My cat teaches me a lot about life

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My cat teaches me a lot about life and that’s great.

Anyone who has a pet will probably know what I’m talking about. And if you don’t, just imagine!

My cat is what we call “clingy”! I’ve always heard that cats, unlike dogs, are independent and come to see us when THEY decide to.

Well, well, well. Not mine!

He stays close to us most of the time. And if visitors arrive, he gives them a warm welcome and purrs lovingly.

The big show of love! Operation Charm 201!

What he’s taught me so far.
  • Eating at fixed times can be cool (He eats at 6am and 6pm and you should see him run down the stairs when he hears his tray of food spinning).
  • A full belly means you can relax (as proof, he always settles down for a little post-meal nap).
  • You need everything in the day: play, affection, food, observation and rest. If anything is missing from this list, it won’t do! (really not).
  • Even if we often eat the same thing (in his case, kibble), the important thing is to eat. And what’s more, if we’re HAPPY with the food that’s put in front of us, then (as they used to say) the deal’s “ketchup”!
  • Routine can be reassuring
  • Happiness can be really simple
  • When you have to isolate yourself to keep the peace, you can do it without offending anyone.
  • Staying close to loved ones is good for them too
  • We can express our needs to signal something (that we want to play, for example!).
  • When our loved ones come home, it’s important to express our joy at seeing them again.
  • Purring calms and soothes (my mistress)
  • Staring intently at the birds outside won’t scare them away
  • When the litter box is too full, it’s far from inviting
  • There’s nothing like the space right on your master’s feet for sleeping at night!

And what else?

Did you know that a cat can sleep up to 18 hours a day? It only has 6 hours of waking time left. The opposite of humans, in fact!

And as I’ve watched my cat live, I’ve realized that his life isn’t ideal. He has a routine that would drive me crazy, always eats the same thing (it’s actually better for his digestive system, but I’d hate it), sleeps a lot (ah, I’d like that!), always stays within the same walls (pity! space and new landscapes!!!), always sits in the same places (usually MY favourite chair!), always has the same haircut (eh!)… And yet, he seems really HAPPY!

Conclusion?

When you love and are loved, have food to eat and a place to curl up and sleep, everything else is perfect!

So what are we complaining about?

Laughter, joy and health

Linda and her cat

p.s. This post is not about changing the world! It’s more for fun that I wrote it 😉 And for YOUR amusement, here’s a video of him in loving action!

When you’re proud of yourself…

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HA! Being proud of yourself. Does this happen to you often?

I closed one of my talks at the Good Mood Summit with a quote that basically said that we often spend weeks thinking about what’s difficult in our lives, but only celebrate what’s great for an hour.

It’s true. I too have a tendency to dwell on what’s not going so well.

I’ve just experienced something that makes me think about just that.

Today I was feeling tired and not particularly cheerful. It happens. I welcome and show kindness to myself when it does. I know it’s TEMPORARY.

My light space isn’t really about administration and web design. I usually leave that to those who have the talent. I’m meticulous. I have ideas. But what about detail and finishing? No patience for that. I was going to say I have no imagination either, but that’s not the case. I’m rather ignorant. And when you don’t know all the possibilities of something, you use it as little as possible, don’t you? Bingo!

Anyway, I was trying to solve a little technical problem with our newsletter subscriptions. For the past week, someone had been telling me that she was trying to subscribe without success. What’s more, she really wanted to receive the two gifts that come with the subscription (an infographic and an audio). I tried all sorts of ways, but nothing worked. I just couldn’t figure it out.

No need to panic.

So I called in Michael, my wonderful expert, who took the time to fix what seemed to be wrong. He also took the opportunity to activate the double option for entries. Safer, in his opinion.

Except that, in doing so, when I tried to add my address for testing, I received a welcome message in English. I really don’t like this kind of situation. So I searched for quite a while to find a place where I could modify this form! To no avail!

The beauty of all these online tools and programs is that when we pay to use them, they usually offer effective support. That’s the case with this provider. So I struck up a conversation with a certain Esmeralda and asked her my question. She took the time to write me a long paragraph explaining in detail what I needed to do. But I panicked a little! I asked her to stay with me for a few moments to “hold my hand” while I tried to rectify the situation. Which she did.

