Give Laughter a Chance!
One of my prize sweatshirts, from an 1985 anti-war dance festival, says, “Give Peace a Dance.” A slogan for today’s decidedly dire days might read, “Give Laughter a Chance!”
For years, Kathleen Krauss, Joy Hardin and I led regular Laughter Yoga groups. The groups have ceased, but we still talk regularly and always start our conversations with a laugh. Our friendship is anchored in laughing, which has nourished us through illness, loss and uncertainty.
Laughter feeds hope, reminding us that we are survivors and — even more — thrivers. There is much to appreciate in our lives.
All three of us hover around 80 — one of us (moi!) is already into her OCTO years and Joy and Kathleen are close behind. But when we laugh, we might as well be 4 or 5 again, childhood friends playing and breaking out into laughter. We feel the exhilaration of our bodies infused with joy. What bursts forth in those moments is a flooding of our bodies with happy hormones (endorphins, serotonin and dopamine) — great stress reducers for these scary times!
Deep laugher rocks the bodies, every fiber shaking with pleasure, casting off pain and despair. Laughter is one of the tools in our internal medicine cabinets, a healing balm requiring no prescription, no permission. It’s free and immensely freeing.
A foundational truth of the practice of Laughter Yoga is to “Fake it till you make it,” because researchers find that even faked laughter yields measurable physical benefits. Even if you don’t feel it initially, once you start laughing, your body turns “pretend” laughter into the real thing, and physiological and emotional benefits start flowing.
Laughter is contagious, for people or animals. Even Kathleen’s dog, Kallie, gets excited when we laugh together.
Here’s an exercise to try with a friend: make a commitment to laugh together for just one or two minutes. My Laughter Yoga buddies and I create activities to simulate play and stimulate creativity to get us started.
Some examples: we lie on our backs, our heads together and eyes closed, just laughing. Or we run around “chasing butterflies” or clapping our hands, chanting, “Hee hee ho ho ho!” until spontaneous laughter erupts.
Kathleen has this suggestion: “Since laughter is so wonderful, why wait for the next joke? Give yourself a laughter challenge! Pick a day or a week and laugh as often as you can. When you do, relax into it, enjoy the warmth and the lightness it brings, then laugh some more.
“It’s an easy way to brighten the moment, and you’re changing your body chemistry for the better,” she said.
When we give ourselves permission to be silly, we become kids again, childhood playmates, playing, laughing and feeling better.
Try it! Enjoy a cup of laughter tea on me!
Joanne Fornes laughs and lives in McKinleyville. For more information of “How Laughter Transforms Lives,” visit Laughter Yoga International at laughteryoga.org/.
