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MEA 4-Day Intensive

Your Longevity Lifeplan: Live Better, Longer

Aug 2 - 6, 2026 Santa Fe, USA
Partial Scholarship Available. Apply Here.

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.

Barbara Waxman

Gerontologist | Master Coach | Stanford Advisor & Longevity Pioneer

Finally, a longevity plan you can live with, evidence-informed and built for you.

The Longevity Lifeplan™ workshop is for people who care about living well now, with impact, joy and energy, while stacking the odds for the decades ahead.

Welcome to the Thirdspan™, where flourishing isn’t just about living longer or being healthier. It’s about designing a life rich with energy, connection, and meaning. 

Metrics are part of your map – you need them to orient yourself – but the real experience is the journey you take and the kind of life you want to lead along the way.

Maybe you’ve tried the protocol life, tracking biomarkers and chasing the latest hacks. Or maybe you’re experiencing well-being burnout from endless advice and guesswork, not sure where to begin. 

There is a better way forward.

You’ll work with coach and longevity lifestyle expert Barbara Waxman and MEA’s CEO, Derek Gehl to craft a Longevity Lifeplan that fits your unique lifestyle. 

Here’s what makes this workshop unique: the ‘Study of One’ approach cuts through the noise so you can adapt what works, drop what doesn’t, and build lasting energy, impact, clarity, and joy.

You won’t just leave with your own roadmap.

You’ll tap into your inner wisdom and understand the portfolio life worthy of your investment of time, energy, and focus. Most importantly, you’ll know that your best chapters aren’t behind you – they’re unfolding right now.

By week's end, you'll hold a Longevity Lifeplan that unites lifespan, healthspan and the Thirdspan of human flourishing.

Listen to Chip and Barbara Waxman on the Midlife Chrysalis podcast:

Episode 30

Barbara Waxman: How to Flourish and Find Purpose in Midlife

Meet

Barbara Waxman

Gerontologist | Master Coach | Stanford Advisor | Longevity Pioneer

Barbara Waxman helps people turn longevity science into a life you can live – now and for the long run.

A gerontologist, masterful coach, advisor, and speaker, Barbara has spent 25+ years at the intersection of self-leadership, longevity, coaching, and life design, guiding executives, entrepreneurs, couples, and communities to align everyday choices with the futures they want.

Her mission took root early, in the halls of the Menorah Home and Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, where she saw that purpose fuels longevity – a throughline in all of her work.

Barbara created the Longevity Lifeplan™ and the Seven Longevity Lifestyle Levers™ Assessment to translate complex science into clear, personalized strategies. She coined Middlescence, a second adolescence with wisdom, and authored The Middlescence Manifesto, reframing this period as one of growth, reinvention, and flourishing.

She continues to advance the Thirdspan, focusing on energy, connection, and meaning – the flourishing factor beyond lifespan and healthspan.

  • Longevity Trailblazer: Barbara bridges evidence-based research with real-life application, helping people design strategies that actually stick.
  • Stanford Longevity Research: Serves on the advisory council for Stanford’s Center on Longevity and Stanford Lifestyle Medicine, shaping how we live longer and better.
  • Thought Leader: A Master Certified Coach featured on CBS This Morning, The Wall Street Journal, and Thrive Global. Trusted globally for her insights on midlife vitality and positive aging.

“Lifestyle as medicine is not about avoiding death but about living your best life.”   ~  Barbara Waxman

Supported by the MEA team

Lee Johnson

Head of Land, Livestock, and Mindfulness in Santa Fe

Lee likes to say that he’s as ordinary as dirt but as complex as soil.  A former Course Director for the Colorado Outward Bound School and Certified Holistic Management Teacher, he has managed ranches in Nebraska and Tennessee as well as several ranches here in New Mexico. As ...

View Bio

This workshop is for you if…

  • You’re ready for a plan you can live with that’s personalized to your biology, values, and everyday reality.
  • You want vitality and purpose, adding life to your years, not just years to your life.
  • You're ready to move beyond trend-chasing and protocol overload to focus on the few moves that actually work for you.
  • You're a curious beginner or seasoned optimizer, ready to break through plateaus and turn data into decisions.
  • You recognize longevity is relational and want rhythms that nourish energy, connection, and meaning.
  • You're designing your longevity plan solo or as a couple, building a roadmap that strengthens you and the people you love.

What you'll gain

Become a Study of One

Learn to be a curious investigator of your own longevity. Shift from the one-dimensional aim of living longer to a nuanced pursuit of a life well-lived. Pair the numbers with self-knowledge so agency and practical wisdom guide choices.

Choose Your Own Adventure

Design habits and rituals that are authentically yours. Build daily and weekly rhythms plus flexible “if-then” plans through stages and transitions, so your practices keep serving you, whatever life brings.