Eureka! After a few minutes, the mystery was solved and the form was translated into French. Hallelujah! Thanks Esmeralda and have a nice evening.

It didn’t stop there!

As I was about to leave the form, my finger touched a key that took me somewhere “magical”! I discovered the place from which I could modify the visuals and make the whole thing (all in all, very boring and not warm at all) more in the image of the School of Laughter Yoga, i.e. more colorful and lively!

YES!!!

And I’ve modified the header of these forms!

The sense of pride I felt friends!… All because I had just learned something I never knew existed! And I did it “by mistake”! All by myself!

You would have seen my back straighten, my smile widen, my eyes shine! Pride changed my energy of the moment!

So much so, that I’ve chosen to share it with you. To make my sense of pride last a little longer. To immortalize it! hahahaha!

So here’s a little challenge for you. What could you do to feel proud of yourself right now? Something big or small. Try a recipe with ingredients you don’t know? Walk a little farther than usual? Learn the words to a song in a foreign language? Complete a task that’s been weighing on you for a while?

TRY IT ON! Just try it!

and let me know how you’re getting on!

I’m going to continue celebrating this little victory over my “incompetence”!

WOOHOO!!! Tap on the shoulder and cheer up.

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

P.S. Even if you missed all 17 conferences of the Good Mood Summit live, you can now watch them all at your own pace by subscribing to Planète Joie!

Does burnout sound familiar?

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Does burnout sound familiar? Having found myself on the verge of burnout a few years ago, I know what I’m talking about!

Many factors lead to burnout, but long-term, permanent stress is certainly the main culprit.

During the pandemic, cases of burnout increased, partly due to people working longer hours while working from home, and being even more stressed than normal. At my conferences these days, I even suggest that participants give themselves a bonus point for the level of stress they feel.

So what can you do to avoid burnout?

One of the simplest and easiest things to do is to take more breaks.

Not only will this improve your mental health and reduce the risk of burnout, it will also improve your productivity. Ultimately, you’ll get more done, because regular breaks will improve your concentration. This means you’ll be able to work fewer hours, helping to further prevent burnout.

A study by Owl Labs in 2020 showed that people working from home worked an average of 26 hours more per month, or almost an extra day per week. 26 MORE hours!!!

Even though working from home has many advantages, it does something strange to our way of thinking. We feel guilty taking breaks when we think we should be working. So we often don’t, and just get on with it.

Unfortunately, not taking breaks doesn’t save you time in the long run. On the contrary, your productivity decreases as your brain becomes exhausted, causing you to slow down, lose concentration and make more and more mistakes.

The good news is that your breaks don’t have to be long to be beneficial. A few minutes’ break can make a huge difference to your state of mind and your ability to concentrate for longer.

Overall, you’ll need a good mix of longer and shorter breaks for optimum benefit. This includes a proper lunch break, a good night’s rest with a relaxing evening, weekends and vacations to completely unplug and recharge.

How to make the most of your breaks

  • Write down your breaks in your diary. Set alarms so that you don’t “go straight through”. That way, you’ll be more likely to stick to them. Write down what you’re going to do during your break, for example, go for a walk or read a book, or join a laughter group on URGENCE RIRE for energizing and relaxing 10-15 minute breaks. Your brain will be oxygenated, you’ll feel more relaxed and continue your work with smiling energy.
  • Choose an activity that takes you away from your work. Don’t use it to check e-mail or social media. No. Do something else. Like LAUGH!

Most people can’t concentrate for more than 90 minutes at a time, which is how often you’ll need a mini-break. You’ll notice that you need a break when your mind starts to wander, you begin to procrastinate or you make more mistakes.

Wouldn’t you keep driving your car if the engine started to overheat?

HA! You’d take a break to let it cool off. Don’t treat your body any worse than you would your car!

Jaw clenching? Time to relax a little!

To receive the latest news and inspirations, sign up for the Laughter Yoga School newsletter.

You’ll have ammunition to inspire you to smile and take care of yourself!

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

p.s. To consult the 2022 results

A low point happens to everyone

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A low point happens to everyone. Mine too. I’m experiencing one right now.

Certainly, doing what I do, people don’t expect me to go through lows. Or at least, they expect …

“Come on, Linda! Laugh! It’ll get better!”

