Caring Through Complexity: Living Yoga While Navigating Dementia, Loss, and Family Healing with Lisa Madden

In this powerful and deeply moving episode of The Yoga Therapy Hour, Amy Wheeler sits down with yoga therapist, educator, and caregiver Lisa Madden. Together, they explore the intersection of yoga philosophy and real-life caregiving through the lens of Lisa’s journey—supporting both of her aging parents through dementia, cancer, and mental health crises, while navigating her own transformation as a daughter, teacher, and practitioner.Lisa shares her personal story of discovering yoga in her mid-thirties—via a Shiva Rea CD in her living room—and how her practice has grown from physical movement into a profound spiritual foundation that helps her meet grief, exhaustion, and purpose with grace. She opens up about her mother’s struggle with bipolar disorder and her eventual passing, her father’s ongoing experience with dementia, and how yoga philosophy, especially ahiṃsā, satya, and self-regulation, has become her compass in this season of life.Whether you are a caregiver yourself, supporting someone through chronic illness, or facing the complexities of intergenerational trauma and aging, Lisa’s honesty, vulnerability, and resilience offer comfort and practical insight. She reminds us that yoga is not just something we do on the mat—it is a way we show up for life, even when life is messy and painful.Topics Covered:Lisa’s first experience with yoga and her journey into teaching and yoga therapyFounding Into Yoga in Lapeer, Michigan, and transitioning ownership during a caregiving crisisHow COVID-19 impacted her studio and led to innovative online solutions for older adult communitiesSupporting a parent with bipolar disorder and navigating the grief of suicideThe long-term demands and spiritual depth of being a dementia caregiverUsing yoga philosophy—ahiṃsā, satya, saṃtoṣa, and co-regulation—as a framework for compassionate caregivingShifting from the role of daughter to contemplative caregiverPracticing yoga off the mat through biking, journaling, gratitude, and breathThe power of rewriting family narratives through the lens of forgiveness and loveReflections on grief, resilience, and the subtle body memory of loveContent Warning:This episode includes sensitive discussions around suicide, mental health, and the loss of a parent. Please listen with care. A brief content warning is provided in the episode prior to these discussions.Connect with Lisa Madden:Facebook: SattvaYTInstagram: @sattva_yoga_therapyYoga Studio: Soul Nectar Yoga – Lapeer, MIPrivate Sessions: Lisa offers private yoga therapy via Zoom. Contact her through the studio website or her social media for more information.Upcoming Event:Lisa is on faculty at the International Institute of Yoga Therapy and is helping coordinate the second Symposium on Clinical Advancements in Yoga Therapy, scheduled for January 16–18, 2026, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. CEUs for Yoga Alliance, IAYT, nurses, social workers, and physicians will be available.Show host Amy Wheeler, Ph.D. is the Chair of the Department of Yoga Therapy and Ayurveda at Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH) and a leader in the fields of yoga therapy and Ayurveda. She played a key role in helping to set standards for Ayurvedic Yoga Therapists at the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA) and served as President of the Board of Directors for the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) from 2018 to 2020.Master of Science in Yoga Therapy https://muih.edu/academics/yoga-therapy/master-of-science-in-yoga-therapy/ Explore MUIH’s Post-Master’s Certificate in Therapeutic Yoga Practices, designed specifically for licensed healthcare professionals.  https://muih.edu/academics/yoga-therapy/post-masters-certificate-in-therapeutic-yoga-practices/ Try our Post-Bac Ayurveda Certification Program at MUIH: https://muih.edu/academics/ayurveda/post-baccalaureate-ayurveda-certification/