February 8, 2024 • 51 mins
In this episode of the Real Retirement Show, hosts Yasmin and Kathleen discuss with special guest Dr. Laura LaJoie the essence of living life to its fullest, especially during retirement. Dr. LaJoie shares her vibrant vision for a life well-lived, her journey from aspiring orthopedic surgeon to a chiropractor, and her mission of encouraging wellness and joy among people of all ages. She also provides insight on the profound impact of posture on our physical and mental well-being, offering simple actionable steps to reclaim vitality. The episode inspires listeners to find purpose and community, highlighting the importance of crafting a fulfilling retirement built on health, joy, and service to others.
---- About Dr. Laura LaJoie
Dr Laura LaJoie has been a practicing chiropractic in Oregon for 30 years. She is extremely involved in her community works with people of all ages to get the most out of their life and health. Dr LaJoie believes that we have an opportunity to thrive as we age and that it requires proper planning and surrounding yourself with the right people who are also hoping to get the most of life at all ages.
---- Resources
Dr. Joy Show: https://open.spotify.com/show/0tRixE6VYnaATvm0GyBJ9V?si=7dde67332c4248e3
Joy of Life Chiropractic Website: https://www.joyoflifechiropractic.com/
Books Mentioned
- The Game of Joy by Yasmin Nguyen: https://a.co/d/7XYORKi
- The Book of Joy by Dalai Lama & Desmund Tutu: https://a.co/d/49cQi9T
- Built to Move by Kelly Starrett &Juliet Starrett: https://a.co/d/3RZN4u0
Retirement Readiness Assessment: www.retirescores.com/ready
Retirement Well-being Assessment: www.retirescores.com
Real Retirement Video Podcast: Real Retirement - YouTube
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. Laura LaJoie (00:00):
Here's my plan .
I'm going to live to be 110.
I decided that at 108, I'mgoing to the rockest party in
the country for thetricentennial so in 2076, and my
husband said that he doesn'tthink he's going to live that
long, and so I have permissionto take two guys halfway.
So I plan to have about two 55year old hotties on each side of
(00:22):
me and we're going to be goingto whatever the fireworks and
Fourth of July display orwhatever that looks like.
That's where we're going.
Yasmin Nguyen (00:35):
Welcome back to the Real Retirement Show.
My name is Yasmin, here with myco-host, kathleen.
Whether you're retired orthinking about retirement, we
delve into the multifacetedworld of retirement beyond the
finances.
This isn't your typicalretirement discussion.
It's a vibrant journey intowhat retirement truly means in
today's world.
(00:55):
We bring you real stories fromreal retirees and experts
discussing real challenges,surprises, joys, heartaches and
the myriad of emotions that comewith retirement.
From addressing family dynamicsto mental and physical health
to finding purpose, we tacklethe issues that truly matter to
(01:17):
retirees and those thinkingabout retirement.
Today we're embarking on ajourney that redefines the
essence of living life to itsfullest, especially when we
embrace the golden years ofretirement.
Our special guest is theextraordinary Dr Laura LeJoy, a
beacon of joy, health andvitality.
In this episode, dr LeJoyshares her vibrant vision for a
(01:42):
life well-lived, including heraudacious plan to celebrate the
tricentennial in style,surrounded by youth and
fireworks.
But it's not just about livinglong, it's about living well.
Dr LeJoy, with her unique blendof chiropractic expertise and
passion for life, takes usthrough her personal journey
(02:05):
from aspiring orthopedic surgeonto a chiropractor who doesn't
just adjust spines, butattitudes as well.
You're in for a treat, as DrLeJoy reveals how she creates a
community of wellness and joywithin her practice, turning her
clinic into a place wherepeople of all ages come not just
for physical adjustment but foran upliftment of spirits, from
(02:29):
impromptu dance parties topersonal connections that extend
beyond the treatment room.
Dr LeJoy embodies the spirit ofliving joyfully and
intentionally.
But that's not all.
Dr LeJoy delves into theprofound impact posture on our
physical and mental well-being,offering insights and simple,
actionable steps to reclaim ourvitality.
(02:51):
She shares heartwarming storiesthat bridge the gap between
generations, highlighting theimportance of community service
and forging meaningfulconnections.
By tuning into this episode,you'll discover the secret
ingredient to a fulfillingretirement, one that's built on
health, community and, mostimportantly, joy.
Whether you're seekinginspiration to revitalize your
(03:15):
own retirement journey or arelooking for ways to contribute
to the lives of others, drLeJoy's wisdom and infectious
enthusiasm will surely light theway.
So gear up for an episode thatpromises not just to inform but
to transform.
Let real retirement be yourguide to a retirement that's not
just about winding down, butabout gearing up for the most
(03:38):
exhilarating chapter of yourlife.
Tune in, be inspired andremember it's never too late to
infuse your days with joy andpurpose.
Let's join our conversation.
Laura, would you share a littlebit about your journey into
knowing your profession and howyou help others that are
(03:58):
navigating this retirementchapter of their lives?
Dr. Laura LaJoie (04:02):
Absolutely.
I started out when I was eightyears old wanting to be a doctor
, and I was headed for medschool all the way through my
school into college and I wantedto be an orthopedic surgeon and
work for the NFL.
And I got into my junior yearin college and had the
opportunity to spend the summerat Cedar Center Hospital working
with pathologists andorthopedists and I realized that
(04:24):
I did not want to spend my lifeseeing patients of role-lead
and pain or that I was seeingwhen they're under anesthesia,
and so I started looking atother ways that I could pursue
my goals in the healthcare areaand I looked at all kinds of
different things and finallylanded on chiropractic.
So when I was 25 years old Igraduated from chiropractic
(04:44):
school.
I moved to Oregon to go toschool because I knew I was
going to stay here.
I love the outdoors and Igripped it so in California and
it's been such an incrediblejourney because I see literally
the summer I had a patient thatwas three days old and my
currently my oldest patient justturned 102.
Oh my gosh, I stayed at Gammack.
(05:05):
I've been in practice for 30years, so some of these people
are family.
I tease that.
This is the cheers ofchiropractic in Wilsonville
because we have so many peoplethat come in at the same time
every week or every other week,for performance adjustments they
come in for not only for theirwellness but also for their
community, and it's anopportunity to really connect
(05:26):
with people.
I say I give attitudeadjustments.
I have this woman, joan, who'sjust, she's a delight.
She was a dancer.
She is just turned 92.
And one day she came in hereand I said how you doing?
She's like it's a bummer day,I'm just not having a great day.
And I said, well, hey, how dida dance party?
And so I turned on the songHappy by Pharrell and we had a
(05:48):
spontaneous dance party in thewaiting room.
And I had another woman who camein who was in her early 20s and
I was like hey, brooke, howabout you join us for having a
dance party?
She's like okay, and so we justhad a dance party right there
in the waiting room and I said,yes, I am unconventional as a
doctor.
I have not a white coat and Idon't have that traditional
stiff feel, but people knowthey're going to leave here
(06:09):
better than they came and I giveout hugs freely, so people
don't really like to be touched,and so they might get a squeeze
on the shoulder, or they'lltake both of their hands in line
and just look them in the eyeand let them know their care is
short.
But I just think that thatpersonal touch is something.
Especially people that are intheir third and fourth chapters
are missing, and there's littleways that we can enrich that,
(06:31):
and that's one of the things Ireally trying to do with my
people.
Kathleen Mundy (06:34):
When you mentioned that you wanted to
help people engage in theircommunity, I'm going to assume
that you also helped themenlarge their communities as
they retired, with kind of awellness approach.
Can you just elaborate a littlebit on when a retiree comes in
to see you, how you help themexpand their world?
Dr. Laura LaJoie (06:53):
Wow, that is a great question.
I really spend a lot of time,particularly at the beginning,
getting to know what they want.
There's so many different typesof people and I find that some
people really want thatone-on-one connection.
There's other people that arereally kind of quiet in the
background, but they enjoy beingin groups.
They just don't want to be theone in the front of the room.
(07:15):
So I just get to know what aretheir interests, especially for
people that don't have familynearby and they're coming in
here, and part of theircondition, if you will, is that
they're alone and they'reexperiencing loneliness, and so
I really listen for what theircues are.
So, for instance, I have apatient who is a professional
(07:36):
knitter.
She teaches knitting and shehas a knitting circle, and so if
I find somebody that isinterested in that, I can say
hey, I happen to know that onWednesday mornings at 10 o'clock
there's a knitting circle atthe community center.
You might be interested.
We talked about the book clubsthat we have at the library.
We have a really activepickleball community and there's
(07:59):
other people that just want togo and have coffee on a regular
basis with someone.
So we have the WilsonvilleWalkers and we have a group that
walks two miles twice a week.
They have fast and slow pacesand at the end of it they go and
have coffee, and there'ssometimes up to 25 people having
coffee together at this localpub.
So some people might say, ohwell, I can't walk two miles,
(08:24):
and I say, well, why don't youjust meet them at the park, walk
around the parking lot whilethey're out, going their two
miles out and back, and thenmeet them at the coffee shop.
There's even people that haveretired from the group because
they just don't feel like theyhave the capacity to walk two
miles anymore, and so they showup at the coffee shop at 1030
and meet everybody when they'redone walking.
I mean, I think it's just beingable to make people aware that
(08:46):
these connections are possibleand having them find a place to
start, and I think that's reallywhat it comes down to.
A lot of people don't knowwhere to begin, and so I always
try to meet them where they are,help them find a starting point
.
For instance, I just read thisfantastic book this last year
called Built to Move by Dr KellyStarrett and his wife Julianne
(09:07):
Starrett, and it's all about theelements of healthy living.
Well, it starts out withgetting on the floor.
Get on the floor and get up.
And some of my patients looklike me, like I have three eyes,
and they said, well, if I geton the floor, I can't get back
up.
And I said, well, that's thepoint.
If you were to fall on the floorand you are by yourself, what
(09:30):
are you going to do?
You're not necessarily carryingyour phone around the house,
you're not necessarily haveanybody in the house with you.
You need to be able to get up.
And so get down on the floorand build those muscles that are
going to allow you to get up.
And the ones that have actuallydone it find themselves getting
stronger because it's a partialpushup and it's getting up with
(09:51):
their legs.
In fact, I'm going to be doing atalk here in my local golf
course and I had a woman who'skind of leading the charts and
she was saying what we talkabout and like well, for an
example, I'm going to have youcome up to the room and get down
on the ground.
And she goes what do you mean?
And I got up, I stood up infront of her, got myself down on
the sidewalk and got up and Isaid no, it's your turn.
(10:14):
And so she didn't.
She's 74 years old.
She got down on the sidewalkand got herself up and she goes.
Well, that was harder than Ithought it was going to be, and
I said that's the point.
We want to build those musclesthat we want to keep using for
the rest of our lives.
Kathleen Mundy (10:30):
This reminds me, yasmin.