Every time I hear this phrase, I grit my teeth a little because, yes, laughing makes you feel better and gets you through the turmoil with a lighter heart, of course.

But…

The troughs are there. We mustn’t ignore them, put them off, or try to get out of them quickly at all costs. That wouldn’t solve anything. What’s more, I have the impression that trying to run away or forget would sometimes make things even worse.

Without going into too much detail, the past year has brought me some truly intense experiences. I accompanied a dear friend in the last months of her life in Toronto, and was with her right up to the end, when she was able to receive medical assistance in dying. A roller-coaster of emotions. It was a privilege to be with someone who had been in my life for almost 30 years, to celebrate her accomplishments, to be a loving, smiling and reassuring presence for her, to witness her generosity to so many during her all-too-short life. To accompany her towards “the great and beautiful never seen“.. Yes. A privilege.

It was a great challenge to stay the course, to remain faithful to my laughter yoga commitments (I do the sessions on Urgence Rire 3 times a week and on RigoloZoom once a week) in addition to my conferences and workshops with numerous groups and work teams. And yet I succeeded. Don’t ask me how! For a year.

This is when “the thing catches up with me”. After balancing everything for almost a year, my body is now asking me to slow down and take the time to rock gently. So I listen and do. I don’t try to pretend everything’s fine or chase after miracle solutions that will make the temporary discomfort disappear. I stay present and fully aware.

I’m sharing all this with you because I’m convinced that you may recognize yourself in what I’m writing today. You’re also going through the rough patches that sometimes occur in our lives. Those moments when we don’t really recognize ourselves. Wanting to shake things up so that the feeling of melancholy, grief, pain and gloom goes away and is replaced by calm, serenity, energy and good humor. We want the sun to shine… at all times.

And I find the expression “trough of the wave” a very good visual representation of what’s going on inside us and our emotions.

Have you ever been on a boat navigating rough seas (lakes or rapids)? If you’ve never experienced it, you’ve probably seen a film showing the sea breaking, the waves surrounding the ship and forming an impassable fortress, with breakers up to 9 meters high. The ups and downs of life.

If you’ve ever experienced a storm at sea, you probably remember how the ship feels when it’s at the top of the wave, and how it feels when it’s at the bottom. Even if we’re a little scared, we KNOW that we won’t stay at the top or the bottom of the wave! That both are stages and cycles that follow each other and PASS. Until the storm subsides.

Nicole Bourget, who taught me at university, used to hammer home the point that “what you resist persists”.

So I have no intention of resisting right now. I’m letting myself hit the bottom of the wave because I’m deeply convinced that I’m going to get back up and ride the crest of the next one!

There’s no need to run away from the storm. It’s here… and it’s TEMPORARY.

And that’s what I’ve been telling myself for the past few weeks. All this is TEMPORARY.

I live what I have to live in this experience and I KNOW that I’m not “like that” forever. The proof? I’m able to tell you all about it. In all simplicity and transparency. I’m able to do it because I’m CERTAIN! It’s TEMPORARY.

Let’s not give up hope.

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

p.s.: This is also what the CRYING LAUGHTER teaches us.

p.p.s.: I’ve inserted links to two wonderful songs that go well with what I’m writing here. The first by Michel Rivard (Le beau grand jamais vu) and the second by my friend Lucie Raîche (Un arbre à la terre).

p.p.p.s.: and to make sure I don’t forget, I put a reminder right there on the corner of my computer screen!

p.p.p.p.s.: The nice picture is by Amélie Montplaisir and it’s called “Surfeuse sereine” I have the reproduction in my office! Surfing the wave…

A great lesson in fear

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I’ve just read a text that teaches me a great lesson about fear.

The fear of failing, of being ridiculous, of missing the mark… and I’m sharing this text with you here.

From “A Year of Living Consciously” by G. Hendricks.

Babe Ruth once said: “Don’t let the fear of missing the ball get to you” And who better to know than the famous Yankee player. While hitting all those home runs, he also missed MORE THAN ANY other player. So what? When we think of Babe Ruth today, we don’t think of all his strikeouts. Babe Ruth and home runs are forever associated in our minds.

