Prime of Life Yoga®: Move with Confidence
Is a partial scholarship for you?
We believe in making personal growth and education accessible to everyone, which is why we offer partial scholarships on a needs-aware basis for many of our programs.
These scholarships support individuals facing financial challenges, including — but not limited to — members of underrepresented communities. If financial stress might prevent you from attending a workshop, we encourage you to apply.
Partial scholarships, provided through the Association for Growth and Education, are limited to 2–3 seats per workshop and reviewed in the order received. We recommend applying as soon as possible, as scholarship decisions are typically confirmed 90–120 days before the workshop date.
Larry Payne, Phd
Founding President of the International Association of Yoga Therapists | Co-Founder of the yoga curriculum at UCLA’s School of Medicine | Author, Yoga After 50 for Dummies
Catherine Oppenheimer
Former New York City Ballet Dancer | Founding Artistic Director, National Dance Institute of NM | Co-Founder, New Mexico School for the Arts
Discover safe movement practices that build strength, improve your mobility, and support brain health for years to come.
Your body's changing. You feel it when you get out of bed, when you pick something up, when you pause before certain movements.
Maybe it's pain in your lower back or shoulders that never quite goes away, or knees that hurt when you climb stairs, or balance feels less reliable than it used to.
Or maybe you feel strong now, but you've watched what happens when people stop moving well, and you want to protect what you have for the decades ahead.
If you've ever tried yoga or have practiced it for years, you may have noticed that most classes aren't designed for people over 50.
Most classes push performance over listening and "perfect" form over what actually works for your body. Holding poses for as long as possible is seen as a sign of strength, rather than tuning into your body and listening to what it actually needs.
As a result, many people over 50 end up with injuries that could have been avoided – not because they're fragile, but because the approach wasn't built for their bodies.
There’s a difference between staying active and moving well
You can stay busy, fit, and strong – and still move in ways that quietly wear you down over time. Moving well means supporting your joints, spine, balance, and nervous system in ways that actually sustain you, not just get you through the workout.
Maybe you’ve never tried yoga because most classes feel intimidating or designed for younger, more flexible bodies. Maybe you’ve practiced for years and are ready for a smarter approach that protects what you have. Or maybe you’ve stayed active all along, but keep getting sidelined by aches, injuries, or setbacks that don’t seem inevitable, yet keep happening.
It’s not a failure of effort or discipline. It’s an issue of approach.
What if your practice was built around how your body works now? One where you decide how long to stay in a pose, how to modify it, and when to rest. Where spine strength matters more than straight legs, bent knees are a sign of wisdom, and function matters more than form. And where breathwork and meditation support your brain health as well.You deserve a practice that extends your prime and keeps you thriving for decades to come.
Maybe you're moving well now and want to stay strong, mobile, and vital for decades to come. Or maybe you're ready to reclaim the confidence and ease in your body that supports the active life you want to live.
This is about extending your prime and sustaining what's best in you.
You need yoga where breath comes first, your spine matters more than perfectly straight legs, and you decide when to hold or modify a pose or take a well-deserved rest. A practice that builds core strength, enhances your mobility and balance, and supports the vitality that keeps you thriving. One that helps you sustain your best years and extend them well into the future.
Three days that can change how you move
Join a yoga therapy pioneer and an expert in breathwork and somatic awareness for three days that can change how you move, breathe, and feel for the rest of your life.
This May, join Larry Payne – creator of Prime of Life Yoga® and one of the pioneers of yoga therapy in the West – and Catherine Oppenheimer, a former New York City Ballet dancer and longtime meditation and breathwork teacher, for a three‑day workshop in Santa Fe.
Together, they’ve spent decades asking one core question: How do people keep moving well as their bodies change?
At our world-class luxury retreat center in Santa Fe, you’ll experience:
Two Prime of Life® yoga classes with Larry, each about 75 minutes, built around safe sequencing and spine‑smart movement.
Daily breathwork and meditation with Catherine that help calm your nervous system, sharpen your focus, and build real-time “listen to your body” skills.
