Woody Allen: "I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose."
When was the last time you can remember really laughing while your belly bobbed, and/or tears streamed? Do you experience all the forms of laughter from the quick little titter, to the giggle, to outright guffaw daily? The power of laughter can heal hearts, minds, and pocketbooks.
Laughter is a divine way to heal from any emotional and physical pain you may experience. It is so good for you that Laughter Yoga was created partly based on the principle that laughter recharges your whole being because every cell becomes activated when you laugh!
While planning for the Holidays, include a little levity in your recipe for a merry old time. Have your family take turns to reciting the funniest things that happened on the Holidays. Or try taking the old holiday blues and rewrite the words. How's this for a start? Suggest a game of inventing new words for holiday songs: Sing this to the tune of 'Jingle Bells'. "Ho, Ho, Ho! Ho, Ho, Ho! Ho, Ho, all the way! Oh, what fun it is to laugh and sing Ho, Ho all the way! Hey!"
"You can say anything to anyone as long as it's said with respect and kindness." What are some ways you can playfully handle Uncle Tom's stinky cigars? How can you deflect your mother's criticism with humour and kindness? Play with Aunt Susan when she begins her compulsive cleaning. Tell the twins that anything they break they will pay for, and follow through with your new rules. Imagine that you could actually relax and laugh a little at least with yourself?
In the middle of our biggest challenges, it's not easy to be amused. Challenges, by definition, are not amusing. We are much more likely to feel confused, frustrated, hopeless or angry. But consider the benefit of finding just one morsel of amusement in a really difficult situation. At first we may not be comfortable finding amusement in the small challenges, let alone the big ones. As one would expect, it's easier to start with the smaller things. But even with the bigger challenges our perspective and our ability to believe that our ultimate good is unfolding, always affect our experience. We can remember that we are gloriously human in an ongoing process of remembering that all is well, we are safe, and that Life is Good.
Quincy Jones: "I've always thought that a big laugh is a really loud noise from the soul saying, "Ain't that the truth."
Laughter is great medicine; we can learn all the forms of laughter and recover our whole selves. Laughter encourages wellness when we laugh at our mistakes. Imagine laughter as the lubrication that eases the risk of trying new things, and helps us polish the things we are already doing. The expression, "Laugh at yourself and the world laughs with you.", is both true and a sign of grace in our souls. Some of the most grace-full people we know are able to laugh at themselves with ease. Laughter keeps us young at heart and open to more of life's pleasures. When was the last time you failed at something, picked yourself up and laughed about it?
That laughter creates nourishment for our souls that keeps us flexible and willing to keep trying. Whenever we really laugh, we are closer to experiencing our souls.
Shirley MacLaine: "The person who knows how to laugh at himself will never cease to be amused."
Try out these laughter exercises. Laughter Yoga Exercises
This week's exercise is to practice a little laughter yoga. Practice seeing how entertaining this world is regardless the challenges you face. The first part of the exercise is to muster up one thought about the potential silliness of your current challenge. You will see its power over you suddenly diminished. The situation is only a temporary problem. When you find even a little amusement you remember that you, not the situation, are the creator of your experience. The second part of the exercise is to either write up your laughter experiences, or share them with a loved one. Our laughter, like good food is best savoured and shared.
Laughter is magnetic, attractive, and engenders more laughter, have a great, Ho, Ho, Holiday!
|
Biography