So here’s the question: What would be the equivalent of hitting a home run for you? Would it be writing a poem, or cooking soup, or going to college? And on the other hand, what would it be like for you to be “taken out of the game”? To write a poem no one would like? To cook a not-so-good soup? To be rejected?

Now notice that, in all these cases, the second possibility can’t happen without the first. Withdrawal can’t happen if we don’t try to hit the ball first. And another thing – it’s rarely the things we try to accomplish that fail that trouble us later in life. It’s ALWAYS the things WE DON’T TRY that trouble us.

Take risks and try things you’ve been thinking about but haven’t dared yet. And who cares if your soup doesn’t make it into Campbell’s great recipes? You’ve tried it! Just trying feels good!

So I ask you now: What are YOU going to try NOW?

For my part, I know there’s something I’ve been thinking about for months. Something I’d like to create and have been “working” on for a long time, but haven’t accomplished because I was afraid I wouldn’t be “good enough” for it. Of not being able to.

Well, I’m I’LL GET STARTED RIGHT AWAY. We’ll see what happens! If I fail, at least I’ll have tried!

Just thinking about it made me smile… and sparkle. Half fear, half excitement! BUT I’M MOWING!

Stay tuned!

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

P.S. Why don’t you write down what you’re going to try? Just so you’ve told someone, to force you to take action? I’d love to be your cheerleader! info @ yogadurire . com

Love is everywhere

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That’s the conclusion I came to yesterday as I received love from someone who might have seemed more than unlikely.

Love is everywhere.

Not many people are aware of this, but I’ve been in Toronto for just over a month now on an important mission. That of accompanying a great friend in her last moments of human life. Important, difficult, sad, magnificent, privileged. Qualifications that go well with what’s happened.

This friend has been a big part of my life for almost 30 years. First of all, she was my boss when I worked at the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation, where I came to know her as a determined, solid, visionary, generous woman, sometimes challenging but always right. A bit of a bulldozer, but above all the kind who SEES the potential in her employees and forces them to excel.

A few months after she left that job, we saw each other again “socially” and over the months became friends. Going from “you” to “you” had been a challenge for me!

From weekends at his house in the country, to summer sojourns in Maine, in what became a veritable haven where we could recharge our batteries after months of grueling work, and where we always arrived exhausted and ready to clear our heads, we have accumulated memories of complicity and smiles.

During the last month I was with her, we reminisced about the little places we explored together, on the lookout for amusing or useful finds. Antique shops where she liked to rummage. Beautiful landscapes… She told me about her travels, the people she met, the challenges she overcame, the hard knocks, the beauty of the world.

I have no other friend who, when I ask her what rose petals do in a small container, says “It’s from a rose on Mother Teresa’s coffin when I went to the funeral with Madame Chrétien and the Canadian delegation” or when I sort through her photos and ask her if that’s her with Queen Elizabeth “I was introduced to her twice” or “This photo was taken with… in a leprosarium in India” or “I bought this in a market near…” naming a remote country where most people will never set foot, where men weave magic carpets and the entire village performs a creative task for its survival.

She left last Thursday. Serene, with a heart full of gratitude, surrounded by love and sunshine. I was with her.

Messages started pouring in from friends around the world. All expressed sadness, but also joy and gratitude for having had her in their lives. A larger-than-life woman. Not perfect – far from it – but a woman who was doing her bit to make the world a fairer and more beautiful place.

She left. And I stayed to complete the beginning of the second part of my mission. A little numb. Deeply moved and honored to have been able to be with her at the end of this life journey.

Yesterday, I had undertaken some administrative tasks. Sorting, filing, tidying to keep my brain busy and try to see things more clearly.

A week ago, I asked for a replacement for my laughter yoga sessions with URGENCE RIRE and Rire en ligne (Corinne’s sessions in France). I didn’t practice my intentional laughter exercises as assiduously as usual. Tears took priority! I stayed strong for months and it was time to let them out. And they did!

So yesterday, I decided to take over my 4 p.m. (Quebec time) slot and propose a 10-minute session of intentional but gentle laughter, so as not to rush myself and to avoid suddenly bursting into tears, as has been happening to me over the past few days. We did 10 minutes together. And it did me a lot of good. I didn’t laugh out loud, but I was laughing and it felt good.