You and I had a conversationabout the last quarter of your
life versus the first quarter ofyour life, and how you have to
learn how to walk and talk, andyou also have to learn how to
exchange with other people andmake friends, and so I believe
that it's the same experience inthe last quarter.
(10:51):
One of the things that we have,our resource center, is called
the Sandbox, for specificallythat reason.
In many instances, that was thefirst venue that people met,
congregated and made friends,and sometimes they were on the
floor and they learned to get upwith a lot of help when they
were very young.
(11:12):
So I love the fact that youthink that way.
Dr. Laura LaJoie (11:14):
Well, I was just going to say I think that
one of the challenges that I seenow is that sitting is the new
smoking People are.
They're sitting far too much andI'm seeing kids that are 10 to
15 coming in with posture andweakness and strength issues
that I used to see in 20 to 25year olds the people that were
(11:35):
just getting out of college andsitting for four years studying
and in class and then going intoa job where they're sitting at
a computer and now they'redeveloping these short type
muscles and is creating a hugeproblem for a society.
I actually find some of myseniors people their 70s and 80s
are more flexible than the kidsin their teens and it is
(11:56):
remarkable because we played inthe sandbox, we played in the
playground, we climbed trees, werode bikes, we didn't come home
until dark and I think thatthat's a huge element that's
missing.
So when I do see familiesbecause I actually have a couple
of families that I see fourgenerations and it's remarkable
(12:16):
that these great grandparentsare able to influence their
great grandchildren to get outand walk, to work in the garden,
to get outside and participatein life instead of sitting on
their computers- so powerful.
Yasmin Nguyen (12:30):
Laura, I'm curious for those seniors that
may not be as active physicallywhat do you do to help them
start moving again, andespecially when they have mental
beliefs and blocks around?
Well, I can't move like thatanymore.
What advice do you have forsomeone to start getting their
body going again?
Dr. Laura LaJoie (12:50):
I really meet them where they are.
I have a man right now who islovely and his posture looks
like this, and so what I did isposture scan and his exam.
At the very beginning I showedhim a picture of what his
posture looks like and I invitedhim to sit up straight and pull
(13:10):
his head back and I said now,does that cause pain?
And he said no.
I said then that's a habit thatyou've developed that is not
serving you, and so we startedwith habit.
Then I have them stand on thedoorway and put the doorway in
between their spine and pushtheir spine up against the
doorway and their head, and theyjust have to bring their arms
(13:31):
back and do angel stretches sothat they can open up the pecs,
which are muscles, especiallythe men or the female athletes.
Their chest and shouldersbecome really strong and shut
down and it causes the forwardrounding of the shoulders.
Well, if they're able tostretch that out, then they can
start to restore the movement inthe shoulders.
(13:53):
In some of them I might have awoman that says, well, I'm
having a hard time reaching upto the top of my closet, and
I'll end up saying, well, thenstart reaching towards the top
of your closet, like do thethings that you are missing, so
that you can help to improve thequality of that movement.
So I just started to kind ofmeet them where they are, like
(14:15):
they're having trouble withbalance, which is a big one.
I will have them stand.
Also, have them start withtheir feet shoulder with the
part, head back and lookingstraight ahead, because so often
when they're walking they'relooking down towards the ground
so that they don't miss a stepand then they become walking in
a forward hunch and that's theircommon habit.
Well, if they can then standtall, develop their balance, we
(14:39):
go from standing with the feetshoulder with the part to
standing with the feet together,and then we'll have them close
their eyes.
Often they'll tell them standin a hallway or in a doorway so
that you start to feel inbalance, open your eyes, but
reach out for the wall.
Once they start to develop thebalance where they're standing
just on the ground, then we say,okay, now what?
(15:00):
You do that without your shoeson, because now you have more
grounding and you're able tohave more tactile sensation from
your feet to your brain, andthen we'll go from that to have
them standing on a pillow.
So now they're a little bitmore imbalanced because the
pillow is soft, but again, itgives them that feedback that
they need their brain to be ableto get them to balance
(15:20):
appropriately.
So we start with it whereverthey are.
If there's somebody who says Ican't even walk to the mailbox
and back anymore withoutbecoming winded, okay Well, is
it because you don't have thestrength and endurance to watch
the mailbox or is it becauseyou've been breathing shallow
and you don't have the breath tobe able to get to the mailbox?
(15:42):
And so we try to get to theunderlying cause of the problem.
If they're winded becausethey're not breathing, well,
okay, then we start to work onposture and deep breath, holding
breath and then getting thatdiaphragm pushed down so that
they're really able to breathewith a more complete breath.
If they start coughing whenthey're breathing, instead of
(16:04):
saying oh, don't do that, I sayI see the problem is that those
muscles are weak and we need todevelop them just like any other
muscle, and so we'll do a deepbreathing exercise that we might
hold for a shorter period oftime or a shorter breath, but
we'll develop that.
If they're having a problemgetting to the mailbox because
they're not strong enough, I'llhave them start with sitting in
(16:26):
a chair and give them marchingin the chair for a minute.
So it just really haseverything to do with how
intense their daily activity isor if they have no daily
activity.
That's a really important piece.
The one I was mentioning therewas 102.
When she was 95, she waswalking two miles a day.
(16:49):
She was flipping houses.
So she would buy a house or acondo and she would have her
grandkids come over and help herdo a cosmetic remodel.
She'd live in it for a year anda half and then she would flip
it and buy a new place and dothe same thing.
And she did that over and overand over again because she
didn't want to be bored and itgave her something to do.
(17:09):
It gave her an opportunity toengage with her grandchildren,
and then the walking she wasdoing with this group.
I mentioned the Wolfs of theWalkers.
Kathleen Mundy (17:16):
I'm so excited about this topic.
I just think it's so amazing.
I found myself straightening upvery nicely as a result.
I think that's really critical,and some of the things I was
thinking about is posture has somuch to do with everything we
do in life, and so I know thatyou believe that your posture
(17:36):
contributes to your overallhealth as we age, both mentally
and physically.
Can we just talk about that alittle bit?
What adjustments, if there aresome that you might consider
important, to regain that?
Dr. Laura LaJoie (17:52):
Absolutely.
I'm going to start with themental health part of it.
I strongly believe that postureis directly tied into
confidence and self-esteem.
I was told from a young agestand tall, you're going to be a
tope.
I'm 5'10", stand tall and keepyour head back.
And my children are 5'11", 6'1"and 6'2".
(18:12):
So I have these daughters thatare 6'1" and 6'2" and when they
got into middle school they werethese gentle giants and they
wanted to get down like this andmake eye contact with their
friends.
And I taught them take a stepback, stand your full height,
and then you still have theright angle to be able to make
eye contact with somebody.
So I think that posture isreally important for self-esteem
(18:35):
because it opens you up and itallows you to get a full breath
when you're speaking.
It also makes you ready foranything.
We were taught growing up in LA.
I was taught that when you'rewalking down the street at night
in the dark, you stand like agiant, you walk like a giant,
you look at the people aroundyou, and so I think posture has
(18:57):
a big influence on how peopleare able to see us.
I think it also makes usapproachable or not when you see
somebody in the room who's shutdown and their posture is very
closed.
Their arms are closed, theirhands are together, their head
is down and they're not makingeye contact with anybody.
They're not as approachable asa person who's sitting tall or
(19:18):
standing tall making eye contact, smiling, and they're, given
that introduction, like yes,engage with me please.
And so I think posture isreally important from that
perspective.
It's also really important interms of degeneration.
When we get into these postureswhere our head is forward, our
shoulders are rounded, we dropour head down.
(19:40):
It really impacts that spine.
The spine and nervous system isthe most vital organs in our
body.
We live our life through ournervous system, which is why
chiropractic is so inspiring forme to be able to help people to
allow that movement andfunction to be such a big part
of their lives.
But when your posture is talland open and more flexible,
(20:07):
you're able to get to actionmore quickly.
You're able to move fromsitting to standing.
You're able to catch somebodyif they're falling.
If you're in a rounded postureand your head is down, you don't
see the things happening aroundyou and you don't feel the
sense in your body when peoplethink of chiropractic as
something that is popping thespine.
(20:29):
Well, it's just so much biggerthan that because when you
consider, for instance, thelower spine, the lumbar spine
directly innervates thedigestive system.
So if somebody is having astomach ache, I look at is there
a problem that they're havingin their stomach or is there a
problem that they're having intheir spine, and is there
(20:50):
anything that they can do interms of mobility?
Because the stomach is all justmuscle and so how is the
stomach moving in a way that'sgoing to allow them more comfort
?
One of my favorite patients is aguy that came in.
He was having mid-back pain,like right below his shoulder
blades, and I was checking itout and he had a restriction in
(21:11):
his spine.
And so then I asked him are youhaving any kind of like reflex
or GERD or any pain or anydiaphragm?
And he said yes.
Actually I was just prescribedZantac.
I haven't even started takingit yet, but I have
gastroesophageal reflex and Isaid well, if you don't feel
like you have to take it, giveme a couple of days to see if
(21:31):
your nervous system willactually start functioning
better once we get you adjusted.
Well, t5 and 6 actuallyinnervate the stomach and
diaphragm.
One adjustment.
He never had the reflex again.
He never took the medicationbecause it wasn't a problem in
his stomach, it was actually hisspine that was giving him a
miscommunication to the stomach.
(21:54):
And I see those things all thetime, people that fell out of a
four-year-old girl that came inone time with her siblings.
I was seeing her older brotherwho was on the preschool
football team, and her mom saiddo you think you could help my
daughter with her hearing?
And I said well, I don't know,it depends on the underlying
cause, but we can take a look.
Well, it turned out thedaughter had had a fall off of a
(22:15):
piece of furniture, she hadstrained her neck and the
muscles that were affecting theear were actually affecting the
upper part of the spine.
And so when I went to adjusther, she actually took about six
or eight visits, but itrestored her hearing.
That's remarkable.
I'll tell you my favorite story.
(22:36):
It's on the other end of thespectrum from retirement, but I
had a three-week-old baby thatcame in one time and the mom was
just beside herself.
From the time she was born, thebaby had not been able to not
cry for more than 20 minutes.
She was just miserable, and soa friend told her to come and
(22:57):
see me.
I adjusted her.
I saw her for about six weeksand by the end of the six weeks
the baby wasn't crying anymore.
Now the biggest thing was thatafter I adjusted her to the very
first time, the mom stayed inthe exam room and sent her and
she was back there for like anhour and when she came out she
was crying.
(23:17):
The mom was crying and I waslike, is everything okay?
And she said yeah.
And she said this is the firsttime since she was born that I
held her when she wasn't crying.
Wow.
And then just last summer I gotto meet the young lady when she
was 16.
They had moved away and theyhad just moved back and I got to
meet the young adult woman.
But it's amazing, I talk aboutlike Dennis and Mary.
