'World's oldest' yoga teacher is a spritely 91-years-old

Bernice Bates is 91 years old and more flexible than people a third of her age.
Guinness World Records recently awarded her title of Oldest Yoga Teacher. While there might be other, older yogis, Ms Bates, completed the lengthy documentation process required by Guinness. Her daughter nominated her earlier this year. Ms Bates first began practising yoga 50 years ago after she saw it on a television programme. These days the great-grandmother teaches once a week at the Mainlands Retirement Community Center in Pinellas Park, Florida.

Her students are usually a decade or two younger than she is. Ms Bates believes in gentle yoga: no sweaty, strenuous or competitive stretching in her classes. "You may not do it perfect, but there's no perfect person," she said. Kathleen Techler, 86, has been taking Ms Bates' class for five years. She can easily go into a plough pose - lying flat on her back, raising her legs all the way over her head and rolling back so her toes touch the floor.


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"It loosens up my muscles," said Ms Techler, who shrugs at the suggestion that she's flexible. Gentle exercises such as yoga and tai chi can be especially good for seniors because they build balance, which can help prevent falls, medical experts say. Ms Bates credits yoga for her good health - she doesn't take medication or have any health problems - and says it gives her the ability to enjoy the things she loves: flower gardening and worshipping at her Methodist church. She also lifts weights, walks, swims and does tai chi.

She starts stretching the moment she wakes up, with a series of poses to get her blood flowing. "It gives you a good outlook. It involves your mind," she said. "Your mind, your body and your spirit. They all work together and they're all coordinated. "Whereas when you're on a treadmill, that's all you're doing, and you're tired when you're done. We build energy in our body, we don't take it out."