My radio reports on 104.7fm

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Last fall (in 2023), I had the pleasure of offering weekly columns on 104.7fm radio.

A great challenge!

I was entrusted with 17 weeks of conversations and laughter on the late afternoon drive-home show.

Among the themes explored, I proposed the following:

  • Combat back-to-school stress,
  • Change the way you see things,
  • Laugh and breathe,
  • The benefits of self-mockery,
  • Full awareness,
  • Learn to laugh even when you’re upset…

The presenter and the people in the studio were very open-minded in welcoming me and doing the exercises with me every week! I’m well aware that I took them out of their confidence zone! HAHAHA!

Many people have told me how much it helps, and how much they’re looking forward to Tuesday! As you may have guessed, my columns were part of the Tuesday program.

Some listeners had a little more difficulty playing along, but all in all, it was a great experience for me.

Why?

Because I was sharing a foolproof tool for changing your mood and finding more energy at the end of the workday. A more stressful time when many are stuck in traffic!

Even I was tested when I left the studios! Traffic jams almost every week. It had become a running gag!

Anyway, here’s the link to all the audio capsules. I don’t like them all… but I like having made them!

Listen to one at random, or listen to them all!

Here’s the link to the series.

Many thanks to the station managers for their trust and openness! And a big thank you also to host Frédéric Bisson, with whom I had some wonderful moments of complicity.

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

Laughter at work: A SUPER POWER for your team

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Today, I want to talk to you about something that just might change your perspective on work. A powerful, often underestimated tool that you may have overlooked in your professional toolbox: laughter.

“Linda! Are you talking about laughter? What a surprise!” you might ask!

Yes, you read that right! Laughter has the power to transform your workplace into a more positive, productive and connected place.

All this is confirmed by the customers I work with. After a conference-workshop, team members are in a good mood and leave with renewed energy and a smile. The effects last for several weeks!

Let’s go

Let’s dive into the depths of workplace laughter and discover how it can become your team’s superpower. (And here’s a nice little moving image to get us in the mood! You may have to click on it to get it started, but it moves, I promise.)

Goodbye stress, hello smiles

Laughter is the ultimate remedy for stress. When we laugh, our bodies release endorphins, those little happy hormones that make us feel great, relaxed and at ease. The result? Less stress, less muscle tension, and more smiles. Try carrying a heavy object and laugh out loud! Our bodies are incapable of forcing themselves at this point. It relaxes.

A radiant work environment

Laughter brings that positive atmosphere we all seek in the office. Colleagues laughing together create a warm atmosphere conducive to creativity. The atmosphere at work is one of the key factors in employee well-being and productivity. Laughter has the power to transform a dull office into a dynamic, positive place. Laughter can positively influence your corporate culture, strengthen team spirit and inspire creativity.

Strengthening ties

Laughing together brings us closer together. Shared moments of laughter strengthen the bonds between team members. Whether around the coffee machine or during an after-work outing, laughter creates memories that last. Laughter is the “cement” of professional relationships. And we know it. Relationships between colleagues are at the heart of any high-performance team. Shared laughter fosters communication, reinforces trust and builds solid professional relationships.

Laughter, fuel for creativity

Laughter has the power to unleash our creativity. It enables us to see things from a different angle and find innovative solutions to business challenges. Creativity is at the heart of innovation, and laughter can stimulate creativity in unexpected ways. Laughter encourages divergent thinking, helps find creative solutions to business challenges and fosters innovation. Laughter allows us to “see things differently”.

If we can laugh at all sorts of little everyday things – for example, laughing at our mistakes, laughing at the VISA account, laughing while washing our hands – we might think that by allowing ourselves to laugh, we place ourselves “elsewhere” and we find solutions more quickly to the problems we encounter.

Greater efficiency, less time wasted

Teams that laugh are often more efficient and productive. Laughter helps reduce tension, improve concentration and boost work performance. That’s right! Just think how your breathing changes completely when you laugh. You bring more oxygen to your body and brain. A well-oxygenated brain works much better! You also become more energetic.

The diplomacy of laughter

Laughter is an excellent conflict management tool. It defuses tense situations and facilitates open communication. Laughter can really help teams resolve disagreements constructively… and diplomatically! Try not to get angry or impatient when you start laughing. IM POS SI BLE! Goodbye conflicts!

Laughter, a friend of health

What’s more, laughter has countless health benefits. It strengthens our immune system, activates the parasympathetic system, stimulates the respiratory system, lowers blood pressure and pampers our heart.