The chance to sign up for one‑on‑one sessions with Larry, where he designs and records a personalized routine to support your chronic pain, injuries, or specific limitations.
Over 44 years of teaching, Larry has developed Prime of Life Yoga®, drawing from his work with legends like Professor T. Krishnamacharya, TKV Desikachar, BKS Iyengar, Indra Devi, and A.G. Mohan, blending those teachings with modern therapeutic insight.
Catherine brings a lifetime of high‑level movement training and the lived reality of multiple surgeries and injuries, so she knows firsthand what sustainable practice feels like after 50.
This workshop welcomes everyone, from yoga‑curious beginners to long‑time practitioners and teachers who want a safer, smarter approach for midlife and beyond.
What you’ll practice, learn, and take with you…
Move with greater confidence and trust in your body
You’ll experience how “small” shifts like bending your knees in a forward fold, using the wall for support, or taking a half‑shoulder stand on a bolster instead of loading your neck, can create a huge difference in comfort and safety.
Enhance balance, coordination, and everyday ease
You’ll train balance in ways that feel safe and adaptable, so you can walk on uneven paths, step into a bathtub, or carry groceries with more ease. These practices are designed for real bodies in real life, not stylized photos on a yoga mat
Learn breathwork that supports focus, calm, and brain health
Learn three specific breathing techniques that Larry’s own teachers consider crucial for supporting healthy brain function as we age. You’ll start with very short practices and gradually build up so you leave with something you can realistically do at home in just a few minutes a day.
Experience yoga rooted in therapeutic wisdom
Prime of Life Yoga® is built on function over form, smart sequencing, and a deep respect for the realities of aging bodies. You won’t start class in a headstand or be pushed into extreme shapes. Instead, you’ll explore movements and inversions that deliver benefits like improved digestion and circulation.
Build core support that keeps your spine strong
You’ll work with practical, midline‑focused movements that use opposition and controlled engagement to strengthen your core and support your spine. For many participants, this kind of work translates into less morning stiffness, fewer flare‑ups, and a stronger sense of being “held up” from the inside
Leave with confidence to decide for yourself how to move your body safely
Throughout the workshop, you’ll hear a steady refrain: “Go inside. You decide.” You’ll practice noticing in real time: Is this enough? Do I want to stay? Is it time to come out? That self-trust may be the most valuable thing you take home.
This Workshop
Is For You If…
Meet Your Faculty
“Yoga can help you navigate changes in your body with respect and curiosity rather than force.”
~Larry Payne ~
Larry Payne, PhD
Founding President, International Association of Yoga Therapists | Co-Founder, UCLA School of Medicine Yoga Program | Author, Yoga After 50 for Dummies
Larry Payne is a yoga teacher and back specialist widely recognized for shaping yoga therapy in the U.S. For more than four decades, his work has focused on one question: how do people continue to move well as their bodies change? He co-founded the yoga program at UCLA’s School of Medicine and the Yoga Therapy program at Loyola Marymount University, bringing therapeutic principles into mainstream yoga education.
Originally an advertising exec living with chronic back pain and stress, Larry turned to yoga for relief. His studies took him across eleven countries, including direct work with teachers in the lineage that shaped modern yoga. Over time, he adapted those teachings for real bodies with real limitations, developing what he calls Prime of Life Yoga®: a breath-led, spine-smart approach designed to reduce injury and build long-term resilience.
Larry continues to teach at the Samata International Yoga and Health Center in Los Angeles and is the author or co-author of eleven books, including the AARP bestseller Yoga After 50 For Dummies.
“Older bodies aren’t fragile. They’re experienced. They respond best to respect, pacing, and clarity.”
~Catherine Oppenheimer~
Catherine Oppenheimer
Former New York City Ballet Dancer | Founding Artistic Director, National Dance Institute of New Mexico | Co-Founder, New Mexico School for the Arts
Catherine spent decades as a professional ballet dancer with New York City Ballet and the Twyla Tharp Dance Company before moving to New Mexico in 1994. There, she founded the National Dance Institute of New Mexico and later co-founded the New Mexico School for the Arts, the state’s first public residential high school for the performing and visual arts. Her leadership in arts education has been recognized with a National Arts and Humanities Award and a National Blue Ribbon from the U.S. Department of Education.
