Imagine being 106 years old, still physically and mentally active, and doing what you love.
Los Angeles resident Risa “Amazing” Igelfeld does just that, speaking to groups about how she has survived all these decades after fleeing Austria in 1938 to escape Nazi persecution.
Many of her family members were killed in the Holocaust in which Hitler annihilated six million Jews. She escaped and went on to be an educator in the Los Angeles area until the age of 84, when she retired to travel.
Recently she talked to an invited group of senior citizens and others at Q4 Active, a one-of-a-kind exercise program in Woodland Hills that is geared toward those over 50 and combines physical agility with cognitive health in the fourth-quarter of one’s life.
The Q4 Active gym is designed for those whose bones are becoming more brittle and who need to concentrate on stretching, getting muscles moving, and getting oxygen flowing in the blood. So it’s apropos for the agile and graceful centurion to pump up the crowd and share her thoughts on longevity.
“Think positive,” said the 4-foot 10-inch educator.
Igelfeld has amazing posture, a keen sense of humor and never imbibes in alcohol or tobacco, which medical experts say shorten people’s lives.
Dressed in a dark brown top with orangish designs, and sporting a necklace and earrings, she told the question-and-answer gathering that the positive attitude she passed on to others sustained her through decades as she pursued her passion for educating children and their families.
“Just stay positive,” she said again, with a spark of humor.
In her decades in the U.S., Igelfeld worked as a nursery school teacher, earned a degree in early childhood education, married, gave birth to a son and daughter, and in the mid-1950s became a teacher at the Hollywood Los Feliz Jewish Community Center where she worked for 40 years.
A musician who plays the accordion and piano, she also sings — in 17 different languages.
On a recent Saturday she sang five songs in different languages to the delight of the gathered invitees.
Tony Berlant, a co-founder of Q4 Active and vice president of training and development who creates programming at Q4 Active — including classes and one-on-one training sessions — said the audience included men and women as young as 52 and as old as 93.
“Risa can walk them under the table,” Berlant quipped. “We (have) good videos dancing with Risa. ‘Think positive’ was her message to us, and in addition she said to always experience gratitude. Be grateful for every moment. Yeah, gratitude and positivity were really the things she promoted.”