Just think about it! Not only is it great to laugh, it’s also great for your physical health! A free aerobic training program!

What are you waiting for?

So, dear friends, why not make laughter part of your corporate culture right now? It could be as simple as sharing a joke every morning, organizing playful brainstorming sessions, starting your meetings or days with a few laughter yoga exercises (no joke! It really works and it’s contagious!) or creating a relaxation corner where you can let go and laugh together (or do your laughter yoga exercises together!). Come on. I’ll give you an example to do with me here.

Laughter is a superpower we all have, so don’t wait any longer. Unleash it and make it an asset to your team.

Laughter is not only good for your health, it’s also a real catalyst for strengthening your bonds, enhancing your creativity and energizing your work.

And most of all, I love to see the shining eyes of employees and team members after they’ve experienced this method, which will become part of their professional toolbox, to everyone’s great delight! It’s just too great!

So, are you ready? Let’s get started!

And tell me how the rest of your day went. I’m sure you’ll have been more smiley, more creative, more collaborative and… happier! That’s right!

I know it. I put it into practice! hihihi!

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

P.S. Click on this link to Ask me what I can do to help! Whether it’s a conference-workshop, a regular workshop or a Rire et Chocolat program, I’m here for you!

P.P.S. Can you feel your superhero cape (or super heRose) flapping in the wind?! HAHAHAHA! There it is!

Change your body chemistry with a laugh?

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Change your body chemistry with a laugh? Think it’s impossible?

Think again! All our emotions, every little feeling, has an impact on our body’s chemical composition! What you see here are the effects of anxiety, depression, love, happiness… Impressive, isn’t it?

How emotions affect our body chemistry

Change your body chemistry with a laugh? Yes, you can!

Depression, anger, anxiety, love, good mood… watch the tubes fill up or empty. It’s not science fiction at all! hahaha! (although how you can make a little graph that moves is a mystery to me…)

Do you know your hormones?

First, dopamine. It’s an important neurotransmitter involved in many of our body’s systems. See an interesting video to explain its action more scientifically.

Serotonin is a central nervous system chemical messenger involved in a number of physiological functions such as sleep, aggression, eating and sexual behavior, as well as depression.

Among other things, the serotonin/dopamine balance ensures mood stability.

Oxytocin is often referred to as the love hormone! After a long hug, its level rises. It’s associated with empathy, trust and interpersonal relationships.

One of the hormones illustrated here is missing: endorphins. Endorphins are hormones secreted in the brain when we exert ourselves with moderate or vigorous intensity (De Matos et al., 2009). These neurotransmitters play several important roles. Indeed, when endorphin levels rise, the body allows our negative emotions and sensations to take a breather, fostering the emergence of a good mood and a sense of well-being. Not only does the secretion of these hormones contribute to well-being and pleasant sensations, they also influence the perception of pain and stress (De Matos et al., 2009). This chemical is said to have an anxiolytic effect, i.e. a substance that reduces sensitivity to anxiety and stress (reference on http://www.centrecircuit.com/fr/Pour-les-familles/Blogue/Juillet-2017/La-magie-des-endorphines).

We know that laughter has an impact on the secretion of all these hormones. We also know that laughter reduces the concentration of adrenalin and cortisol (the main stress hormones) in our bodies.

The result? Less of what’s associated with the effects of stress – tension, discomfort, illness. More of what makes you relaxed and happy!

So, what do you think? Do you believe, as I do, that laughing more is totally appropriate as a joyful prescription?

Looking for a little extra laughter – even if you’re alone? It’s been proven that hearing laughter predisposes us to laugh.

I remember when my cousin and I were teenagers, we played a “game”. One of our aunts had a tape recorder and she lent it to us for a little while. So my cousin and I would take turns going into the bathroom and recording ourselves. I often sang and told stories. Her? She laughed! To this day, I still remember the physical sensation of the mega giggle that followed! Laughing so hard to hear her laugh, to see us laughing together! It felt so good!

Then today’s “Good mood” tip will give you an idea to stimulate your laughter!

Do you? Yes? and tell me how it worked out for you!

Laughter, joy and health

HAHAMasté

Linda

World Laughter Day is this Sunday!

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I usually organize a large public event where everyone is invited to join me in celebrating World Laughter Day by laughing together for an hour.

