Laugh and Release!

You've heard the old saying, "Laughter is the best medicine," right?  Well this is SO TRUE to my experience. 

August 30 was a very sad day in the Goulding house. My mom's beloved boyfriend of 5 years was laid to rest.  I traveled to Houston for the ceremony and burial.  Our family, friends, and in-laws all gathered together to say goodbye and support my mom in this, her third, partner loss.  Our hearts were tight and jaws were tense, to say the least.

Between the funeral and the burial there was some time to pass, which we did at a local restaurant.  This is when I learned something about my brother that sent me into a laughing fit like I have never had before!  

While his wife was scrolling the photos in his phone looking for the one she wanted to share with us, she casually said, "You have a lot of pictures of your alarm in here."  

I'm sorry--what??

This little window into Whit's day-to-day life opened wide as I pictured him grasping with desperation to shut off his alarm, squeezing it with his giant hand, and accidentally taking a screenshot of the incident many, many, many times. So many times. Just picturing this little drama was enough to send me over the edge! I was crying and barely able to breathe between my laughing gasps for air. And it was contagious!  The next thing we knew, we were all belly laughing and guffawing as we passed around the phone.  Whit was laughing as hard as any of us!  

For a little while after, the tension was gone, our hearts opened up, and we felt like a breath of fresh air. We released so much pent-up emotion, thanks to Whit and his frustrating mornings.  It felt like we had just had a full yoga class!

You know, there IS such a thing as laughing yoga.  We did this on our Guatemala retreat last May.  Just Google laughing yoga and you'll come up with a variety of videos so you can see for yourself.  It feels a little silly at first, but after a few minutes you forget it's fake and it becomes the real deal!  Incidentally, your nervous system doesn't care if the laughter is real or fake--you get the same benefits. (See this ARTICLE from MayoClinic.org.)

I can't imagine my brother's daily incident cracks you up as much as it does me, but I do hope something cracks you up--and soon! It feels SO GOOD. Just like yoga :). Speaking of which--scroll down for two upcoming chances to practice together this fall.  More to come as well!

May you laugh hard and love big, or vice versa.

Much love,

Jess

🌈 Balance Your Chakras Yoga at Waterloo Workouts: FREE!

Monday, September 19, 6pm.

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🥳 In-person yoga returns October 17! 

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7817 La Crosse Ave, Austin, TX 78739 

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Women's Retreat at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center Great Hall

December 2, 2022

4801 La Crosse Ave. Austin, TX 78739