Alongside her work in dance and education, Catherine has maintained a lifelong practice of yoga, meditation, and breathwork. After navigating significant injuries and surgeries, she shifted her focus toward approaches that support strength, balance, and recovery as the body changes, bringing both professional rigor and lived experience to her teaching.
Michelle, Yoga Teacher
on Larry Payne
Men Kai Ra Ma’attu
on Larry Payne & Prime of Life Yoga®
Steve, Massage Therapist
on Larry Payne & Prime of Life Yoga®
Heather Frenner, Yoga Teacher
on Larry Payne & Prime of Life Yoga®
Supported By the MEA Team
T'ai Jamar Hanna
Experience Facilitator
Before joining MEA, T’ai spent years dancing between worlds: organizational change management and embodied wisdom, business consultant and community organizer, spreadsheets and bodywork. She’s led international retreats, facilitated yoga teacher trainings, and designe ...
View BioOur Agenda at a Glance
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
4:00 PM: Check-In/Welcome
5:30 PM: Welcome Reception & Dinner
7:00 PM: Orientation Session
Friday:
7:30 AM: Prime of Life Yoga®
9:00 AM: Breakfast
10:00 AM: Classroom Time
11:00 AM: MEA Ranch Actvities
1:15 PM: Lunch
2:00 PM: Free Time
3:00 PM: Meditation With Catherine
4:00 PM: Prime of Life Yoga
5:30 PM: Free Time
6:30 PM: Dinner + Guest Musician Harold Payne
Saturday:
7:30 AM: Prime of Life Yoga®
9:00 AM: Breakfast
10:00 AM: Classroom Time
11:00 AM: Preparing For Spontaneity With Harold Payne
1:15 PM: Lunch
2:00 PM: Free Time
3:00 PM: Meditation With Catherine
4:00 PM: Prime of Life Yoga
5:15 PM: MEA Closing
6:30 PM: Dinner, Dessert & Graduation
Sunday:
7:00 AM: Breakfast
7:30 AM: Prime of Life Yoga®
10:00 AM: Checkout / Departure
*Please note all times are estimates and not all “classroom activities” take place in the actual classroom. This agenda is meant to give you an idea of the general flow of activities.
Plus: Enjoy a fun evening of music with Larry's brother, multi-platinum songwriter and performer Harold Payne
Here’s a small taste of what you can expect:
Step into transformation in the high desert
Rising Circle Ranch | Santa Fe, USA.
Our spectacular Santa Fe campus is located on an upscale regenerative ranch featuring traditional Pueblo architecture and nearly 2,600 acres of wildlife, hiking trails in the arroyo, and awe-inspiring beauty. Close to historic Santa Fe, an artisan’s mecca.
PLUS: Gourmet from-scratch meals, snacks, and drinks featuring locally sourced ingredients, made by our in-house chefs
Explore the ranch
on horseback
Our Rising Circle Ranch spans 2,600 acres of New Mexico high desert, offering guided horseback riding for all experience levels through diverse terrains under the vast Southwest sky
You’ll experience highlights like:
Horseback riding is an optional add-on activity you can book once you arrive on the ranch. Whether you’re seasoned or brand new to horseback adventures, this guided experience lets you discover the ranch’s natural wonders alongside our gentle horses.
Your workshop also includes:
Turn midlife into your Prime of Life: learn how to move, breathe, and recover in ways your future self will thank you for.
Maybe you want to keep the strength and mobility you have now, so getting out of bed, climbing stairs, or hiking trails still feel good 20 years from today.
Or perhaps you’ve long wanted to study with Larry Payne, a pioneer of modern yoga therapy, and finally give your body the kind of yoga it’s meant for at this stage of life.
It could be you’re ready for movement and breathwork that don’t just keep you “in shape,” but support your memory, focus, and sense of calm as you age.
Over three days in the high desert of Santa Fe, with morning light on the mesas, 2,600 acres of stunning ranchland, and quiet evenings under big skies, you’ll explore what it means to extend your prime. You’ll build lasting strength, enhance mobility and balance, and learn breathing practices that bring clarity and calm when you need them most.
