Lady Yoga!

GREAT mover . . . Gladys Morris could be in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s oldest yoga teacher

Gladys, 90, closes in on world record

SUPER supple great-grandmother Gladys Morris is hoping to break into the record books — for being the oldest yoga instructor in the world.

The fitness fanatic teaches four classes a week at Shaw Community Centre despite the fact that she turns 90 on Monday and suffers from osteoarthritis.

Her students are so impressed with her dedication to keeping fit that they’ve contacted the Guinness World Records to get her the recognition she deserves.

Class member Linda Grime said: “According to the current Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest yoga instructor is an 83-year-old woman living in Australia so Gladys beats that by a long way.

“We’ve sent her birth certificate and teaching certificate off and we’re now waiting for verification. If that happens, Gladys will appear in the next edition of the book and we’ll have a huge celebration.”

Gladys, from Heyside, went to her first yoga class when she was 49 and it has been her passion ever since.

Her classes, held on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, attract students of all ages but Gladys can out do them all by contorting her slender frame into a series of eye-popping positions.

Gladys defied the odds when she made a full recovery after breaking three bones in her back following a bad fall in 2006.

Doctors said her super strong muscles had helped her body to heal itself and give her a speedier return to full strength.

She said: “Yoga has been a huge part of my life for a very long time and I have made lots of wonderful friends over the years. I credit yoga for keeping me fit and I am very flexible.

“Some people think it’s not as good a form of exercise as aerobics but you do work up a sweat and get an all-over toning workout.

“I’ve always been slim but I think yoga has played a huge part in keeping me so flexible and healthy with strong muscles.”

Gladys, who also goes to regular pilates classes, qualified as a yoga teacher in 1977 thanks to a long-distance learning course.

She started teaching in Shaw soon after and increased the number of classes she taught in 1999 when Jim, her husband of 45 years, died.

Linda added: “Gladys is an inspiration. She has osteo-arthritis but she is still very supple and her classes attract people of all ages.

“We are keeping our fingers crossed that we will soon be seeing her name in the Guinness World Records book.”