I had one last task to complete before the end of the afternoon: go to the bank to notify them of my friend’s death and initiate the transfer of the account to that of the estate. I had met them several times over the past few weeks, and they were very thoughtful and kind to me. I stood firm while the person in charge explained what was going to happen and how I was going to proceed. It was on the way out that I “lost my temper” and started crying, even though I was on the sidewalk at a time of heavy traffic. I couldn’t move forward. I just stood there crying. And people passed by me indifferent and in a hurry to get home.

Until a man walking towards me, dressed really extravagantly and worthy of a suit assembled from donated clothes, looked at me and said, “What’s wrong honey? Tell me. I am Mother Nature and I can help” The look so full of compassion and love. “What’s wrong honey? Tell me. I am Mother Nature and I can help”.

This banged-up itinerant had stopped to console me… wanted to help me with my grief.

I couldn’t help thinking that, for weeks now, I’ve been seeing homeless people in the neighborhood every day, and that people pass by them without stopping, but also that I’ve never felt reassured by seeing so many of them. A man who screams and gesticulates and seems to be in crisis is not reassuring, I agree. And unfortunately, we come across too many of them these days. Drugs? Mental health? I don’t know, but I walk fast when I go out in this neighborhood.

And this man who’d been talking to himself a few moments earlier had stopped to give me a little love as the other passers-by went by.

I wanted to take him in my arms to thank him and welcome him back.

COVID oblige, I told him, wiping my eyes, that he had just done me a lot of good. “This, my dear, is worth a whole lot of brownie points in heaven. You are a dear dear man”. Vous êtes très très précieux cher homme” And he went on his way, blowing me a kiss with his hand. Without asking.

Love came to me on a street corner in an unlikely and life-saving way. Comfort came from someone who certainly needed it as much as I did. A small moment of profoundly and intensely luminous humanity.

Lessons learned: look with the eyes of the heart. Do not judge. Don’t be afraid. Love is everywhere.

HAHAmaste

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

Can’t you laugh right now?

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Can’t laugh right now? For any number of reasons, laughter may not be an option for you right now.

I’m chatting on Messenger with a friend who had a big scare yesterday. She was rushed to hospital and underwent heart surgery. Young, fit, active, eating well… and yet she had a massive heart attack.

A friend with whom I was discussing the matter said he was surprised because, according to him, it’s “more men who are affected by heart disease”! Sadly, no. According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Quebec, “a third more women than men die of stroke in this country. Women with heart failure are more affected than men.”

Makes you think, doesn’t it?

I’ve already told you about the research Dr. Michael Miller has undertaken at the University of Maryland, where he is a professor and researcher in the School of Medicine. I told you about it in a video I made when I returned from the American Laughter Yoga Conference in 2018. Watch the video here Laughing is EXCELLENT for our heart health. If only because laughing will “zap” the harmful effects of stress, I’m convinced of the positive effects of laughter on our cardiac system.

So I suggested that my friend imagine that she was laughing out loud. To feel the energy of laughter in her body at rest after her surgery. By closing her eyes, by “pretending” she was laughing out loud. But above all, to pay close attention to how she feels as she imagines herself laughing. To feel intensely. Because she’ll reap the benefits of this physical visualization.

I have a little theory about that, you see.

Several years ago, when I was immobilized with a shoulder injury that made my every move hurt like hell, I found myself unable to laugh out loud. IN CA PA BLE! For a pro in daily practice, this is not an easy thing to live with.

That’s when a colleague suggested I imagine I was laughing. And I tried it.

To my amazement and delight, I found that I relaxed, felt lighter and smiled more. Just imagining and feeling it very strongly in my body.

When I’m laughing out loud, I know how it feels. And I feel great!

So the power of our mind allows us to FEEL the well-being of our body, which is laughing. Hello endorphins and goodbye tension!

I’m extending an invitation to you. Try it! You don’t have to wait until you can’t laugh to try it. Just do it. Just to see if… And let me know how it goes. Because I’m curious to know if you’ve dared to do it!

But I know it works miracles. HAHAHA!

And I’m convinced of that.

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

How’s confinement working out for you?

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Hello! How’s confinement working out for you?