(23:38):
Mary is the woman who's 102,who is vibrant and lovely and
communicates well and eatshealthy, and Dennis is a
28-year-old man that I saw afterhe was in a car accident.
I was having these ridiculousmigraine headaches, had through
the roof, blood pressure, and Itold him at his very first visit
(24:02):
.
I said I know you're here forthe headaches of the pain from
the accident, but I hope you'reopen to a conversation about
your general health because youare diabetes and a heart disease
waiting to happen and I hopethat you're willing to have this
conversation.
And he had a two-year-olddaughter and, long story short,
I saw Dennis sift for aboutthree weeks, three times a week.
(24:23):
He was getting better, theheadaches were going away and he
didn't show up for anappointment.
Then he didn't show up.
So the next appointment wecalled him to see if he was
going to make his thirdappointment.
He didn't show up.
So finally I called his fianceand he had had a massive heart
attack and died.
Yes, 28 years old.
(24:45):
And I think that so frequentlyour young people take for
granted the fact that they dohave this ability to bounce back
with their health so quickly.
And I think that's one of thebeauties of being in your third
and fourth act in life is thatpeople who've made it this far
they're like okay, I have twochoices.
I can either sit on the couchand wait to die, or I can figure
(25:09):
out how I'm going to make themost enjoyment out of the rest
of my life for as long as I live, and it can be two years and it
can be 22 years, we just don'tknow.
I mean, the oldest woman onrecord lived to be 118.
So she started fencing at 85.
This woman was amazing.
She was still riding her bike,but she was a hundred years old.
(25:32):
It gets remarkable and it justhas that difference in the shift
of how you see yourself.
And if you see yourself assomebody who is vibrant and
capable, then you're going to bedoing more.
If you see someone who is weakand suffering, then that's how
you live your life.
But a lot of people that I seethat have gotten into a rut and
(25:55):
they're stuck and they feel likethey've had too many injuries
or they have too much pain andthey can't do anything.
Then they start to wonder howcan I change?
And that's where I come in,because again, I meet them where
they are.
I have this one woman that I sawfor years and years that every
single time I saw her she wasjust a negative Nelly, like she
(26:17):
was never happy.
She was always happy to be hereand she would feel better when
she left.
But this one day I was justtired of always meeting her when
she's unhappy and I said hey, Ihave a homework assignment for
you.
I said I want you to go homeand before I see you again in
two weeks, I'm going to have youwrite down 10 things that bring
(26:39):
you joy, and your assignment isto do two.
And I said you've got two weeksto write down this list and
then do two things.
So two weeks later she wassupposed to come in for an
appointment and she didn't makeit for her appointment and I
thought I had scared her awayand I thought, I'll be honest, I
pushed her too far.
Like pushing her to joy wasjust too much.
(27:00):
And so then the third week shedid come in and I said well, so
how did it go?
And she goes wow, I only haveseven things on my list.
I'm like that's great, likelet's celebrate that.
And I said so, what crazythings are on your list?
And she said, well, I love toplay with my cat and I enjoy
being in the garden.
I like walking to the mailbox,especially when it's sunny.
(27:20):
And I said, well, did you doany of those things?
And she goes yeah, I playedwith my cat and I worked in my
garden.
I'm like, great, you did thehomework assignment.
And some people want to make itthis big grand expression and
the reality is.
When we meet people in theworld, sometimes a simple smile
or meeting someone with eyecontact is all they need to know
(27:44):
that there's somebody that isseeing them and recognizing them
, human to human.
Yasmin Nguyen (27:49):
Laura, you are so much more than a chiropractic
professional.
You, in many ways you are a joyambassador and you're helping
people all different range fromearly in their lives to later in
ways that really show themwhat's possible.
It seems like mental health isimportant to you, and could you
(28:10):
share a little bit more aboutyour perspective on the
importance of that and also whyjoy?
Dr. Laura LaJoie (28:17):
Well, joy is such an important piece of our
lives.
Joy and happiness are different.
Someone can be happy in themoment, but joy is something
that you cultivate, in myopinion.
I've been inspired for a longtime to be studying health and
longevity, and part of thosestudies have had led me to joy.
So, like the book by the DalaiLama, desmond Tutu, it's called
(28:40):
the Book of Joy, and they arethese incredible people in their
80s that have thrown throughthis incredible strife and yet
they meet life from the lens ofjoy.
And so I was so inspired andthat's where I really started to
dig deep in my exploration ofjoy.
Your book, the Game of Joy, isso important to the world.
(29:03):
I'm excited that you got it outthere.
I really bought a case of thosebooks and I give them to my
patients to actually help intheir lives.
Another person who was reallystruggling she was going through
a tough time and she'd gonethrough a tough breakup and she
was not happy at work and shewas coming in here and I didn't
have any more advice, I didn'thave any more things to say, and
(29:26):
so I gave her your book and Itagged the chapter on joy
activators and I said youalready know what's blocking
your joy.
You don't need to focus on thatpiece, I said, but what you
need to do is focus on the joyactivators and look at the ways
that you can activate joy in bigand small ways, because it
doesn't have to be complicatedand you are the one in control
(29:47):
of how your mind works, how yourbody works on a day-to-day
basis and how you meet up withother people is also your
personal expression of joy.
I come from a place where my daddied when I was four, but I had
the gift of my grandparents,who actually had me live with
them for a couple of years whenI was growing up, and a lot of
(30:09):
my mom's friends were verycritical of the fact that she
sent me away.
Well, she sent me to the peoplethat had raised her, and my
grandmother was one of sixchildren.
She lost her mother in a yearand a half old, and these six
adults who were her and herbrothers and sisters were people
that every single time we gottogether for family parties, it
(30:30):
was laughter and joyful and justthis incredible love of life,
and so I knew that that waspossible, regardless of what
you've been through.
One of my uncles had been aprisoner of war in Japan for six
years during World War II, andthe things that kept him going
(30:52):
was his faith and his love ofhis family, knowing that they
expected him to come home.
And so at the end of the war,when he was released, one of the
Japanese officers that had beenoverseeing their cell block
actually gave him the strap thathe had used on these soldiers
(31:13):
and my growth I'm sorry it makesme tear up my uncle hid it back
to me and said no, and you werejust doing your job and I
forgive you.
And I think that that's anotherthing, that forgiveness is just
such an important part ofgetting to this point in our
life.
The people that live with thesepoisons of unforgiveness it's
(31:35):
really hard, you know is when wetalk about that mental health
piece.
They try to meet people wherethey are and they think that
they've done to themselves thatthey have not forgiven
themselves for, and so they'reliving in this quagmire of
self-heat or self-destructionbecause something happened that
they feel like they should havehad control over, and instead of
(31:58):
looking forward and saying howcan I do different, how can I be
different, how can they comeout of this in a way that is
going to make up for it if youwill.
And you see families that arebroken because there was a
disagreement and somebody is sostubborn that they won't allow
the forgiveness.
You don't have to forget, youdon't have to put your guard
(32:19):
down and let that person hurtyou again, but you can forgive
the situation just so that youcan heal.
A lot of times we get to thosepositions in the clinic where I
start to understand that thisphysical pain has nothing to do
with an injury or degenerationand has everything to do with
(32:40):
how the body keeps score.
I mean, there's actually a bookcalled the Body Keep Score and
the body will keep all thestresses internally and that
creates inflammation, thatcreates spasm, that creates
stress.
It can increase your cortisollevels and your body has an
opportunity to release all ofthat as you start to work
(33:01):
through the mental, physical,emotional stressors that pile on
and cause people to have thesepains or discomforts in their
life.
Kathleen Mundy (33:09):
Wow, you've hit every barker and I can honestly
say that I think that we canisolate a particular trait in
each relationship and you think,oh my gosh, I never really
thought about that, because wealways think why did something
happen?
What's the root of that?
(33:29):
And what you just explained tous now seems incredibly simple
but incredibly accurate aboutgoing to the source, what it is,
what we bring to life, thethings that are hidden and we
bring it in a way that we don'teven want to see it show up.
(33:51):
So how do we get rid of theseenergies that are within, from
the history and the lifeexperiences that we've had?
Once again, we seem, whenever wehave these conversations, the
intention was to speak of yourpractice and how you can bring
chymopractry to the elderly andlook where we are.
We are exactly where we weresupposed to be Dealing with
(34:14):
things that cause heartache anddiscomfort and the inability to
live a joyful life andexperience the things that are
available to us.
And to that point, I'm going tocircle back a little bit.
One of the things I know thatyou're very good at and very,
very involved is that you giveto your community.
(34:35):
Talk to us a little bit abouthow important you believe that
is for the third and fourthchapter of your life.
Dr. Laura LaJoie (34:43):
I think it is vital.
I think that service to ourcommunity, to humanity, is one
of the greatest gifts that wewere given, and I had the gift
of joining a community when Iwas 25.
I moved to this town and we hada very active Rotary Club.
I was single, no kids.
I was first out of school and Ijust knew that I wanted to be
(35:05):
involved in a community ofservice and the Rotary Club.
We don't talk about ourprofessions so much, I mean you
learn what each other does ordid, but I was the youngest
person in the room and theoldest was in their 80s and
currently and very involved inRotary.
I work a lot with youthservices because I think that if
(35:25):
we can teach the youth of theworld that service is fun and
you have ways that you can becreative and helpful, that
there's an opportunity for themto then take that into the next
generations.
And so, like one of my bestfriends in Rotary right now, he
just turned 87.
He was a pilot in the Navy,actually, and just this
(35:46):
incredible man who is constantlyserving in ways that he got our
club really involved in youthexchange.
So we bring young people fromaround the world to our town.
We host them, we send our highschoolers out to other parts of
the world, so we have a youthservice club at the high school
and one of the advisors for that.
A couple of the really coolthings that we're doing right
(36:10):
now is the students are going tobe doing a tech day, so we're
going to be going to the seniorcenter and the seniors will come
and be able to ask anyquestions they want about how to
use apps, how to use Instagram,how to make a reel, how to
engage in their email, andthey'll be able to do an
exchange with the students,using the skills that they have
(36:31):
been born with and developthrough their early lives, and
the seniors will be able todevelop new skills that will
help them to engage with theirown grandchildren.
The other thing we're doing isan adopt, a grandparent day.
So there's a lot of seniors intown who they don't have family,
that are local and they havestories to tell and with a lot
(36:51):
of times, I think that when welook back in a lot of cultures,
they hold their people that arein their third and fourth
chapters of life at the highestesteem and I think a lot of
times we take our seniors and weput them away.
You know we'll put them in asenior housing unit without
really having an expression forhow do they get to continue to
(37:14):
live an enriched life, and so wewant to be able to take our
students in to do this, adopt agrandparent program where
they'll do it almost like speeddating.
