I recently got into yoga about a year ago and immediately loved the benefits. I admit that I hated the slow pace and all the breathing I had to do. My usual workouts were intense lifting with challenging cardio. However, I knew that stretching my tight muscles needed to be done! According to this 91 year old toga teacher, it’s all she’s ever needed to stay fit and young.
Bates stated taking and teaching yoga in the 1960’s. She has recently won a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the oldest yoga instructor. Guinness says she is the oldest yoga instructor to complete the complex verification process.
“I think yoga is the best exercise there is,” says Bates, who has always been active and still swims laps.
“I’ve never had anything I had to go to the doctor for, except checkups,” says Bates, who tips the scale at 105 pounds and is about 5 foot, 2 inches tall. “That should say something.”
Yoga involves the whole body — muscles, ligaments, organs, she says, and gives you energy without exhausting your body.
“You’re not just standing on a treadmill and going, going, going and you get off and can hardly walk,” she says. “Yoga itself means yoke, that’s to join. We join our mind, our body and our spirit in everything we do (source).
Bates is also very active outside the gym and lives alone (not in assisted living) in her own home. She loves to tend to her gardens and believes that if she hadn’t been doing yoga all these years this would not be possible.
If you haven’t tried yoga then I suggest you give yourself at least 4 sessions! Don’t be negative about it, don’t be in a rush to leave, and definitely focus on the positive things it’s doing for your body. Find a friend that’s a yogi and join them in the fun. 4 Sessions and you’ll be hooked!
Adria Ali
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