I was talking to a fellow speaker this morning and he said that everything was going well for him, his wife and their children. However, he’s very worried about his mom, who’s in an old people’s home. She’s almost deaf, so it’s impossible to call her on the phone. For almost a month now, he’s heard nothing from her. It must be terribly difficult.

At least, even if they’re far away, I can talk to and see my parents thanks to Messenger and Skype. I know they’re together, healthy and safe in their home.

The situation we now find ourselves in is so far from any scenario we could have imagined! Reality meets fiction!

I was watching Andrea Bocelli’s live broadcast on YouTube from the Duomo in Milan on Easter Sunday. The cathedral was empty. The cathedral square was deserted. I well remember the crowds that used to gather there when I was there a few years ago! And today… nobody walks there! The images from Paris, London and New York of empty thoroughfares… it was chilling! When you consider that all these places are frequented by thousands of people at all hours of the day and night, it was a nightmarish vision we were shown. But at the same time, it’s a good sign. It means that people are staying at home to avoid the spread of the virus. That people are taking the instructions seriously and thinking of each other.

Still…

More than 30 days of confinement… that’s tough!

I avoid going out for anything other than fresh air and essential food shopping.

I’m busy with several projects.

First, I collaborated with my colleague Corinne Cosseron in France to set up an intentional laughter “circuit” offering 3 blocks of time to laugh for 10 minutes each time.

Then I created Urgence Rire to allow people in our Canadian time zones to benefit from 10 minutes of intentional laughter several times a day. I have to admit, it took me a long time! Technology is miraculous right now when we can talk to our families and see them through all this. But when things get stuck and we don’t understand why, we can spend many hours… which is what I did! After a few attempts, things got back on track and we now offer over 30 “windows of laughter” a week in Quebec. Not to mention all the possibilities with French schools! It’s all wonderfully beneficial and liberating. I’d like to thank the animators and teachers who donate their time!

And this morning, I put the finishing touches to a “Containment 2020” idea kit. In a few minutes, I’ll be sending it out to my newsletter subscribers. My intention is to offer ideas for doing something creative, constructive and rewarding during confinement. Stuck at home, maybe. But you don’t have to stay in your pyjamas all day, watching time go by!

I continue to make my cuckoo clocks live on Facebook every day. I call it Operation Hope and Good Humor! Would you like to see it but aren’t on Facebook? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered, because we’re putting the whole thing on the Laughter Yoga School YouTube channel! hahaha! In the Coronavirus playlist. And if you subscribe, you’ll never miss one!

Not an easy task…

A rollercoaster of emotions some days. From laughter to tears. Anger and frustration sometimes creep in.

LOVE… radiate love. Feel love. Sending love. Flood the world with love. To love and forgive ourselves. Love yourself. Like in James Taylor’s wonderful song “Shower the people” ( chills guaranteed).

What about you? How’s confinement working out for you? Write to me and tell me about it, your favorite recipe, your favorite activity… Talk to us!

I wish us an abundance of love and health

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

 

Let our emotions run wild!

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Let our emotions flow… there’s nothing more HEALTHY!

At a certain point in my life, I believed – wrongly, you’re right – that I should never be angry. That it’s wrong to be angry.

Well, no! It’s far from bad. In fact, it’s good. What isn’t is the way it’s sometimes expressed. When it ends up in violent gestures. People then express their angry emotions in the wrong way.

I found an illustrated series on the web a few days ago and these innocent little drawings really spoke to me. I felt moved as I unrolled the screen. It’s so true! You can’t repress a desire to drink. So why should we repress a feeling?

When we wrote our book The Yoga of Laughter, Corinne Cosseron and I were determined to include a section on emotions. Laughing is good (very, very good indeed!), but just because we laugh doesn’t mean we should ignore our emotions! They speak to us, telling us that something isn’t right. And we have to let them speak.

When I give talks to certain groups of people who work in a profession where we have to remain neutral – I’m thinking here of police officers, for example – I tell them that it’s very important to reserve a space for ourselves where our emotions can continue to tell us things. These people can’t really let themselves be overwhelmed by them because of the neutral role they play in society, but it’s important not to continually ignore them. They won’t disappear, but they will be repressed… and what pushes its way out, ends up coming out in ways that aren’t always acceptable or healthy.