They'll sit down, we'll havethe seniors at different tables,
the students will haveconversations with them for five
to 10 minutes and then rotateso that the students will each
get to hear different storiesfrom at least three to five
(37:35):
different people, and then we'regoing to take the stories and
create a project where there'llbe an essay or a poster or some
kind of gift that we'll be ableto give back to the seniors, and
then we'll have opportunitieswhere these kids will be able to
reconnect with the seniors ifthey choose, and it's also going
to give the seniors anopportunity to figure out what's
(37:57):
missing that these kids reallyneed to know about.
What do they need to hear aboutin terms of giving back to
their community, engaging withfamily, like what's important,
and what are these studentsmaybe not even thinking about
the needs of their owngrandparents where they can then
take these ideas and go homeand really use them.
So I think that communityservice is one of the vital
things.
(38:17):
More than 50% of my club is overthe age of 65.
And sitting at the knees ofthese people and just listening
to the stories and the life thatthey have lived and helping
them to continue to feel likethey matter I think it's really
important, because when you'resitting at home alone for hours
(38:39):
on end and you're not reallysure where your place in the
world is, I think a lot ofpeople just need to be reminded
that the reason that they'vedone it to this point in their
life matters, and they all havea story.
I love when I hear that myfriends, especially the ones
that have retired, are writingin book or engaging in a writing
class or writing process togive the story of their life to
(38:59):
their family, because I thinkthat that is such an incredible
gift to be able to tell thestories of the previous
generations and share that.
Kathleen Mundy (39:09):
I think you've hit the mark again because it's
really important, for,especially when grandparents
perhaps don't live in the samecity or even close by, I think
that multi-generational aspectof relationships absolutely have
been lost.
Yasmin knows my story a littlebit, where I lost my mom when I
(39:29):
was 23.
My children had never had anopportunity to meet her, my
youngest daughter.
When she came out of universityand started working with me and
my company, I said okay, here'swhat you're going to do, part
of giving back you're going tojoin the Rotary Club.
She said oh, mom, they're allreally old.
I said you're absolutely right,that's why you're going to do
(39:52):
it.
And she had over 10 years.
Oh no, 15 years later she hasgreat relationships with people
in their 80s and I think that'sa wonderful pseudo grandparent
for her and she understands that.
Generational differences Again,that goes to family dynamic.
(40:14):
It isn't necessarily alwayshave to be your own biological
family.
It's learning that dynamic sothat you can have better
exchanges with people in yourlife.
So I love that story.
I think that's amazing and theRotary Club has just done
amazing things around the world.
I think their mission was toeradicate polio.
(40:34):
My mom had polio, so theyhelped our family tremendously
at that point in her young lifeas well.
Dr. Laura LaJoie (40:40):
But one of the other things that I think has
really come out of Rotary for meis realizing that these people
have often slowed down in theirlife.
That takes them longer toremember a thought or to
consider a memory and it remindsme that sometimes, when I'm
going a million miles an hour,that it's really important for
(41:01):
me to slow down so that I can bewith the people in front of me.
It's easy for me to just golike a butterfly from flit to
flit to flit and or hummingbird,and I have to remind myself
that what they have to say isjust as important as what I have
to say and sometimes I learnsomething new that I just
(41:24):
discovering.
A lot of times I use these menand women as advisors because
they have so much joy in whatthey're doing and I'm inspired.
My goal actually is to live tobe 110.
Here's my plan I'm going tolive to be 110.
I decided that at 108, I'm goingto the rockest party in the
(41:45):
country for the tricentennial,so in 2076.
I don't know if it's going tobe DC or New York or Boston or
where it's going to be.
And my husband said that hedoesn't think he's going to live
that long.
He only thinks he's going tolive to be about 100.
And so I have permission totake two guys halfway.
So I plan to have about two 55year old hotties on each side of
(42:07):
me and we're going to be goingto whatever the fireworks and
Fourth of July display orwhatever that looks like.
That's where we're going.
So then started to realize likewhy am I going to wait until I'm
108?
Like I'm still going to livethat long and in order to get
there, I want to live healthyand vibrant and vital.
I don't want to just exist atthat age.
(42:29):
I want to do what it takes toget there and I've done so much
longevity research on health andaging because I think it's
important and it's somethingthat I want for myself.
But I decided that, starting in2026.
I'm going to start exploringevery five years and going to
the big parties.
I've heard Austin has afantastic Fourth of July.
(42:51):
I've scubaid.
I heard there's one in Nebraska.
Kathleen Mundy (42:53):
I'm like I don't know what's there, but I want
to go see it and I think, justhaving these targets, that we
can make it to create joyfulenrichment you again, you're
ticking all the boxes for me,because the planning of an event
in the future and the lookingforward to it gives you joy in
and of itself.
If you don't have something tolook forward to, you are
(43:15):
consistently looking backwards.
Yasmin Nguyen (43:18):
That's so true, and I think part of this is also
surrounding ourselves withthose that inspire possibilities
.
I think sometimes when we getstuck is when we're in our own
little circle and we can onlysee as far as our arms and we
aren't surrounded with othersthat can show us like wow, I can
have two 50 and five year oldhotties next to me at 100 plus.
(43:40):
So it's really important tohave the people that show us
what's possible.
Kathleen Mundy (43:46):
Well, it certainly is a motivating aspect
.
When I listen to you, laura, Imean gosh, you have such a
wonderful outlook.
And in order for us toappreciate that, I think the
fact that we've had anopportunity to really listen to
what you have enriched your lifewith and how you are bringing
joy to your own existencethrough your attempts to bring
(44:08):
joy to others.
It's a gift that you've beengiven, and I'm very grateful
that that gift is now somethingwe can share with our audience.
Dr. Laura LaJoie (44:17):
Well, thank you.
I'm actually really excited toshare your message with the
people that I'm around.
So when I go to Rotary onThursday, I'm excited to tell
them where they can find realretirement on YouTube and to
share with them that this isn'tjust your basic financial here's
how you get there but really tobe able to look at enriching
how do you get there in a waythat is joyful and vibrant and
(44:41):
interactive, because that's themessage that I see you guys
taking to the world that is sopowerful.
Kathleen Mundy (44:46):
Well, thank you.
In fact, one of the firstpresentations I did was to a
Rotary group and explaining whatour whole joyful retirement
project was all about.
And it was accepted and embracedand it was a real comfort to me
because you know, with anyproject that you do, whether
it's trying to enrich and talkabout longevity and elders lives
(45:10):
or whether it's trying to bringjoy to people, we sometimes
question am I doing this for meor for them, or am I on the
right path and how am I going toget to the next step?
And I think that from ourperspective and I hope I can
speak for you, yasmin is thatthe sharing of it has to happen.
We encourage people tosubscribe and do all the normal
(45:31):
things that you do, but it'smore important that they share
it with a friend to get ourmessage out.
We're not the first people toever talk about retirement or
believe deeply on how to improveyour retirement years, but I
believe that we're the firstthat really want to share
information that's going to makea difference, a meaningful
(45:53):
difference, in their mindset andin their movements going
forward, both physical andmental.
Yasmin Nguyen (46:00):
Laura, you have been such a gift today, sharing
so many different aspects ofthis journey.
How can people learn more aboutyou and I hear you've got an
upcoming podcast in which we geta chance to dive a little bit
deeper into your exploration ofjoy and the people and the
stories that you have to share?
Dr. Laura LaJoie (46:20):
I do and thank you for that.
So the podcast will be calledthe Dr Joy Show DRJY Show and
it'll be on all of your majorplatforms, and I couldn't be
more excited.
It's been a project in themaking for the last two and a
half years and it really cameout of the desire to write a
book about the journey to joy.
(46:41):
And I started out with wantingto interview my friends who are
over 65 about living that lifethrough the lens of joy, how
they got there and what it takesin your life.
How do you have to prepare?
Who do you need to surroundyourself with?
And in the process I had one ofmy coaches say well, if you're
going to do these interviews,why don't you do a podcast?
(47:02):
So the podcast was birthed twoand a half years ago, then
manifesting it all this time andfinally we're getting it off
the ground.
And I'm so excited because myfirst guest is Yasmin.
That was I love and yourexpression of joy and the joy
project that you bring to theworld is so important.
(47:23):
And then my second guest is aman who has, in his mid 70s.
He's been a mentor of mine foralmost 30 years and has really
taught me how you get to eachstage of life and you don't have
to lose your enthusiasm justbecause society has put this
stamp of aging on you.
(47:43):
And so that's the Dr Joy showsreally going to be about having
conversations with people ontheir journey to joy.
And what does that look likeand how do we manifest it, and
what are some of the things thatwe can bring to the world, like
joy hacks that's just such afun thing to consider.
Where you can hack into joy,like having a date with your
(48:03):
puppy.
For me it's going down to thebeach and seeing waves or going
kayaking, watching Greece LikeI've seen it 50 times, but it
doesn't change how much I loveto sing and dance to the music.
So I think that the Dr Joy show, for me, is a continuation of
being able to express joy in theworld in ways that I can share
(48:25):
it with even more people.
Yasmin Nguyen (48:27):
You're a true joy ambassador and I'm so grateful
that we get to create andinspire joy together in this
world.
Kathleen Mundy (48:34):
Well, I certainly have experienced it
today Not that I don't every daywith Yasmin.
He brings a lot of joy and it'sso wonderful to see this
blossoming in many differentareas.
Well, you guys are doing suchgreat work.
Dr. Laura LaJoie (48:48):
So thank you for including me in your project
, and I love that I get to takeyour episodes and then turn
around and share them with mymother and with my friends.
I just think that the messageis powerful and important.
Yasmin Nguyen (49:01):
Thank you Well, as Kathleen invited us all to
share these messages withfriends, loved ones and others
that could really use maybe someinspiration and new hope,
possibility and some guidance,and you've truly been such a
guide and inspiration today,laura.
So thank you for being herewith us and being so generous
with your experience your wisdomand your joy.
Kathleen Mundy (49:25):
Well, this was wonderful.
I love, love, love all thepeople that we interview because
, yeah, okay, I'm in my fourthquarter.
Dr. Laura LaJoie (49:33):
You're late in your third quarter.
Kathleen Mundy (49:35):
Well, actually, you know what this is so funny?
Because I've always told myhusband I'm gonna live to 126.
And he said, kathleen, I hateto tell you this, but you're not
gonna live to be 126.
I said, okay, if that's thecase, as long as I'm on the
smucker jar, that's my goal.
I went the smucker jar.
On the Today Show there's asmucker jar and if you're 100,
(49:55):
you get your photo.
So that was always my deal.
But I said, okay, if I'm notgonna be 126, that means I have
to pack a lot of stuff into mylife now, and so this project is
actually one of those things,because I don't know if the
husband shared with you or not,but I did retire, but it only
lasted three months and itwasn't for me.
(50:16):
So I'm packing all that stuff.
There's just so much stuff todo in life that you have to
decide when.
