Oldest yoga instructor

Bernice Bates, who at 91 is officially the world's oldest yoga instructor, teaches in front of a yoga class, as she's been doing since 1960.

By Lisa Flam/ TODAY.com contributor

Before her feet even touch the floor each morning, Bernice Bates is practicing yoga.

While still in bed, she does her vinyasa, a series of seven or eight postures that gets her blood flowing. She puts her arms above her head for a stretch and a yawn, pulls her knees to her chest, “walks” the ceiling with her feet and stretches her shoulders and hands.

“By the time you’re through — it takes about eight minutes — you’re ready to walk, instead of slopping around,” Bates said. “You can walk to the kitchen, to the bathroom, whatever your procedure is and not sort of drag yourself and say, ‘I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to do that.’ You’re ready to go.”

Yoga has been a way of life for Bates, 91, for more than half her life: She began practicing and teaching hatha yoga in about 1960. In a fitting tribute to her decades of helping others learn her passion, she recently won the distinction of the Guinness World Record holder of oldest yoga instructor.

It’s an honor, the humble yogi feels, that isn’t hers alone. More >>