Awesome Seniors

John is one of the awesome seniors in a Laughter Yoga program of mine recently.  They call him Jack and he calls his walker, Johnny Walker.  Ha-ha!!

His laughing buddy Gerrie is a youthful 91.  She’s in amazing shape with an exuberantly positive attitude and a laugh to match.

So I ask her , "What’s your trick to your awesome longevity?"  Her answer:  "music and laughter!" She’s always sung in a choir and has always laughed a lot. 

Thank You Gerrie.

Photo:  Laughing Buddies

The more you laugh...

The more you laugh, the more you find things funny.  You don’t need a sense of humor to laugh.   Rather the more you laugh, the more you develop a greater sense of humor.

It’s a truism.  For I laugh a lot and consequently find an amazing amount of things in the world funny. 

I sat on a massage chair for the first time at the salon where my reflexologist practices.  I couldn’t stop howling.  Just couldn’t stop. It sent me into an endless stream of laughter. I guess you could say it tickled my funny bone, massaged it….whatever.  I just thought it was an hysterical experience.

Because this was an upscale salon, and the laughter wasn’t congruent with the rest of the ambiance, we had to turn the thing off or I would never have stopped laughing….  Had I been bolder, we would have left it on.

But the point is I’m the only one I know who howls with laughter just by sitting in a massage chair.  My laughter muscles are well-oiled…and often used.

Photo:  Stock.xchnge

Yachta yachta

Saw a boat on the canal today named "Yachta Yachta".  Funny!  Laughter's everywhere if you take the  time to see it.

Photo:  Stock.xchnge

Simple is Powerful

The simplest things in life are generally the most powerful.  Like laughter!

Photo:  Stock.xchnge

Open - Hearted Laughter

I connect most easily with those who laugh freely.

I know why – it’s because they are the most open-hearted.   This is true, not only emotionally and metaphorically, but also literally.

Hearty laughter is excellent for the heart.  It lowers blood pressure; increases blood circulation; expands the lining of the arteries, taking stress off the heart; and strengthens the heart in a cardiovascular workout.  There have been numerous significant studies linking heart - healthy people with those who laugh easily.

Photo:  Stock.xchnge

It's Healing to Laugh!

It’s healing to laugh!  I’ve said it many times.  Perhaps it’s time to say it again.

As I’m about to proceed to my appointment with my reflexologist this morning, I quickly think to exchange my boring white socks for the ones with bright colored dots.  For I know this will give us an added laugh – just before she goes to work on my feet.

I chose my new ND for many good reasons, one of which is that I know how easily she laughs.  For she was in my laughter class at Bastyr University last year.  And indeed we spend not a small amount of our visits in boisterous laughter.  It is so healing.   The other stuff feels almost incidental.  Though it’s also great healing stuff.

Laughter heals in so many ways: boosts the immune system, stimulates the brain, gives a cardiovascular workout, shakes up the internal organs, strengthens the lungs, reduces pain, stimulates and relaxes our muscles, and last but not least, give us a grand emotional and spiritual boost!

Photo:  Phinney Laughter Club - July edition!

Ted Talk: Laughing to the Future

Laughing to the future TED Talk with Hugh McClelland:

I do the laughter exercises a bit differently - more raucous, not so controlling on the breathing, but sparking everyone to laugh with a demo.  More natural and playful, so off they go, wild and wonderful.  But his info here is great!  And his enthusiasm!

 “Babies laugh before they can speak.  But also babies laugh before they have the ability to understand complex language, i.e. before they could possibly get the joke."  Aha!  No need for jokes to laugh – it’s a completely natural thing to laugh without any cognitive understanding of why.  It’s simply joy!

“Laughter leaders remind people how to do the thing they already know how to do – laugh.” 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28ZSsH3UFWM