And someone said to me theother day there's a good friend
who is an amazing musician andhe's decided to cut another LP
and go on the road and tour andall this kind of stuff again,
(50:37):
and he's in his 60s.
And he said to me I justdecided, if not now, when, and
if not me, who?
Who?
That's right.
Yasmin Nguyen (50:50):
Thank you for taking time to join us today.
If you enjoyed this episode orfound it valuable, please
subscribe, follow and leave acomment or review on your
favorite platform.
If you have friends, clients orloved ones who are retired or
thinking about retirement, weinvite you to share this show
with them.
Check out the show notes withthe links to the resources
(51:11):
mentioned in this episode atwwwrealretirementshowcom.
Remember, retirement is ajoyful journey we get to
experience together.
Join us next week for anotherReal Retirement Conversation.
Here's my plan .
I'm going to live to be 110.
I decided that at 108, I'mgoing to the rockest party in
the country for thetricentennial so in 2076, and my
husband said that he doesn'tthink he's going to live that
long, and so I have permissionto take two guys halfway.
So I plan to have about two 55year old hotties on each side of
(00:22):
me and we're going to be goingto whatever the fireworks and
Fourth of July display orwhatever that looks like.
That's where we're going.
Yasmin Nguyen (00:35):
Welcome back to the Real Retirement Show.
My name is Yasmin, here with myco-host, kathleen.
Whether you're retired orthinking about retirement, we
delve into the multifacetedworld of retirement beyond the
finances.
This isn't your typicalretirement discussion.
It's a vibrant journey intowhat retirement truly means in
today's world.
(00:55):
We bring you real stories fromreal retirees and experts
discussing real challenges,surprises, joys, heartaches and
the myriad of emotions that comewith retirement.
From addressing family dynamicsto mental and physical health
to finding purpose, we tacklethe issues that truly matter to
(01:17):
retirees and those thinkingabout retirement.
Today we're embarking on ajourney that redefines the
essence of living life to itsfullest, especially when we
embrace the golden years ofretirement.
Our special guest is theextraordinary Dr Laura LeJoy, a
beacon of joy, health andvitality.
In this episode, dr LeJoyshares her vibrant vision for a
(01:42):
life well-lived, including heraudacious plan to celebrate the
tricentennial in style,surrounded by youth and
fireworks.
But it's not just about livinglong, it's about living well.
Dr LeJoy, with her unique blendof chiropractic expertise and
passion for life, takes usthrough her personal journey
(02:05):
from aspiring orthopedic surgeonto a chiropractor who doesn't
just adjust spines, butattitudes as well.
You're in for a treat, as DrLeJoy reveals how she creates a
community of wellness and joywithin her practice, turning her
clinic into a place wherepeople of all ages come not just
for physical adjustment but foran upliftment of spirits, from
(02:29):
impromptu dance parties topersonal connections that extend
beyond the treatment room.
Dr LeJoy embodies the spirit ofliving joyfully and
intentionally.
But that's not all.
Dr LeJoy delves into theprofound impact posture on our
physical and mental well-being,offering insights and simple,
actionable steps to reclaim ourvitality.
(02:51):
She shares heartwarming storiesthat bridge the gap between
generations, highlighting theimportance of community service
and forging meaningfulconnections.
By tuning into this episode,you'll discover the secret
ingredient to a fulfillingretirement, one that's built on
health, community and, mostimportantly, joy.
Whether you're seekinginspiration to revitalize your
(03:15):
own retirement journey or arelooking for ways to contribute
to the lives of others, drLeJoy's wisdom and infectious
enthusiasm will surely light theway.
So gear up for an episode thatpromises not just to inform but
to transform.
Let real retirement be yourguide to a retirement that's not
just about winding down, butabout gearing up for the most
(03:38):
exhilarating chapter of yourlife.
Tune in, be inspired andremember it's never too late to
infuse your days with joy andpurpose.
Let's join our conversation.
Laura, would you share a littlebit about your journey into
knowing your profession and howyou help others that are
(03:58):
navigating this retirementchapter of their lives?
Dr. Laura LaJoie (04:02):
Absolutely.
I started out when I was eightyears old wanting to be a doctor
, and I was headed for medschool all the way through my
school into college and I wantedto be an orthopedic surgeon and
work for the NFL.
And I got into my junior yearin college and had the
opportunity to spend the summerat Cedar Center Hospital working
with pathologists andorthopedists and I realized that
(04:24):
I did not want to spend my lifeseeing patients of role-lead
and pain or that I was seeingwhen they're under anesthesia,
and so I started looking atother ways that I could pursue
my goals in the healthcare areaand I looked at all kinds of
different things and finallylanded on chiropractic.
So when I was 25 years old Igraduated from chiropractic
(04:44):
school.
I moved to Oregon to go toschool because I knew I was
going to stay here.
I love the outdoors and Igripped it so in California and
it's been such an incrediblejourney because I see literally
the summer I had a patient thatwas three days old and my
currently my oldest patient justturned 102.
Oh my gosh, I stayed at Gammack.
(05:05):
I've been in practice for 30years, so some of these people
are family.
I tease that.
This is the cheers ofchiropractic in Wilsonville
because we have so many peoplethat come in at the same time
every week or every other week,for performance adjustments they
come in for not only for theirwellness but also for their
community, and it's anopportunity to really connect
(05:26):
with people.
I say I give attitudeadjustments.
I have this woman, joan, who'sjust, she's a delight.
She was a dancer.
She is just turned 92.
And one day she came in hereand I said how you doing?
She's like it's a bummer day,I'm just not having a great day.
And I said, well, hey, how dida dance party?
And so I turned on the songHappy by Pharrell and we had a
(05:48):
spontaneous dance party in thewaiting room.
And I had another woman who camein who was in her early 20s and
I was like hey, brooke, howabout you join us for having a
dance party?
She's like okay, and so we justhad a dance party right there
in the waiting room and I said,yes, I am unconventional as a
doctor.
I have not a white coat and Idon't have that traditional
stiff feel, but people knowthey're going to leave here
(06:09):
better than they came and I giveout hugs freely, so people
don't really like to be touched,and so they might get a squeeze
on the shoulder, or they'lltake both of their hands in line
and just look them in the eyeand let them know their care is
short.
But I just think that thatpersonal touch is something.
Especially people that are intheir third and fourth chapters
are missing, and there's littleways that we can enrich that,
(06:31):
and that's one of the things Ireally trying to do with my
people.
Kathleen Mundy (06:34):
When you mentioned that you wanted to
help people engage in theircommunity, I'm going to assume
that you also helped themenlarge their communities as
they retired, with kind of awellness approach.
Can you just elaborate a littlebit on when a retiree comes in
to see you, how you help themexpand their world?
Dr. Laura LaJoie (06:53):
Wow, that is a great question.
I really spend a lot of time,particularly at the beginning,
getting to know what they want.
There's so many different typesof people and I find that some
people really want thatone-on-one connection.
There's other people that arereally kind of quiet in the
background, but they enjoy beingin groups.
They just don't want to be theone in the front of the room.
(07:15):
So I just get to know what aretheir interests, especially for
people that don't have familynearby and they're coming in
here, and part of theircondition, if you will, is that
they're alone and they'reexperiencing loneliness, and so
I really listen for what theircues are.
So, for instance, I have apatient who is a professional
(07:36):
knitter.
She teaches knitting and shehas a knitting circle, and so if
I find somebody that isinterested in that, I can say
hey, I happen to know that onWednesday mornings at 10 o'clock
there's a knitting circle atthe community center.
You might be interested.
We talked about the book clubsthat we have at the library.
We have a really activepickleball community and there's
(07:59):
other people that just want togo and have coffee on a regular
basis with someone.
So we have the WilsonvilleWalkers and we have a group that
walks two miles twice a week.
They have fast and slow pacesand at the end of it they go and
have coffee, and there'ssometimes up to 25 people having
coffee together at this localpub.
So some people might say, ohwell, I can't walk two miles,
(08:24):
and I say, well, why don't youjust meet them at the park, walk
around the parking lot whilethey're out, going their two
miles out and back, and thenmeet them at the coffee shop.
There's even people that haveretired from the group because
they just don't feel like theyhave the capacity to walk two
miles anymore, and so they showup at the coffee shop at 1030
and meet everybody when they'redone walking.
I mean, I think it's just beingable to make people aware that
(08:46):
these connections are possibleand having them find a place to
start, and I think that's reallywhat it comes down to.
A lot of people don't knowwhere to begin, and so I always
try to meet them where they are,help them find a starting point
.
For instance, I just read thisfantastic book this last year
called Built to Move by Dr KellyStarrett and his wife Julianne
(09:07):
Starrett, and it's all about theelements of healthy living.
Well, it starts out withgetting on the floor.
Get on the floor and get up.
And some of my patients looklike me, like I have three eyes,
and they said, well, if I geton the floor, I can't get back
up.
And I said, well, that's thepoint.
If you were to fall on the floorand you are by yourself, what
(09:30):
are you going to do?
You're not necessarily carryingyour phone around the house,
you're not necessarily haveanybody in the house with you.
You need to be able to get up.
And so get down on the floorand build those muscles that are
going to allow you to get up.
And the ones that have actuallydone it find themselves getting
stronger because it's a partialpushup and it's getting up with
(09:51):
their legs.
In fact, I'm going to be doing atalk here in my local golf
course and I had a woman who'skind of leading the charts and
she was saying what we talkabout and like well, for an
example, I'm going to have youcome up to the room and get down
on the ground.
And she goes what do you mean?
And I got up, I stood up infront of her, got myself down on
the sidewalk and got up and Isaid no, it's your turn.
(10:14):
And so she didn't.
She's 74 years old.
She got down on the sidewalkand got herself up and she goes.
Well, that was harder than Ithought it was going to be, and
I said that's the point.
We want to build those musclesthat we want to keep using for
the rest of our lives.
Kathleen Mundy (10:30):
This reminds me, yasmin.
You and I had a conversationabout the last quarter of your
life versus the first quarter ofyour life, and how you have to
learn how to walk and talk, andyou also have to learn how to
exchange with other people andmake friends, and so I believe
that it's the same experience inthe last quarter.
(10:51):
One of the things that we have,our resource center, is called
the Sandbox, for specificallythat reason.
In many instances, that was thefirst venue that people met,
congregated and made friends,and sometimes they were on the
floor and they learned to get upwith a lot of help when they
were very young.
(11:12):
So I love the fact that youthink that way.
Dr. Laura LaJoie (11:14):
Well, I was just going to say I think that
one of the challenges that I seenow is that sitting is the new
smoking People are.
They're sitting far too much andI'm seeing kids that are 10 to
15 coming in with posture andweakness and strength issues
that I used to see in 20 to 25year olds the people that were
(11:35):
just getting out of college andsitting for four years studying
and in class and then going intoa job where they're sitting at
a computer and now they'redeveloping these short type
muscles and is creating a hugeproblem for a society.
