The Youthful Older Yogi
Yogi Host and founder of SHARE YOGA, MJ Waddell, explores staying youthful in mind and body after 50. An E-RYT 500 yoga teacher, practitioner and educator for over 25 years, she advocates for movement, creativity and not missing the best years ahead. Real conversations with wellness pros and older yogis who still Down-Dog and dig it!
Two episodes a month.
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Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theYOY50
Episodes
64 episodes
Yoga is not a Visual Practice: Moving Beyond the Mirror
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 yo...
Weaving the Limbs of Yoga into any Class (Part 3) Dharana, Dyhana, Samadhi
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 sa...
Weaving the Limbs of Yoga into any Class (Part 2) Pranayama & Pratyahara
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 ...
Weaving the Limbs of Yoga into any Class (Part 1) Yamas & Niyamas
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. N...
If You're Moving You're Winning
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 wi...
Strong Enough to Stay Independent
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 t...
Menopause, Change and Learning to Listen
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… ...
Beginnings Matter--How We Start a Yoga Class and How We Start Anything
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...
Unlearning My Way to 2026
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....
How Yoga Complements Fitness after 50 with Kristin Mangold
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, ap...
When Yoga Brings You to Tears
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 brin...
Let's Not Do This Solo
🎙️ Let’s Not Do This SoloIn 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 f...
Teaching Authentically in Divided Times
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:...
Aging, Yoga & the Super-Ager Science
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 loo...
Why I Share Yoga -- On and Off the Mat
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
Teaching After 50
Yoga Teaching After 50: The Tech, the Truth, and Why I Keep GoingDescription: 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 lo...
Is Breath Boring?
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 an...
Welcome Yourself Back
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 hip...
Time to Nurture and Nourish
🎙️ 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
The Hip Chronicles--Episode # 5: Hip,Hip Hooray!
🎙️ 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...
The Hip Chronicles--Episode #4: From Om to OMG: Pre-Surgery Chronicle
When you hit play on this, I’ll be two days post-op, resting with two brand new hips (and probably packed in ice and filled with a relaxed euphoria thanks to pain meds).But this short episode was recorded two and a h...
The Hip Chronicles --Episode #3: The Flexible Mayor: Yoga, Hips and Healing
In this episode, I sit down with Julie Domaratz — Mayor of Fairport, NY, fellow yogi, and proud owner of two titanium hips. Nine years ago, Julie underwent the exact procedure I’m about to have: a double anterior hip repla...
The Hip Chronicles Episode: Episode #2 No Pain, No Clue: The Silent Hip Saga
🎙️In this keep-it-real episode of The Hip Chronicles, I sit down with my friend and hip hero Wendy Lopez-Swiatek, who just recently had her hip replaced.Wendy is no stranger to putting her body to work—she...
The Hip Chronicles--Episode #1 Before the New Hips
Episode 1: Before the New Hip – Hopes, Fears, and Weird ReactionsWelcome to the very first episode of The Hip Chronicles — where I’m documenting my journey through hip replacement surgery with honesty, humor, and a whole lot of ...
Teaching with Confidence
Ever had a student quietly confess something right before class—“I just had surgery”… “I’ve never done yoga before”… “I can’t get up and down from the floor”… or list off a medical condition you’ve never even heard of? Cue internal freak-out. 😳...
