr Lee, an antique furniture dealer, from a sudden heart attack in October 2023. He was 85.
The couple, who tied the knot in 1972, were married for more than 50 years and Mr Lee’s death was devastating for Jin.
She told Shin Min: “We’re in the seventh lunar month now. In the past, he’d always been the one giving me money to spend, but now, I have to burn joss paper for him. I can’t take it. I cried for several hours this morning (on Aug 20), my tears just kept flowing.”
The seventh month of the lunar calendar is known in Chinese custom as the Ghost Month, and said to be the period when the gates of the netherworld opens and the spirits of the deceased roam among the living.
She added: “I told myself I have to right my mindset. I have to find things to do, keep myself busy, so I won’t keep missing my husband.”
She said that in the immediate aftermath of her husband’s death, she spent every day crying. Her three live-in maids took turns to care for her around the clock, for fear that she would hurt herself.
Yoga is one way Jin is coping with the loss of her long-time partner.
“I’ve actually wanted to try yoga for over a year, but I never dared to challenge myself because yoga just feels like something for young people to learn. I picked up the courage to try it, not just because I wanted to try something new, but also because I did not want to just stay home every day missing my husband.”
Jin plans to go for trapeze yoga once a week. Her first lesson was on Aug 16.
Trapeze yoga combines floor-based and suspended postures using a hammock suspended from the ceiling. As the hammock provides support for the body, it is said to be a safer form of yoga which is less prone to sprains and injuries.
“Being suspended by the hammock feels very comfortable, like a baby swaddled in a cradle, it feels so good, I want to fall asleep in it,” Jin said.
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