Steve Kirschner, 64, transformed his life with yoga and a vegan
diet. Now he’s touring the USA telling others it’s never too late
T
en years ago, at 55, Steve Kirschner was on track to
becoming overweight and sick. He was experiencing
daily back pain and the doctors wanted to operate
on him for scoliosis. Not wanting to go that route, he
started to research his options.
Later, after the global financial crash, he gave up his old life and
hit the road to follow a vegan van yoga lifestyle. He transitioned to a
plant-based diet and began a daily yoga routine. Today, approaching
65 this December, he says he’s in better shape than he was in high
school. He’s now travelling the country with his wife, showing older
guys that they don’t have to be fat and out of shape. And, even
though his camper van is small, he makes sure to do at least one
hour yoga and meditation every morning. Here’s his story:I am home. In my safe spot.
On my mat.
All is well, as time melts away.Outside, the soft sand of Pismo Beach and the blue Pacific await
further discovery as this day unfolds. It is six in the morning. Seagulls
fly low looking for breakfast, as the waves crash just yards away. A few
dozen other intrepid campers are set up on the 20 mile expanse of
West Coast beach and dunes. The air is brisk and clean and the early
rays of the sun are warm. I am barefooted and wearing beach shorts.
My home is anywhere I park it. I live in a camper van. I call her
the Tardis, named after the phone-booth spaceship on the classic
Doctor Who series.
Like the Tardis, my 1990 Dodge Roadtrek is bigger on the insidethan the outside. It is just 20 feet-long, but is equipped with a two-
burner stove, fridge and freezer, toilet, hot and cold running water, a
generator, a bed and, of course, most importantly for me, space for
my yoga and daily meditation. Equally at home in campgrounds and
city streets, the Tardis fits into her environment with ease and grace.
The Monday morning traffic of the big city begins. The buses, with
few takers yet at this early hour, zip along into their day. Sleepy
commuters are on the move.
Yes, it’s another day in La La Land. No one can see me and no one
pays my home any mind.Rewind to 2011
It’s the holiday season in 2011, and I’m enjoying what will be my
last visit to my vacation cabin in Big Bear, 7,000 feet high in the
mountains but just 100 miles from my home in the Malibu hills. The
credit crunch has destroyed my online computer supply business,
and is now taking out my real estate investments, one at a time. My
life had become a spreadsheet of sorts as I attempted to pay my
mortgages, property taxes and other expenses of an overbooked
life. My retirement funds and plans were gone. I was putting on some
serious weight and got sick on a regular basis. My back and my
joints ached from not enough exercise and a poor diet.
I’ve been doing yoga and meditation for a year now in an attempt to
find relief from the financial stress of too many balls in the air at once.
It’s cold and snowing outside on this mid-December morning,
as I begin my meditation by the roaring fire. At some point, time
seemed to slow and then stop, and all I was aware of was the glow
and the warmth of the furnace and a total white-out through theVAN TASTIC
JOURNEY
NEVER TOO LD