Larry and Catherine teach in a way that’s steady, adaptable, and designed to help you thrive for the long haul.
Leave with the strength to move with ease, a toolkit of routines you can sustain, the breath to support clear thinking, and the confidence to keep saying yes to what matters most in your life.
Book your spot today
Prime of Life Yoga®: Move with Confidence
Is a partial scholarship for you?
We believe in making personal growth and education accessible to everyone, which is why we offer partial scholarships on a needs-aware basis for many of our programs.
These scholarships support individuals facing financial challenges, including — but not limited to — members of underrepresented communities. If financial stress might prevent you from attending a workshop, we encourage you to apply.
Partial scholarships, provided through the Association for Growth and Education, are limited to 2–3 seats per workshop and reviewed in the order received. We recommend applying as soon as possible, as scholarship decisions are typically confirmed 90–120 days before the workshop date.
The program was spectacular. It really surpassed my expectations. I was really surprised about how the course was curated. There was such a warm intensity and personal touch to it.
I experienced MEA as a newly diagnosed multiple myeloma cancer patient, and as a result of the things I’ve learned - I’ve banished the anxiety of being a cancer victim, am in remission, and living with a newfound energy and purpose.
Just know how grateful I am for the joy fuel you all put in my rocket ship. When I want to feel loved or just need a good smile I can think of my time at MEA, which came at the perfect time to encourage me on my journey. Thank you!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need yoga experience to attend this workshop?
This program welcomes everyone from complete beginners to experienced practitioners, including yoga teachers seeking a more sustainable approach for midlife bodies. Larry and Catherine’s methods recognize that every body is different, and you’ll be encouraged to adapt poses based on what works for you. Many participants are new to yoga or returning after injury – that’s exactly who this is for.
I have chronic pain (lower back, knees, neck). Will this workshop make it worse?
Quite the opposite. Larry Payne, a back specialist and pioneer in yoga therapy, has spent more than 40 years creating practices for people with pain and injury. His Prime of Life Yoga emphasizes function over form – bent knees are encouraged, modifications are built in, and you’re always in charge of how long to hold or release a pose. Optional private sessions allow Larry to design a personal routine you can record and take home.
What if I can’t do certain poses or movements?
No worries at all – you don’t have to do them. Larry and Catherine will emphasize this throughout the workshop: You decide. The approach centers on listening to your body rather than pushing through discomfort. If a pose doesn’t suit you, you’ll learn safe modifications or alternatives. There’s no pressure, competition, or judgment – just learning to move with respect for your body’s signals.
How physically demanding is this workshop?
It’s designed to challenge you but not exhaust you. You’ll experience two daily yoga sessions (about 75 minutes each), complemented by meditation and breathwork. The level of intensity is entirely up to you. Larry’s method of easing in and out of poses before holding them keeps the practice accessible. Many participants are surprised to feel stronger and more energized rather than depleted. Even Catherine, who lives with multiple injuries, felt renewed after two weeks of Larry’s yoga practice.
What’s included in the tuition?
Your tuition includes all programming, four nights of accommodations, chef-prepared meals, snacks, drinks, and access to MEA’s inspiring campus in Santa Fe. The only additional costs are transportation to the venue and any personal incidentals.
How do I know if I qualify for a partial scholarshipo?
We offer partial scholarships on a needs-aware basis. Our goal is to make MEA accessible to those who may face financial barriers to attending. If you’re experiencing financial stress that could prevent your participation, we encourage you to apply for a scholarship.
What if I’m not sure if this workshop is right for me?
We get it – sometimes you just need to talk it through. Book a free call with our team below, and we’ll help you figure out whether this workshop fits your goals, energy, and stage of life.
Still deciding or have questions?
Connect with our helpful team of Advisors
Our Advisors are all MEA alumni who can offer genuine insights into our programs. They’re passionate about helping you finding the right fit to make your next chapter the best one.
Daniel Booz
Lucas Erie
Leslie Bartlett