Follow the giggles

Laughter is connection

Some of the best advice I took when our child was a toddler was to “follow the giggles” and to ride the wave of where that takes us.

It is using the lens of laughter as a primary connection point between parent and child: when in harmony, and also in the interrelated states of conflict and disconnection.

This advice is focused on connection first which is the fulcrum on which my parenting ideals rest.

A few years later, another fold of understanding following was found in my CranioSacral practice. As CS Therapist, I am following fascia that is wrapped within and around every aspect of one’s physical form. I follow fascial restrictions in the abdomen that may be connected to and expressing as shoulder pain or migraines.

If you’d like to read more about how CST works with fascia, please find my writing on the topic here.

For some, fascial restrictions are held along the central channel within the respiratory diaphragm. This transverse area runs posteriorly in line with the bony landmarks of vertebrae

T-12 and L-1 and anteriorly along the costal arch.

When a restriction softens within this area, it is sometimes accompanied by an eruption of laughter from the client, a soft sigh, or the first cousin of laughter, tears.

So in a sense, because a central tenent of CST is to follow, I practice following.

I am reminded of the advice to "follow the giggles" from my early days of motherhood and how that expresses itself again and again in my relationship with our child, through all his stages of growth and exploration. I feel fortunate to be integrating this notion of following as a practice within both my home and my work life. Thank you for joining me here and in session.

#following #fascia #craniosacraltherapy #craniosacralboulder #everythingisconnected #fundamentals #kindnessfirst