Map Your Well-Being

Leverage the evidence-based, practical Seven Longevity Lifestyle Levers assessment and unlock new ways of evaluating and optimizing your energy and holistic wellbeing.

Your Well-Being Team

Consciously cultivate the people, professionals, communities, tools (and yes, pets and places) that amplify your efforts with support, accountability, and advocacy.

Your Longevity Lifeplan

Create your Longevity Lifeplan, a dynamic roadmap that evolves with you, capturing what matters most and what’s happening in your life while fueling your momentum. Built to be revisited, refined, and relied on as your life shifts.

Our agenda at a glance

Sunday:

4:00 PM: Arrival/Check-in

5:30 PM: Welcome Reception & Dinner

7:00 PM: Orientation Session

Monday:

7:00 AM: Mind + Body

8:30 AM: Breakfast

10:00 AM: Classroom Time

1:15 PM: Lunch

2:00 PM: Free Time

3:00 PM: Classroom Time

5:30 PM: Free Time

6:30 PM: Dinner

8:00 PM: Free Time

Tuesday:

7:00 AM: Mind + Body

8:30 AM: Breakfast

10:00 AM: Classroom Time

1:15 PM: Lunch

2:00 PM: Free Time

3:00 PM: Classroom Time

5:30 PM: Free Time

6:30 PM: Dinner

8:00 PM: Free Time

Wednesday:

7:00 AM: Mind + Body

8:30 AM: Breakfast

10:00 AM: Classroom Time

1:15 PM: Lunch

2:00 PM: Free Time

3:00 PM: Classroom Time

5:30 PM: Graduation

6:30 PM: Celebration Dinner

Thursday:

7:00 AM: Breakfast

10:00 AM: Checkout/Departure

Friday:

Saturday:

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

  • Big-sky desert country
  • Breathtaking nature
  • Interaction with horses and donkeys
  • Evenings around the campfire
  • Star-gazing

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:

  • Wildlife habitats and arroyo trails
  • Ancient petroglyphs
  • Breathtaking high desert vistas
  • The tranquil setting of our regenerative ranch

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:

  • 4 nights of lodging at our world-class retreat center at Rising Circle Ranch, Santa Fe with all of your meals, snacks, drinks and other amenities included
  • Daily sessions and experiential activities to help you connect with your inner self, envision your desired experience, and release what no longer serves you
  • Mindfulness practices to soothe your nervous system and help you cultivate greater mindfulness and presence in the moment
  • Movement to get the energy flowing and build your strength and agility as you chart your course forward to the life you want to live
  • Incredible bonding experiences with the most amazing humans you’ll ever meet
  • Intimate gatherings to cultivate connection and celebrate the joy and beauty of life

Your Longevity Lifeplan™ begins here.
Clear. Practical. Ready to live.

In just four immersive days at MEA’s Santa Fe campus, you’ll step away from the noise and leave with clarity, confidence, lasting connections, and a personalized plan designed to evolve with you.

By midlife, most of us face the headwinds of rising challenges, burnout, or a sense that time is slipping. Small, intentional shifts now can dramatically change your trajectory.

You don’t have to figure this out alone. You’ll join a community that sees midlife and beyond not as diminishment, but as the most vital chapters still to come.

During this workshop, you’ll:

  • Become a Study of One, shifting from the one-dimensional aim of living longer to a nuanced, personal pursuit of a life well-lived.
  • Create a map of your well-being across the Seven Longevity Lifestyle Levers that points you to where focus yields the greatest return.
  • Design your own adventure plan to build daily and weekly rhythms so your practices keep serving you, whatever life brings.
  • Curate your well-being team, with the people, professionals, communities, tools (and yes, pets and places) that amplify your efforts.
  • Craft your longevity lifeplan, a dynamic roadmap that evolves with you, capturing what matters most and fuels your momentum now and for the long run.

Your peak decades aren’t behind you. 

They’re waiting ahead – energized, purposeful, and uniquely yours.

Book your spot today

Your Longevity Lifeplan: Live Better, Longer

Aug 2 - 6, 2026 Santa Fe, USA
Starting at
$4,000 per person
Partial Scholarship Available. Apply Here.

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.

Barbara’s workshop helped to solidify my plan for a more vibrant and focused future. It really helped me think about my life and how it is made up of several distinct segments, the fulfillment wheel, and what I need to do to build up the areas I believe are lacking.
Carol Pouchie
This workshop is a great combination of big ideas, self-discovery, and small steps you can implement right away.
Emese Crumb
Senior EA
You're at that emotional fork in the road. Suddenly, while doing the workshop, your internal GPS kicks in, and there’s no bumps you can’t handle on the road!
Jim Flaherty
A great way to create a mindful roadmap for your trophy years.
Mike Graham

Frequently Asked Questions

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