People sometimes think I laugh all the time. Because that’s what I teach, I should laugh all the time? Pffffff… make me laugh! I feel my share of emotions, just like any normal, well-balanced human being. I experience anger, sadness and joy. The whole gamut! I’m not always attentive to what my emotions are telling me. I’m learning too!

But when I feel anger building up, I take the time to ask myself what’s going on and why I’m feeling this emotion. If I’m in the car and stressed by traffic or road conditions, I welcome that anger and thank it… When I feel sad, I listen to what that little voice is telling me… and I take the time to “rock myself”, to comfort myself, to say words of love to myself.

I’m not trying to cheer myself up at all costs! No. If that’s what’s coming up, then I listen. And, by not ignoring what’s going on inside me, I somehow make peace with life… and then I can move on with more serenity.

There’s nothing to do! We’re all human. Creatures with human experiences. Not always pleasant. Not always fair. Simply human!

Do these illustrations speak to you too? Let me know what you think.

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

n.b. These lovely illustrations are by Fanny, Wellness Artist.

A very true quote

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Last week, I attended several networking events. At one of them, one of the speakers said something that made me realize just how far I’ve come. Do it and do it until you get it right.

Do it… again and again and again and again. Until you get it right.

It’s so true!

Think about it. When a child learns to walk, he falls, and falls, and falls! Does he get discouraged and stop trying to get up and move forward? NOT. AT ALL. AT ALL! He keeps going… until he succeeds! That’s his goal and he KEEPS GOING!

Hey boy… the number of times I’ve tried to do something and, because on the second try I didn’t get the results I wanted, I stopped… Crazy!

Perseverance or stubbornness?

If there’s one thing I know, it’s that it’s easy to get discouraged after a few unsuccessful attempts. Not that I give up when something doesn’t work out, but rather that I don’t know whether I’m being persistent or stubborn! It’s a small but important nuance.

 

In my opinion, perseverance enables us to achieve our goals, realize our potential and succeed in things we believe in. The definition I found on the web basically says this: To apply one’s will, to use patience to pursue an action despite difficulties, to remain firm in a resolution, an opinion, an attitude.

Stubbornness on the other hand has a more negative connotation for me. If I’m stubborn about something, then I’m stubborn! The image that accompanies this concept of stubbornness is that of a billy goat running into a wall. He’s charging and charging and charging headfirst… and that’s not very positive! Obstinate, unreasoning attachment to an opinion or bias.

In the case of the sentence that made me react, it’s all about perseverance. And when the goal is worthwhile, when it’s something that’s good for my health, that’s good for humanity, then that’s a very positive thing! and I buy that!

When I tell you that hearing those words made me realize how far we’ve come, I was thinking of several things.

To my beginnings on two legs, trying to stand up and move forward, of course, but also and above all, to all the effort I put into becoming what I am today. Building a business that allows me to laugh, spread good cheer, reduce my own stress and help others reduce theirs… to laugh EVERY DAY! That’s no mean feat!

A difficult start

 

I’ll always remember my first experience with laughter yoga. Oh, how uncomfortable I was with the idea of laughing for no reason! Oh how I remember the thought that crossed my mind that morning as I was told I should laugh after saying my first name, laugh after saying where I was from, laugh after saying what I did for a living!“Uh… no! That’s vrrrrrrrrrreally not funny! And why should I laugh if it’s not funny?!”

But I had paid for my internship and I had DECIDED to give it a try. I had CHOSEN to see what could happen and if it could help me. Thank God I persevered! Much to my delight!

To this day, I often hear people tell me that they could never do what I do. That they’d never be able to laugh “at nothing” as naturally as I do!

Well, I’d tell them Do it and do it until you get it right! Don’t stop because you think it’s too strange, too left-field. Just keep at it! You’ll see that in the end you’ll succeed, and you’ll feel BETTER and HAPPIER!

Yes!

Doesn’t that give you a little extra pep to continue what you want to do or what you’ve started? Don’t be discouraged! You’re walking on your own two feet now? Are you? You’ve got the proof!

Inspiration comes from everywhere, when you least expect it!

I give you a big smile. I tilt my head back a little and laugh happily and freely!

Laughter, joy and health

Your HAHA Sister, Linda