But this year, since World Laughter Day coincides with my current Laughter Yoga Teacher Training in Canmore, Alberta, I’ll be laughing with a group in our majestic Rocky Mountains! I know… it’s hard to teach in such magnificent places, but what can you do? You just have to do it!

I was discussing the social and spiritual effects of laughter with someone a few days ago and found myself imagining a situation to demonstrate my point.

I explained to the person that, when two people laugh together and look into each other’s eyes, there’s no room for anger, argument or fear. I closed my eyes for a few seconds and imagined myself laughing with a terrorist (or at least my image of one). We were looking into each other’s eyes and laughing out loud, together, heartily… And laughing some more. Until our eyes were wet, our legs a bit limp, our cheeks pink…

And what I observed then really amazed me.

If I felt fear, resentment or anger towards this person BEFORE, there was no trace of it AFTER we had laughed together in my mind! All traces of barriers between us had disappeared, replaced by a feeling of closeness, complicity and affection.

Now, you’re going to tell me that it can be a lot easier to pretend to laugh with our “enemy” than to do it for real. Maybe it is. But what I felt was that, by imagining us laughing together, the thing had really happened in the invisible! And that MY feelings had changed. I was no longer sending the same aggressive thoughts to this person… What I was sending now was something like “Ah thank you! I’m glad I went through this with you… It was good to laugh together, wasn’t it?”

So this year, I’m proposing a little DO-able challenge for World Laughter Day: to imagine yourself laughing out loud with people who perhaps need to laugh more and let off steam… Whether you see the results or not, you’ll have done it WITH them.

The intention of WRD is world peace through laughter. Do your part too!

I’ll be in a public park, somewhere in the Rockies, and I’ll be sending my laughter out to countries where the shit’s really hitting the fan. Not just to countries, but also and above all to individuals. I’ll see myself sharing a laugh with them. To send out vibrations of complicity, brotherhood and love. Because even if we can’t see them with our eyes, our hearts feel them.

… the flutter of a butterfly’s wings… We can change the world, one laugh at a time!

Make the HEART LAUGH at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 7. Open your arms, raise your head to the sky and let the laughter flow from your heart to surround the planet with this beautiful energy.

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

Stressed about your holiday preparations?

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Si vous êtes comme moi (et comme la grande majorité des gens que je connais!), vous vivez un surcroît de stress à partir de la mi-décembre jusqu’au 2 janvier! J’ai préparé cette petite vidéo à notre intention à tous… pour changer le stress de place (en fait, pour en éliminer le plus possible) et pour se faire du bien.

Ce n’est pas très long mais c’est vraiment efficace! Ne réfléchissez pas et faites les exercices avec moi.

Et bon Temps des Fêtes! hahaha!

Rire, joie et santé

Linda

I dare you!

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A few months ago, I had the joy of teaching laughter yoga to a wonderful group of a few people who became certified teachers.

During the training, I mentioned that the more we pay attention to what’s laughing around us, the more we SEE opportunities to laugh more every day.

On my return, I had an appointment with a “caregiver”. I can’t tell you what kind of treatment she offers, as I can’t remember the name. I do know, however, that it looks like physiotherapy combined with something else – reiki and massage…

Anyway, she started working on my feet, then worked her way up to my legs. And that’s when I started laughing! Really loud and hearty – I couldn’t stop! She applied pressure to my legs and did it with a certain rhythm…

You guessed it! OUR joyful laughter yoga mantra: HO HO HA HA HA!

I laughed, which made him stop moving. I had to explain to her why I was laughing! She, to keep the rhythm of what she was doing while doing the movement, was mentally telling herself something completely different. You know what I realized at that moment, as I was lying on my stomach receiving an energy treatment? Well, I had a revelation. Nothing less!

You know the movie with the handsome Kevin Costner and the baseball players coming out of his cornfield? Costner heard a voice whispering, “If you build it, they will come”…

So I’m telling you (I can whisper in your ear too HAHA!), if you ask for it, it will come to you! Laughter and joy come to you when you pay attention and ask for it.

Ok.

This is my challenge to you.

Pay attention to everything in your path. See what may be invisible to many, but is so right there in front of your eyes!

See the photo I chose for this column? I took it while crossing a busy intersection in Montreal. No one seemed to notice it, but I DID! And it made me happy.

Are you up to the challenge? Look around you. Listen carefully. Feel passionately…

You’re going to SEE, FEEL and HEAR lots of happy, joyful things all around you… and within you.

And it’s all true! HAHA!

Laughter, joy and health

Linda