I actually find some of myseniors people their 70s and 80s
are more flexible than the kidsin their teens and it is
(11:56):
remarkable because we played inthe sandbox, we played in the
playground, we climbed trees, werode bikes, we didn't come home
until dark and I think thatthat's a huge element that's
missing.
So when I do see familiesbecause I actually have a couple
of families that I see fourgenerations and it's remarkable
(12:16):
that these great grandparentsare able to influence their
great grandchildren to get outand walk, to work in the garden,
to get outside and participatein life instead of sitting on
their computers- so powerful.
Yasmin Nguyen (12:30):
Laura, I'm curious for those seniors that
may not be as active physicallywhat do you do to help them
start moving again, andespecially when they have mental
beliefs and blocks around?
Well, I can't move like thatanymore.
What advice do you have forsomeone to start getting their
body going again?
Dr. Laura LaJoie (12:50):
I really meet them where they are.
I have a man right now who islovely and his posture looks
like this, and so what I did isposture scan and his exam.
At the very beginning I showedhim a picture of what his
posture looks like and I invitedhim to sit up straight and pull
(13:10):
his head back and I said now,does that cause pain?
And he said no.
I said then that's a habit thatyou've developed that is not
serving you, and so we startedwith habit.
Then I have them stand on thedoorway and put the doorway in
between their spine and pushtheir spine up against the
doorway and their head, and theyjust have to bring their arms
(13:31):
back and do angel stretches sothat they can open up the pecs,
which are muscles, especiallythe men or the female athletes.
Their chest and shouldersbecome really strong and shut
down and it causes the forwardrounding of the shoulders.
Well, if they're able tostretch that out, then they can
start to restore the movement inthe shoulders.
(13:53):
In some of them I might have awoman that says, well, I'm
having a hard time reaching upto the top of my closet, and
I'll end up saying, well, thenstart reaching towards the top
of your closet, like do thethings that you are missing, so
that you can help to improve thequality of that movement.
So I just started to kind ofmeet them where they are, like
(14:15):
they're having trouble withbalance, which is a big one.
I will have them stand.
Also, have them start withtheir feet shoulder with the
part, head back and lookingstraight ahead, because so often
when they're walking they'relooking down towards the ground
so that they don't miss a stepand then they become walking in
a forward hunch and that's theircommon habit.
Well, if they can then standtall, develop their balance, we
(14:39):
go from standing with the feetshoulder with the part to
standing with the feet together,and then we'll have them close
their eyes.
Often they'll tell them standin a hallway or in a doorway so
that you start to feel inbalance, open your eyes, but
reach out for the wall.
Once they start to develop thebalance where they're standing
just on the ground, then we say,okay, now what?
(15:00):
You do that without your shoeson, because now you have more
grounding and you're able tohave more tactile sensation from
your feet to your brain, andthen we'll go from that to have
them standing on a pillow.
So now they're a little bitmore imbalanced because the
pillow is soft, but again, itgives them that feedback that
they need their brain to be ableto get them to balance
(15:20):
appropriately.
So we start with it whereverthey are.
If there's somebody who says Ican't even walk to the mailbox
and back anymore withoutbecoming winded, okay Well, is
it because you don't have thestrength and endurance to watch
the mailbox or is it becauseyou've been breathing shallow
and you don't have the breath tobe able to get to the mailbox?
(15:42):
And so we try to get to theunderlying cause of the problem.
If they're winded becausethey're not breathing, well,
okay, then we start to work onposture and deep breath, holding
breath and then getting thatdiaphragm pushed down so that
they're really able to breathewith a more complete breath.
If they start coughing whenthey're breathing, instead of
(16:04):
saying oh, don't do that, I sayI see the problem is that those
muscles are weak and we need todevelop them just like any other
muscle, and so we'll do a deepbreathing exercise that we might
hold for a shorter period oftime or a shorter breath, but
we'll develop that.
If they're having a problemgetting to the mailbox because
they're not strong enough, I'llhave them start with sitting in
(16:26):
a chair and give them marchingin the chair for a minute.
So it just really haseverything to do with how
intense their daily activity isor if they have no daily
activity.
That's a really important piece.
The one I was mentioning therewas 102.
When she was 95, she waswalking two miles a day.
(16:49):
She was flipping houses.
So she would buy a house or acondo and she would have her
grandkids come over and help herdo a cosmetic remodel.
She'd live in it for a year anda half and then she would flip
it and buy a new place and dothe same thing.
And she did that over and overand over again because she
didn't want to be bored and itgave her something to do.
(17:09):
It gave her an opportunity toengage with her grandchildren,
and then the walking she wasdoing with this group.
I mentioned the Wolfs of theWalkers.
Kathleen Mundy (17:16):
I'm so excited about this topic.
I just think it's so amazing.
I found myself straightening upvery nicely as a result.
I think that's really critical,and some of the things I was
thinking about is posture has somuch to do with everything we
do in life, and so I know thatyou believe that your posture
(17:36):
contributes to your overallhealth as we age, both mentally
and physically.
Can we just talk about that alittle bit?
What adjustments, if there aresome that you might consider
important, to regain that?
Dr. Laura LaJoie (17:52):
Absolutely.
I'm going to start with themental health part of it.
I strongly believe that postureis directly tied into
confidence and self-esteem.
I was told from a young agestand tall, you're going to be a
tope.
I'm 5'10", stand tall and keepyour head back.
And my children are 5'11", 6'1"and 6'2".
(18:12):
So I have these daughters thatare 6'1" and 6'2" and when they
got into middle school they werethese gentle giants and they
wanted to get down like this andmake eye contact with their
friends.
And I taught them take a stepback, stand your full height,
and then you still have theright angle to be able to make
eye contact with somebody.
So I think that posture isreally important for self-esteem
(18:35):
because it opens you up and itallows you to get a full breath
when you're speaking.
It also makes you ready foranything.
We were taught growing up in LA.
I was taught that when you'rewalking down the street at night
in the dark, you stand like agiant, you walk like a giant,
you look at the people aroundyou, and so I think posture has
(18:57):
a big influence on how peopleare able to see us.
I think it also makes usapproachable or not when you see
somebody in the room who's shutdown and their posture is very
closed.
Their arms are closed, theirhands are together, their head
is down and they're not makingeye contact with anybody.
They're not as approachable asa person who's sitting tall or
(19:18):
standing tall making eye contact, smiling, and they're, given
that introduction, like yes,engage with me please.
And so I think posture isreally important from that
perspective.
It's also really important interms of degeneration.
When we get into these postureswhere our head is forward, our
shoulders are rounded, we dropour head down.
(19:40):
It really impacts that spine.
The spine and nervous system isthe most vital organs in our
body.
We live our life through ournervous system, which is why
chiropractic is so inspiring forme to be able to help people to
allow that movement andfunction to be such a big part
of their lives.
But when your posture is talland open and more flexible,
(20:07):
you're able to get to actionmore quickly.
You're able to move fromsitting to standing.
You're able to catch somebodyif they're falling.
If you're in a rounded postureand your head is down, you don't
see the things happening aroundyou and you don't feel the
sense in your body when peoplethink of chiropractic as
something that is popping thespine.
(20:29):
Well, it's just so much biggerthan that because when you
consider, for instance, thelower spine, the lumbar spine
directly innervates thedigestive system.
So if somebody is having astomach ache, I look at is there
a problem that they're havingin their stomach or is there a
problem that they're having intheir spine, and is there
(20:50):
anything that they can do interms of mobility?
Because the stomach is all justmuscle and so how is the
stomach moving in a way that'sgoing to allow them more comfort
?
One of my favorite patients is aguy that came in.
He was having mid-back pain,like right below his shoulder
blades, and I was checking itout and he had a restriction in
(21:11):
his spine.
And so then I asked him are youhaving any kind of like reflex
or GERD or any pain or anydiaphragm?
And he said yes.
Actually I was just prescribedZantac.
I haven't even started takingit yet, but I have
gastroesophageal reflex and Isaid well, if you don't feel
like you have to take it, giveme a couple of days to see if
(21:31):
your nervous system willactually start functioning
better once we get you adjusted.
Well, t5 and 6 actuallyinnervate the stomach and
diaphragm.
One adjustment.
He never had the reflex again.
He never took the medicationbecause it wasn't a problem in
his stomach, it was actually hisspine that was giving him a
miscommunication to the stomach.
(21:54):
And I see those things all thetime, people that fell out of a
four-year-old girl that came inone time with her siblings.
I was seeing her older brotherwho was on the preschool
football team, and her mom saiddo you think you could help my
daughter with her hearing?
And I said well, I don't know,it depends on the underlying
cause, but we can take a look.
Well, it turned out thedaughter had had a fall off of a
(22:15):
piece of furniture, she hadstrained her neck and the
muscles that were affecting theear were actually affecting the
upper part of the spine.
And so when I went to adjusther, she actually took about six
or eight visits, but itrestored her hearing.
That's remarkable.
I'll tell you my favorite story.
(22:36):
It's on the other end of thespectrum from retirement, but I
had a three-week-old baby thatcame in one time and the mom was
just beside herself.
From the time she was born, thebaby had not been able to not
cry for more than 20 minutes.
She was just miserable, and soa friend told her to come and
(22:57):
see me.
I adjusted her.
I saw her for about six weeksand by the end of the six weeks
the baby wasn't crying anymore.
Now the biggest thing was thatafter I adjusted her to the very
first time, the mom stayed inthe exam room and sent her and
she was back there for like anhour and when she came out she
was crying.
(23:17):
The mom was crying and I waslike, is everything okay?
And she said yeah.
And she said this is the firsttime since she was born that I
held her when she wasn't crying.
Wow.
And then just last summer I gotto meet the young lady when she
was 16.
They had moved away and theyhad just moved back and I got to
meet the young adult woman.
But it's amazing, I talk aboutlike Dennis and Mary.
(23:38):
Mary is the woman who's 102,who is vibrant and lovely and
communicates well and eatshealthy, and Dennis is a
28-year-old man that I saw afterhe was in a car accident.
I was having these ridiculousmigraine headaches, had through
the roof, blood pressure, and Itold him at his very first visit
(24:02):
.
I said I know you're here forthe headaches of the pain from
the accident, but I hope you'reopen to a conversation about
your general health because youare diabetes and a heart disease
waiting to happen and I hopethat you're willing to have this
conversation.
And he had a two-year-olddaughter and, long story short,
I saw Dennis sift for aboutthree weeks, three times a week.
(24:23):
He was getting better, theheadaches were going away and he
didn't show up for anappointment.
Then he didn't show up.
So the next appointment wecalled him to see if he was
going to make his thirdappointment.
He didn't show up.
So finally I called his fianceand he had had a massive heart
attack and died.
Yes, 28 years old.
