The Youthful Older Yogi

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! Have you ever received a text asking you to substitute teach a class that was completely out of your comfort zone? Your immediate instinct might be to say, "No way, I’m not experienced enough!" In this episode, MJ shares her personal stories from subbing back home in Fairport, New York this summer—navigating everything from a...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! How is your summer going? Are you actually taking advantage of the gorgeous weather and getting outdoors? In this episode, we are turning the season into The Summer Yoga Playground ! Give yourself permission to take your practice completely off the studio floor and step into the elements. I’m sharing three beautifully unique ways to le...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! When was the last time you were truly excited about summer? Honestly, for me, it’s been a while. So I decided to shake things up this season, take some chances, and dedicate this summer to connection, community, and trying brand-new things. In today’s episode, I am coming to you from my hometown of Rochester, New York, to share the wil...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! Summertime... we wait for it all year, don't we? It’s that anticipated shift when the schedules wrap up, the routines clear out, and the world invites us into a beautiful season of pure "non-doing." In this episode, I am admitting and acknowledging that I already have that lazy summertime feeling—and I am fully embracing...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! Are you afraid that asking for more money makes you seem "un-yogic"? In today’s episode, we are pulling back the curtain on the "palm-sweating" topic of money and compensation in the wellness world. I’m sharing my personal story of navigating a recent pay negotiation, the reality of burnout in the digital age, and w...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! Mirrors are a familiar part of many movement spaces—but are they helping your yoga practice, or quietly changing it? In this episode, I share my personal experience with mirrors from my early years as a dancer to my work as a yoga teacher, and how that relationship has evolved over time. We explore how mirrors—and even the images we se...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! What happens when attention becomes focus… focus becomes flow… and flow becomes full absorption? In Part 3 of this series, we explore the final three limbs of yoga— dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditative flow), and samadhi (absorption). These can feel like the most abstract limbs, but they’re actually experiences many of us have a...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! Breath and attention are already a natural part of most yoga classes—we may just not always name them as such. In Part 2 of this series, we explore pranayama (breath practices) and pratyahara, a gentle turning inward of the senses, Many of us already cue the breath in our classes. In this episode, I share a few simple ways to take that...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! Are you a yoga teacher who feels hesitant to bring philosophy into your classes? If so, you’re not alone. Even after more than 30 years of practice and over 20 years of teaching, I’ve often stayed in the “safe zone” of poses and breath. Not because the deeper teachings of yoga aren’t important—but because I didn’t always know how to sh...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! What can the Olympics teach us about yoga, aging, and everyday resilience? In this episode of The Youthful Older Yogi , I reflect on watching the Games — from childhood memories of dreaming big in front of a grainy TV to witnessing the triumphs and heartbreaks of today’s athletes. Behind every podium moment is dedication, rebuilding, d...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! In this episode, I explore the balance between strength and flexibility and why strength becomes increasingly important for maintaining mobility, balance, and confidence in everyday life as we get older. I share simple, accessible ways to build strength in key areas that support independence, including: Feet and ankles (for balance and...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! In this episode of The Youthful Older Yogi , MJ is joined by Trish Wager for a real, honest conversation about navigating menopause—complete with unexpected twists, emotional whiplash, and moments where all you can do is laugh because… what else are you going to do? Trish generously shares her personal menopause journey—one that hasn’t...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! How you begin a yoga class is often how you begin everything else—a new year, a new day, or a new chapter in life. In this episode, MJ reflects on why beginnings matter and how the first moments of a yoga class can set the tone for presence, safety, curiosity, and ease. Drawing from years of teaching experience, she explores how time o...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! As the year comes to a close, this episode is a reflection on what 2025 offered—through learning, unlearning, healing, and showing up again and again. Endings don’t feel like endings here; they feel like space being made for what’s next. Unlearning as a Practice After decades of yoga, unlearning has become just as important as learning...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! In this episode of The Youthful Older Yogi , MJ sits down with the incredible Kristin Mangold — a captain and merchant marine, lifelong mover, and a dedicated yoga practitioner of more than 20 years. Kristen brings a grounded, approachable spirit to everything she does, and she’s the perfect guide for today’s conversation on weaving yo...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! Ever found yourself in pigeon pose thinking, “Huh… why am I suddenly leaking from my eyes?” You’re not alone — and you’re definitely not broken. In this episode, we dive into the very real, very human moment when yoga unexpectedly brings up tears, tenderness, and every emotion in between. MJ opens with a personal story about the first...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! 🎙️ Let’s Not Do This Solo In this episode, MJ shares why companionship and accountability are so powerful, especially as we move into a new year of caring for our bodies, minds, and hearts. You’ll also hear a few of her stories from teaching yoga and meditation in community — and how even solo practices can create deep bonds when share...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! In this episode: MJ explores what it means to stay true to yourself as a yoga teacher (and as a human being) in times that can feel divided, uncertain, and sometimes just plain loud. You’ll hear about: The challenge of balancing authenticity with sensitivity in the yoga room Navigating faith, spirituality, and language around the divin...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! In this episode of The Youthful Older Yogi , MJ dives deep into what it really means to age well — not just in years, but in purpose, vitality, and joy. She shares the latest science on healthy aging, what researchers look for when predicting long-term wellness, and how optimism can help you live not just longer, but better longer .  ...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you!  When it comes to yoga, sharing what we practice, what we learn, and even what we wrestle with creates a ripple effect far beyond the mat. In this episode of The Youthful Older Yogi, MJ shares the story of how ShareYoga began, the importance of generosity in teaching, and the wisdom she continues to learn from her own practice, her stu...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! Yoga Teaching After 50: The Tech, the Truth, and Why I Keep Going Description:  Back in the 80s, I was teaching aerobics in the Jane Fonda era—yes, leotards and leg warmers included. By the mid-90s, I fell in love with yoga and soon began teaching. Fast forward to 2025, and yoga teaching looks very different. Studios want numbers, soci...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! Breathing—it’s something we do all day, every day, without thinking. But what happens when we do think about it? Turns out, the benefits are anything but boring. In this episode of The Youthful Older Yogi , MJ explores and shares the surprising science of conscious breathing. You’ll hear: 🌬️ Fun facts about your amazing respiratory sys...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! Have you ever stepped away from your yoga practice—or any passion or routine—because of injury, illness, or just… life?  Me too. After living with advanced arthritis and undergoing a double hip replacement (yes, both hips!), I’m experiencing yoga like it’s brand new—because in many ways, it is . In this episode, I share my story of how...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! 🎙️ In this episode, MJ invites you to hit pause on your go-go-go life and say yes to something deeply restorative: the Nurture & Nourish Retreat , happening this September on beautiful Bald Head Island, NC. You’ll hear all the details about this “Only If You Want To” kind of retreat—laid-back, low-key, and lovingly curated for wome...

Send a text and share your thoughts. We want to hear from you! 🎙️ This episode is the big one— Surgery Day. In Hip, Hip Hooray , I take you behind the curtain (literally) of the operating room and share what it felt like to finally arrive at the day I’d been mentally prepping for and nervously circling for months. I knew it was the right choice. I had the research, the second opinions, the pre-op...