World's Oldest Female Yoga Instructor- Bette Calman

Yoga instructor Bette Calman may be 83, but she's still bending over backwards to spread the benefits of the ancient Indian discipline. The nimble grandmother can really pull some shapes and with her set hair and pearl earrings she looks as glamorous as Greta Garbo in a pink jumpsuit. With 40 years of teaching under her belt, the Australian wonder is living proof that a lifetime's dedication to yoga will keep you flexible as a rubber band.

When she relocated near her daughter’s home eight years ago, Yoga instructor Bette Calman had every thought of retiring, but her daughter’s agenda included other plans for her. At the time, she had already made a reputation for herself as a yoga instructor, had written a couple of books and had appeared on more television shows than she could count. First, she was asked to help out at her daughter’s health clinic – then she became a fixture, and continues to be so to this day.

The secret, she says, is learning to comprehend that the “body is an instrument,” which means that age has nothing to do with how we should feel. This is why, while other women and men her age have problems tying their shoelaces or stooping to pick something up from the floor, she can do the raised lotus, sit on her head and hold the peacock, where the entire bodyweight is supported on the arms alone.

Not only does she attribute to yoga her excellent physical condition but also her feeling so young. As already noted, at 83, she can put most people even half her age to shame with the things she can do. “Yoga keeps you young. Never have I gone to a yoga class and wished I was somewhere else, because I know I’m going to come out feeling on the top of the world. There’ll always be yoga.” Calman explains.