I was invited to be a part of the summer teaching staff at Holden Village this year. Holden is a unique, secluded retreat center high in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America so I had always known of Holden but never visited until last month. It was an amazing experience to share laughter yoga with the diverse and interesting community of the village.
When I say the village is secluded, I mean it is secluded. There are no roads to Holden—it used to be a mining village. You can only get there by riding several hours on a ferry up Lake Chelan. Here I am with our Lady of the Lake ferry boat as we arrived at Lucerne.
But even when you get to Lucerne, you're not there yet. At that point, you must board a Holden Village school bus, which chugs up numerous switchbacks on a gravel road, climbing over 2,000 feet in a little under 12 miles. Check out the switchback road sign.
As you ascend, there are breathtaking views of Lake Chelan.
William and I were pleased to discover we got to live in this lovely mountain chalet during our two week stay.
This is the view we had from our front porch!
Here we are with Pastor Jen Nagel, the summer teaching staff coordinator, who had arranged for me to come and teach. Jen and I have been friends since 1995, when we worked together at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin as chaplain interns.
During our time at Holden Village, I led 15 laughter yoga sessions, including a laughing of the labyrinth. Below is a video with highlights from these joyful gatherings, many of which happened outside at 7:30 a.m. What better way to start the day than laughing with friends in the mountains?
Below are photographs, which William took, during the various laughter yoga sessions. Double-click them to view larger versions.
Here's the labyrith group in the happy center.
We're giving each other laughter blessings!
During our incredible time at Holden Village, we noticed a transformation—it became a laughing village. People would run up to one another and greet each other with a laugh. Some even took laughing hikes and would shout "Very Good! Very Good! Yay!" after each stream they successfully crossed. And all in all, there was great joyfulness. Holden Village has always been a happy place that values holy hilarity but I do think that having laughter yoga sessions there helped them live into that identity more fully. I'm grateful we had such a wonderful experience there and I now have lots more laughter friends. Very Good! Very Good! Yay!
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