Quote

“If you laugh a lot, when you get older your wrinkles will be in all the right places.”

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Joy Kills Sorrow

I saw a band Friday night called Joy Kills Sorrow at The Fremont Abbey.  Aside from having such a great name, and being a cast of amazingly accomplished musicians, the lead singer, this lovely young woman, at one point breaks into laughter with the guitar player and can’t keep singing.  My kind of people.  The embodiment of joy!

She apologized for cracking up in the middle of a song, but of course we all loved it!   

Music and laughter – no more powerful combination of joy!

An Excuse to Laugh

I had a friend who used to send me funny little messages that I loved because they made me laugh.  But in person he was quite different, quiet, understated, subdued.  Much more like the person I knew to be working on his PhD thesis.  But then the next day, another funny message.

It’s gotten me thinking how some people just need an excuse to lighten up.

My ex used to love to come to the laughter club.  He was often one of the few men who attended.  Yet he fit right in and more importantly he could easily assess how it benefitted him.  Yet if you knew him, you’d be surprised that he took to Laughter Yoga so easily, for he doesn’t easily laugh in life. He has even been called dower.

I’ve seen this over and over, the quiet ones come and find a place and an excuse to loosen up and laugh.

At one of the retirement communities where I bring laughter yoga, there used to be an old man named Jim.  He was very quiet and subdued, yet during the laughter sessions he had a wonderful loud and boisterous laugh like he was having the time of his life. I was amazed when the activity director told me this was the only time she heard him laugh.

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Oprah endorses Laughter Yoga

Oprah says “Laughter yoga combines laughter with yoga breathing exercises.  It is a perfect way to laugh and get exercise at the same time.  It approaches laughter as a body exercise so it’s easy to laugh even if you’re depressed or in a bad mood.  I’ve tried it and it works.”

Laughter and Creativity

Which comes first the chicken or the egg?

Laughing wakes up creativity – which makes the comedian funny – which makes them laugh more – which makes them funnier…

Openness = flowing ideas.  Laughter stimulates both hemispheres of the brain simultaneously.  Students who laugh before taking exams exhibit more creativity.  Laughter abolishes inhibition which equals more creativity flowing…

Let go, relax, laugh and be creative!

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Dinner Laughs

 Someone recently asked me why I go out to eat so much.

There are several answers, certainly beginning with the amazing food I wouldn’t be able to create at home.  Then there’s simply dressing up and going out – always uplifting.  But most importantly it’s the social camaraderie I get from the dinner group I belong to.  And all the laughter that follows.  We’ve become like a family and we enjoy a tremendous amount of fun and laughter.

If you need more laughter in your life, get out and starting having some fun with others.  And know that true camaraderie can take some time to develop, but it’s worth it in the end.

Photo:  Some of my dinner companions

Laughter and Longevity

My friend Elmer jokes that 90 is the new 70.  Aside from bad knees he’s the epitome of that joke.

I ask him how it is that he’s 90 and in such good shape.  He answers me with another joke:  “I never drove fast cars, I never chased women, and I only sometimes lied.”  Cute.

I ask again, fishing for the answer that I want:  laughter.  He answers me again with another joke.  Before my final request for the answer I want, I realize he’s delivered it to me already with his three jokes.

Stay young in spirit to stay young in body.

Photo:  My friend Elmer