92-Year-Old Yoga Teacher Has No Plan to Quit

Amy Taylor September 28, 2012

They say if you love what you’re doing, you will never get tired of it. Bernie Bates is a living proof to that. Now at 92, she still teaches yoga and has no plan to quit.

Bernie, as her students call her, has been practising yoga for more than half her life, starting her career in 1960, teaching both children and adults. She currently teaches at the Mainland’s Retirement Community Centre in Pinellas Park, in Florida, USA. Most of her students are in their 60s and 70s but she also has several students in their 80s. Some of them have been with her for 15 years.

Yoga is her life

For her, everyday is a yoga day. Even before her feet touches the floor, Bernie already starts practising yoga, particularly the vinyasa movements. She does a series of 7 to 8 poses that includes stretching her arms and shoulders, pulling her knees to her chest, and so on. These postures take about 8 minutes all in all.

She gives all the credits to yoga for staying healthy, fit and flexible despite her age. For Bernie, yoga is the best exercise out there. She sees her doctor only for checkups. Bernie is 105-pound heavy and 5 foot, 2 inches tall. Just last year, she became famous worldwide for being the world’s oldest yoga teacher. According to Guinness, Bernie is the oldest instructor who has completed complex verification process.

Why people should do yoga

Yoga involves the whole body, she says. It strengthens the ligaments, organs, and muscles, and gives people the energy they need without exhausting their bodies. Because yoga is a low-intensity workout, it is highly accessible to older people and those who have physical disabilities. In yoga, people join their mind, body and spirit, Bernie added. Also, this kind of workout promotes better flexibility because students get to work with their whole body.

Bernie is a very supportive teacher. She provides handouts so students can study the poses at home and practise them. She says it makes her feel rewarded when she see her students being able to do a pose that they haven’t done before.

At 92, Bernie is a widow of nine years, a mother of three, grandmother of seven and great-grandmother of three.

“It just encouraged me to keep going and it made my life better”.

This energetic and inspiring yoga instructor doesn’t have any plan of quitting. She says as long as she can and be able to help someone else, she will keep teaching yoga. It has been her life and seeing someone else learn gives her joy.