(24:45):
And I think that so frequentlyour young people take for
granted the fact that they dohave this ability to bounce back
with their health so quickly.
And I think that's one of thebeauties of being in your third
and fourth act in life is thatpeople who've made it this far
they're like okay, I have twochoices.
I can either sit on the couchand wait to die, or I can figure
(25:09):
out how I'm going to make themost enjoyment out of the rest
of my life for as long as I live, and it can be two years and it
can be 22 years, we just don'tknow.
I mean, the oldest woman onrecord lived to be 118.
So she started fencing at 85.
This woman was amazing.
She was still riding her bike,but she was a hundred years old.
(25:32):
It gets remarkable and it justhas that difference in the shift
of how you see yourself.
And if you see yourself assomebody who is vibrant and
capable, then you're going to bedoing more.
If you see someone who is weakand suffering, then that's how
you live your life.
But a lot of people that I seethat have gotten into a rut and
(25:55):
they're stuck and they feel likethey've had too many injuries
or they have too much pain andthey can't do anything.
Then they start to wonder howcan I change?
And that's where I come in,because again, I meet them where
they are.
I have this one woman that I sawfor years and years that every
single time I saw her she wasjust a negative Nelly, like she
(26:17):
was never happy.
She was always happy to be hereand she would feel better when
she left.
But this one day I was justtired of always meeting her when
she's unhappy and I said hey, Ihave a homework assignment for
you.
I said I want you to go homeand before I see you again in
two weeks, I'm going to have youwrite down 10 things that bring
(26:39):
you joy, and your assignment isto do two.
And I said you've got two weeksto write down this list and
then do two things.
So two weeks later she wassupposed to come in for an
appointment and she didn't makeit for her appointment and I
thought I had scared her awayand I thought, I'll be honest, I
pushed her too far.
Like pushing her to joy wasjust too much.
(27:00):
And so then the third week shedid come in and I said well, so
how did it go?
And she goes wow, I only haveseven things on my list.
I'm like that's great, likelet's celebrate that.
And I said so, what crazythings are on your list?
And she said, well, I love toplay with my cat and I enjoy
being in the garden.
I like walking to the mailbox,especially when it's sunny.
(27:20):
And I said, well, did you doany of those things?
And she goes yeah, I playedwith my cat and I worked in my
garden.
I'm like, great, you did thehomework assignment.
And some people want to make itthis big grand expression and
the reality is.
When we meet people in theworld, sometimes a simple smile
or meeting someone with eyecontact is all they need to know
(27:44):
that there's somebody that isseeing them and recognizing them
, human to human.
Yasmin Nguyen (27:49):
Laura, you are so much more than a chiropractic
professional.
You, in many ways you are a joyambassador and you're helping
people all different range fromearly in their lives to later in
ways that really show themwhat's possible.
It seems like mental health isimportant to you, and could you
(28:10):
share a little bit more aboutyour perspective on the
importance of that and also whyjoy?
Dr. Laura LaJoie (28:17):
Well, joy is such an important piece of our
lives.
Joy and happiness are different.
Someone can be happy in themoment, but joy is something
that you cultivate, in myopinion.
I've been inspired for a longtime to be studying health and
longevity, and part of thosestudies have had led me to joy.
So, like the book by the DalaiLama, desmond Tutu, it's called
(28:40):
the Book of Joy, and they arethese incredible people in their
80s that have thrown throughthis incredible strife and yet
they meet life from the lens ofjoy.
And so I was so inspired andthat's where I really started to
dig deep in my exploration ofjoy.
Your book, the Game of Joy, isso important to the world.
(29:03):
I'm excited that you got it outthere.
I really bought a case of thosebooks and I give them to my
patients to actually help intheir lives.
Another person who was reallystruggling she was going through
a tough time and she'd gonethrough a tough breakup and she
was not happy at work and shewas coming in here and I didn't
have any more advice, I didn'thave any more things to say, and
(29:26):
so I gave her your book and Itagged the chapter on joy
activators and I said youalready know what's blocking
your joy.
You don't need to focus on thatpiece, I said, but what you
need to do is focus on the joyactivators and look at the ways
that you can activate joy in bigand small ways, because it
doesn't have to be complicatedand you are the one in control
(29:47):
of how your mind works, how yourbody works on a day-to-day
basis and how you meet up withother people is also your
personal expression of joy.
I come from a place where my daddied when I was four, but I had
the gift of my grandparents,who actually had me live with
them for a couple of years whenI was growing up, and a lot of
(30:09):
my mom's friends were verycritical of the fact that she
sent me away.
Well, she sent me to the peoplethat had raised her, and my
grandmother was one of sixchildren.
She lost her mother in a yearand a half old, and these six
adults who were her and herbrothers and sisters were people
that every single time we gottogether for family parties, it
(30:30):
was laughter and joyful and justthis incredible love of life,
and so I knew that that waspossible, regardless of what
you've been through.
One of my uncles had been aprisoner of war in Japan for six
years during World War II, andthe things that kept him going
(30:52):
was his faith and his love ofhis family, knowing that they
expected him to come home.
And so at the end of the war,when he was released, one of the
Japanese officers that had beenoverseeing their cell block
actually gave him the strap thathe had used on these soldiers
(31:13):
and my growth I'm sorry it makesme tear up my uncle hid it back
to me and said no, and you werejust doing your job and I
forgive you.
And I think that that's anotherthing, that forgiveness is just
such an important part ofgetting to this point in our
life.
The people that live with thesepoisons of unforgiveness it's
(31:35):
really hard, you know is when wetalk about that mental health
piece.
They try to meet people wherethey are and they think that
they've done to themselves thatthey have not forgiven
themselves for, and so they'reliving in this quagmire of
self-heat or self-destructionbecause something happened that
they feel like they should havehad control over, and instead of
(31:58):
looking forward and saying howcan I do different, how can I be
different, how can they comeout of this in a way that is
going to make up for it if youwill.
And you see families that arebroken because there was a
disagreement and somebody is sostubborn that they won't allow
the forgiveness.
You don't have to forget, youdon't have to put your guard
(32:19):
down and let that person hurtyou again, but you can forgive
the situation just so that youcan heal.
A lot of times we get to thosepositions in the clinic where I
start to understand that thisphysical pain has nothing to do
with an injury or degenerationand has everything to do with
(32:40):
how the body keeps score.
I mean, there's actually a bookcalled the Body Keep Score and
the body will keep all thestresses internally and that
creates inflammation, thatcreates spasm, that creates
stress.
It can increase your cortisollevels and your body has an
opportunity to release all ofthat as you start to work
(33:01):
through the mental, physical,emotional stressors that pile on
and cause people to have thesepains or discomforts in their
life.
Kathleen Mundy (33:09):
Wow, you've hit every barker and I can honestly
say that I think that we canisolate a particular trait in
each relationship and you think,oh my gosh, I never really
thought about that, because wealways think why did something
happen?
What's the root of that?
(33:29):
And what you just explained tous now seems incredibly simple
but incredibly accurate aboutgoing to the source, what it is,
what we bring to life, thethings that are hidden and we
bring it in a way that we don'teven want to see it show up.
(33:51):
So how do we get rid of theseenergies that are within, from
the history and the lifeexperiences that we've had?
Once again, we seem, whenever wehave these conversations, the
intention was to speak of yourpractice and how you can bring
chymopractry to the elderly andlook where we are.
We are exactly where we weresupposed to be Dealing with
(34:14):
things that cause heartache anddiscomfort and the inability to
live a joyful life andexperience the things that are
available to us.
And to that point, I'm going tocircle back a little bit.
One of the things I know thatyou're very good at and very,
very involved is that you giveto your community.
(34:35):
Talk to us a little bit abouthow important you believe that
is for the third and fourthchapter of your life.
Dr. Laura LaJoie (34:43):
I think it is vital.
I think that service to ourcommunity, to humanity, is one
of the greatest gifts that wewere given, and I had the gift
of joining a community when Iwas 25.
I moved to this town and we hada very active Rotary Club.
I was single, no kids.
I was first out of school and Ijust knew that I wanted to be
(35:05):
involved in a community ofservice and the Rotary Club.
We don't talk about ourprofessions so much, I mean you
learn what each other does ordid, but I was the youngest
person in the room and theoldest was in their 80s and
currently and very involved inRotary.
I work a lot with youthservices because I think that if
(35:25):
we can teach the youth of theworld that service is fun and
you have ways that you can becreative and helpful, that
there's an opportunity for themto then take that into the next
generations.
And so, like one of my bestfriends in Rotary right now, he
just turned 87.
He was a pilot in the Navy,actually, and just this
(35:46):
incredible man who is constantlyserving in ways that he got our
club really involved in youthexchange.
So we bring young people fromaround the world to our town.
We host them, we send our highschoolers out to other parts of
the world, so we have a youthservice club at the high school
and one of the advisors for that.
A couple of the really coolthings that we're doing right
(36:10):
now is the students are going tobe doing a tech day, so we're
going to be going to the seniorcenter and the seniors will come
and be able to ask anyquestions they want about how to
use apps, how to use Instagram,how to make a reel, how to
engage in their email, andthey'll be able to do an
exchange with the students,using the skills that they have
(36:31):
been born with and developthrough their early lives, and
the seniors will be able todevelop new skills that will
help them to engage with theirown grandchildren.
The other thing we're doing isan adopt, a grandparent day.
So there's a lot of seniors intown who they don't have family,
that are local and they havestories to tell and with a lot
(36:51):
of times, I think that when welook back in a lot of cultures,
they hold their people that arein their third and fourth
chapters of life at the highestesteem and I think a lot of
times we take our seniors and weput them away.
You know we'll put them in asenior housing unit without
really having an expression forhow do they get to continue to
(37:14):
live an enriched life, and so wewant to be able to take our
students in to do this, adopt agrandparent program where
they'll do it almost like speeddating.
They'll sit down, we'll havethe seniors at different tables,
the students will haveconversations with them for five
to 10 minutes and then rotateso that the students will each
get to hear different storiesfrom at least three to five
(37:35):
different people, and then we'regoing to take the stories and
create a project where there'llbe an essay or a poster or some
kind of gift that we'll be ableto give back to the seniors, and
then we'll have opportunitieswhere these kids will be able to
reconnect with the seniors ifthey choose, and it's also going
to give the seniors anopportunity to figure out what's
(37:57):
missing that these kids reallyneed to know about.
What do they need to hear aboutin terms of giving back to
their community, engaging withfamily, like what's important,
and what are these studentsmaybe not even thinking about
the needs of their owngrandparents where they can then
take these ideas and go homeand really use them.
So I think that communityservice is one of the vital
things.
(38:17):
More than 50% of my club is overthe age of 65.
