Laughter and Anger

It’s impossible to be angry and laugh at the same time.  Anger and laughter are mutually exclusive.  And in the words of Wayne Dyer, “You have the power to choose either.”  How true!

Photo:  Stock.xchnge

Mr. L made me Laugh and Laugh

Mr. L was a good friend’s father.  When I was in high school.  And in spirit he took on that role that my own father left behind when he left this world –  caring for me in those ways that men do –  with cars.  And caring for me emotionally.  Though I didn’t fully realize it at the time.

Mr. L gave me so much laughter.  And I suppose I him as well.  Though he was only laughing on the inside.  But I knew he was laughing.  

The standard vignette:

I’m 17 and driving my own car.  Amazing.  I drive up to my friend's house.  Mr. L comes charging out the front door, all focus and determination.  He’s going to save me from my ignorant automotive self.  I’m ordered to pop the hood that he then promptly opens.  The lecture begins.   OMG – the fluids are low!  Have I seen how dirty the air filter is?!!  My tires need more air.  It’s a cross between a lecture and a tirade.  But a tirade thick with love and one that made me laugh endlessly.  Even as a teenager I could feel the love.  The car inspection from Mr. L every, absolutely every, time I pulled up to my friend’s house.

It’ a memory of love and laughter that I now cherish.

Thank you Mr. L for being there for me and for all the laughter that I so much needed.

Photo:  Stock.xchnge

Mr. Rogers

Happy Birthday Mr. Rogers!

Photo: Wikimedia

Yet another smiling story

She’s a quiet soft - spoken women; kind, considerate, perhaps too considerate, a bit sheltered; and desperately in want of a man.  That last trait isn’t an attractive one.

Yet she read something somewhere about smiling and chose to embrace the concept – to intentionally smile often.

Our mutual friend relayed the story of seeing her recently and immediately noticed the difference.  She was suddenly so attractive!  “But what was it?”  “A new face cream?”  She couldn’t put her finger on it.

Until her friend confessed – she’s chosen to smile.

She transformed herself to an attractive magnetic person with this one simple change.

Photo:  Stock.xchnge

Happy Birthday Laughter Yoga!

Laughter Yoga and I were born on the same date – March 13^th!!!  It’s a synchronicity I love. 

Dr. Kataria gathered five brave people who were willing to try something new and different:  laughing every morning for 20 minutes in an outdoor park.

In the beginning they used jokes, each member taking turns getting in the middle of a circle and telling as many jokes as they knew that day.  It worked out fine for about a week and then started to crumble; as their jokes devolved into raunchy and rude renditions of humor.  People started to complain and Dr. Kataria knew he had to abandon the use of jokes altogether.  The next inspiration came to him at 4:00 a.m. – unconditional laughter.  “Why do we need a reason to laugh?”  Thus Laughter Yoga was born.

My story is a bit more complex but I did emerge on March 13^th also, a few years prior to Laughter Yoga (ha-ha).  They say I never stopped smiling.  So there you go…

Photo:  The Founding Five/Laughter Yoga International

Women in Laughter Yoga

Why are Laughter Clubs mostly women? 

Theories abound.  Mine is:  women (in general) can access their feelings faster.  Men (in general) take a bit of space before they’ve arrived at their emotions.  (No disrespect intended, just an obvious observation)  And laughter is a LARGE emotion. 

In Laughter Yoga we access our laughter at a rapid fire pace.  I demo a laughter exercise.  The knee slapper for example.  Jump starting most participants.  Then count to three.  Boom!  Laugh!  It’s shocking at first for some.  Total delight for most.  But it’s immediate.  No hesitation.  And women are simply better at this.

But practice makes perfect.  After a bit of warm-up, most everyone is laughing at the count of three.  It’s like any class – it’s a learning process.  Learning to laugh for no reason.  Learning to access our laughing place at the drop of a 1 – 2 – 3.

Photo:  Laughter Yoga International

Laughter Heals

Laughter heals.  Including “fake” laughter, or as I prefer to call it, self-generated intentional laughter.

It’s in part the result of the hormones laughter creates, called catecholamines, that trigger the release of endorphins, that reduce pain, reduce stress, boost the immune system and stimulate elation!

Photo:  Stock.xchnge