Laughter – the best medicine
Many years ago Norman Cousins wrote a healing book about his journey to curing a terminal illness. He decided to fill his days with joy and so he watched old Laurel and Hardy movies along with The Three Stooges and other comedic teams. He spent a lot of time laughing…and sure enough along with massive doses of Vitamin C – he became well.
No one doubts the effects of a good belly laugh – something releases inside and we begin to sense that all is well. I used to think this was mostly accidental- (be sure you have a friend with a good sense of humor) or hear a good joke…lets face it TV is not that funny these days. Then a couple of years ago I was participating in a women’s empowerment program and on the agenda was a session on Laughing Yoga. I had heard about this form of Yoga but had never been exposed to it….I felt pretty silly at the beginning…doing a lot of HEE HEE ..HO HO …HA HA…and then combining some movement with the laughing. Before I knew it, I was roaring with natural laughter and feeling those endorphins flowing throw my body. Hearing everyone in the room also laughing brought on increased levels of hilarity.
I bought lots of books on laughing yoga and proceeded to seek out more classes and experiences. Along the way I realized something – the joy that was provoked by the body’s response to joy ..ie laughter, was actually coming from me- not to me. Joy was just waiting for an invitation to bubble up and spill over like a newly opened bottle of good champagne.
As we wrap up self-care month – give some thought to expressing your natural joy ..you don’t have to run three miles to get those endorphins moving – or spend hours at the gym- you don’t even have to watch old funny movies although if you are looking for ideas – try Michael starring John Travolta…there are some great giggling scenes. Just throw back your head and laugh – feel the joy that is naturally your birthright…or invite a few friends over and do some laughing yoga sounds (see above). Give your wonderful self a treat!