And sitting at the knees ofthese people and just listening
to the stories and the life thatthey have lived and helping
them to continue to feel likethey matter I think it's really
important, because when you'resitting at home alone for hours
(38:39):
on end and you're not reallysure where your place in the
world is, I think a lot ofpeople just need to be reminded
that the reason that they'vedone it to this point in their
life matters, and they all havea story.
I love when I hear that myfriends, especially the ones
that have retired, are writingin book or engaging in a writing
class or writing process togive the story of their life to
(38:59):
their family, because I thinkthat that is such an incredible
gift to be able to tell thestories of the previous
generations and share that.
Kathleen Mundy (39:09):
I think you've hit the mark again because it's
really important, for,especially when grandparents
perhaps don't live in the samecity or even close by, I think
that multi-generational aspectof relationships absolutely have
been lost.
Yasmin knows my story a littlebit, where I lost my mom when I
(39:29):
was 23.
My children had never had anopportunity to meet her, my
youngest daughter.
When she came out of universityand started working with me and
my company, I said okay, here'swhat you're going to do, part
of giving back you're going tojoin the Rotary Club.
She said oh, mom, they're allreally old.
I said you're absolutely right,that's why you're going to do
(39:52):
it.
And she had over 10 years.
Oh no, 15 years later she hasgreat relationships with people
in their 80s and I think that'sa wonderful pseudo grandparent
for her and she understands that.
Generational differences Again,that goes to family dynamic.
(40:14):
It isn't necessarily alwayshave to be your own biological
family.
It's learning that dynamic sothat you can have better
exchanges with people in yourlife.
So I love that story.
I think that's amazing and theRotary Club has just done
amazing things around the world.
I think their mission was toeradicate polio.
(40:34):
My mom had polio, so theyhelped our family tremendously
at that point in her young lifeas well.
Dr. Laura LaJoie (40:40):
But one of the other things that I think has
really come out of Rotary for meis realizing that these people
have often slowed down in theirlife.
That takes them longer toremember a thought or to
consider a memory and it remindsme that sometimes, when I'm
going a million miles an hour,that it's really important for
(41:01):
me to slow down so that I can bewith the people in front of me.
It's easy for me to just golike a butterfly from flit to
flit to flit and or hummingbird,and I have to remind myself
that what they have to say isjust as important as what I have
to say and sometimes I learnsomething new that I just
(41:24):
discovering.
A lot of times I use these menand women as advisors because
they have so much joy in whatthey're doing and I'm inspired.
My goal actually is to live tobe 110.
Here's my plan I'm going tolive to be 110.
I decided that at 108, I'm goingto the rockest party in the
(41:45):
country for the tricentennial,so in 2076.
I don't know if it's going tobe DC or New York or Boston or
where it's going to be.
And my husband said that hedoesn't think he's going to live
that long.
He only thinks he's going tolive to be about 100.
And so I have permission totake two guys halfway.
So I plan to have about two 55year old hotties on each side of
(42:07):
me and we're going to be goingto whatever the fireworks and
Fourth of July display orwhatever that looks like.
That's where we're going.
So then started to realize likewhy am I going to wait until I'm
108?
Like I'm still going to livethat long and in order to get
there, I want to live healthyand vibrant and vital.
I don't want to just exist atthat age.
(42:29):
I want to do what it takes toget there and I've done so much
longevity research on health andaging because I think it's
important and it's somethingthat I want for myself.
But I decided that, starting in2026.
I'm going to start exploringevery five years and going to
the big parties.
I've heard Austin has afantastic Fourth of July.
(42:51):
I've scubaid.
I heard there's one in Nebraska.
Kathleen Mundy (42:53):
I'm like I don't know what's there, but I want
to go see it and I think, justhaving these targets, that we
can make it to create joyfulenrichment you again, you're
ticking all the boxes for me,because the planning of an event
in the future and the lookingforward to it gives you joy in
and of itself.
If you don't have something tolook forward to, you are
(43:15):
consistently looking backwards.
Yasmin Nguyen (43:18):
That's so true, and I think part of this is also
surrounding ourselves withthose that inspire possibilities
.
I think sometimes when we getstuck is when we're in our own
little circle and we can onlysee as far as our arms and we
aren't surrounded with othersthat can show us like wow, I can
have two 50 and five year oldhotties next to me at 100 plus.
(43:40):
So it's really important tohave the people that show us
what's possible.
Kathleen Mundy (43:46):
Well, it certainly is a motivating aspect
.
When I listen to you, laura, Imean gosh, you have such a
wonderful outlook.
And in order for us toappreciate that, I think the
fact that we've had anopportunity to really listen to
what you have enriched your lifewith and how you are bringing
joy to your own existencethrough your attempts to bring
(44:08):
joy to others.
It's a gift that you've beengiven, and I'm very grateful
that that gift is now somethingwe can share with our audience.
Dr. Laura LaJoie (44:17):
Well, thank you.
I'm actually really excited toshare your message with the
people that I'm around.
So when I go to Rotary onThursday, I'm excited to tell
them where they can find realretirement on YouTube and to
share with them that this isn'tjust your basic financial here's
how you get there but really tobe able to look at enriching
how do you get there in a waythat is joyful and vibrant and
(44:41):
interactive, because that's themessage that I see you guys
taking to the world that is sopowerful.
Kathleen Mundy (44:46):
Well, thank you.
In fact, one of the firstpresentations I did was to a
Rotary group and explaining whatour whole joyful retirement
project was all about.
And it was accepted and embracedand it was a real comfort to me
because you know, with anyproject that you do, whether
it's trying to enrich and talkabout longevity and elders lives
(45:10):
or whether it's trying to bringjoy to people, we sometimes
question am I doing this for meor for them, or am I on the
right path and how am I going toget to the next step?
And I think that from ourperspective and I hope I can
speak for you, yasmin is thatthe sharing of it has to happen.
We encourage people tosubscribe and do all the normal
(45:31):
things that you do, but it'smore important that they share
it with a friend to get ourmessage out.
We're not the first people toever talk about retirement or
believe deeply on how to improveyour retirement years, but I
believe that we're the firstthat really want to share
information that's going to makea difference, a meaningful
(45:53):
difference, in their mindset andin their movements going
forward, both physical andmental.
Yasmin Nguyen (46:00):
Laura, you have been such a gift today, sharing
so many different aspects ofthis journey.
How can people learn more aboutyou and I hear you've got an
upcoming podcast in which we geta chance to dive a little bit
deeper into your exploration ofjoy and the people and the
stories that you have to share?
Dr. Laura LaJoie (46:20):
I do and thank you for that.
So the podcast will be calledthe Dr Joy Show DRJY Show and
it'll be on all of your majorplatforms, and I couldn't be
more excited.
It's been a project in themaking for the last two and a
half years and it really cameout of the desire to write a
book about the journey to joy.
(46:41):
And I started out with wantingto interview my friends who are
over 65 about living that lifethrough the lens of joy, how
they got there and what it takesin your life.
How do you have to prepare?
Who do you need to surroundyourself with?
And in the process I had one ofmy coaches say well, if you're
going to do these interviews,why don't you do a podcast?
(47:02):
So the podcast was birthed twoand a half years ago, then
manifesting it all this time andfinally we're getting it off
the ground.
And I'm so excited because myfirst guest is Yasmin.
That was I love and yourexpression of joy and the joy
project that you bring to theworld is so important.
(47:23):
And then my second guest is aman who has, in his mid 70s.
He's been a mentor of mine foralmost 30 years and has really
taught me how you get to eachstage of life and you don't have
to lose your enthusiasm justbecause society has put this
stamp of aging on you.
(47:43):
And so that's the Dr Joy showsreally going to be about having
conversations with people ontheir journey to joy.
And what does that look likeand how do we manifest it, and
what are some of the things thatwe can bring to the world, like
joy hacks that's just such afun thing to consider.
Where you can hack into joy,like having a date with your
(48:03):
puppy.
For me it's going down to thebeach and seeing waves or going
kayaking, watching Greece LikeI've seen it 50 times, but it
doesn't change how much I loveto sing and dance to the music.
So I think that the Dr Joy show, for me, is a continuation of
being able to express joy in theworld in ways that I can share
(48:25):
it with even more people.
Yasmin Nguyen (48:27):
You're a true joy ambassador and I'm so grateful
that we get to create andinspire joy together in this
world.
Kathleen Mundy (48:34):
Well, I certainly have experienced it
today Not that I don't every daywith Yasmin.
He brings a lot of joy and it'sso wonderful to see this
blossoming in many differentareas.
Well, you guys are doing suchgreat work.
Dr. Laura LaJoie (48:48):
So thank you for including me in your project
, and I love that I get to takeyour episodes and then turn
around and share them with mymother and with my friends.
I just think that the messageis powerful and important.
Yasmin Nguyen (49:01):
Thank you Well, as Kathleen invited us all to
share these messages withfriends, loved ones and others
that could really use maybe someinspiration and new hope,
possibility and some guidance,and you've truly been such a
guide and inspiration today,laura.
So thank you for being herewith us and being so generous
with your experience your wisdomand your joy.
Kathleen Mundy (49:25):
Well, this was wonderful.
I love, love, love all thepeople that we interview because
, yeah, okay, I'm in my fourthquarter.
Dr. Laura LaJoie (49:33):
You're late in your third quarter.
Kathleen Mundy (49:35):
Well, actually, you know what this is so funny?
Because I've always told myhusband I'm gonna live to 126.
And he said, kathleen, I hateto tell you this, but you're not
gonna live to be 126.
I said, okay, if that's thecase, as long as I'm on the
smucker jar, that's my goal.
I went the smucker jar.
On the Today Show there's asmucker jar and if you're 100,
(49:55):
you get your photo.
So that was always my deal.
But I said, okay, if I'm notgonna be 126, that means I have
to pack a lot of stuff into mylife now, and so this project is
actually one of those things,because I don't know if the
husband shared with you or not,but I did retire, but it only
lasted three months and itwasn't for me.
(50:16):
So I'm packing all that stuff.
There's just so much stuff todo in life that you have to
decide when.
And someone said to me theother day there's a good friend
who is an amazing musician andhe's decided to cut another LP
and go on the road and tour andall this kind of stuff again,
(50:37):
and he's in his 60s.
And he said to me I justdecided, if not now, when, and
if not me, who?
Who?
That's right.
Yasmin Nguyen (50:50):
Thank you for taking time to join us today.
If you enjoyed this episode orfound it valuable, please
subscribe, follow and leave acomment or review on your
favorite platform.
If you have friends, clients orloved ones who are retired or
thinking about retirement, weinvite you to share this show
with them.
Check out the show notes withthe links to the resources
(51:11):
mentioned in this episode atwwwrealretirementshowcom.
Remember, retirement is ajoyful journey we get to
experience together.
Join us next week for anotherReal Retirement Conversation.
Popular Podcasts
1. Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
2. Start Here
A straightforward look at the day's top news in 20 minutes. Powered by ABC News. Hosted by Brad Mielke.
3. Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.