Keeping your wits about you during big challenges? Not always easy!

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Yes, I’ll admit it right off the bat, I’ve been experiencing some big challenges over the past few weeks. I’ve even toyed with the idea of giving up and going back to the “paper-pencil-stamp-paper-file” era…

That’s what challenges my computer gave me first. I consider myself to be fairly comfortable technologically speaking, but I completely lost a large part of my data, my files, my photos, my audio… THE PANIC! Would I have created all this to lose so much because of a machine? What’s more, a machine that’s supposed to save me time and efficiency. A machine that I had patiently programmed to automate several operations in order to be more efficient… Gone are my work playlists, my mood playlists, my meditation playlists… Gone are my downloads (some of which I paid enough for the privilege of watching/listening to at will)… A discouraged laughter yoga professional, that’s pretty rare! No matter how many questions I asked, no matter how many hopes I clung to, the gates of heaven remained closed!

What did I do? I “lived it to the full!” I allowed myself to experience all the emotions that were coming up. I cried. I said bad words (just a few!). I crossed my fingers. I cried. I negotiated with Great Wisdom, the Saints and the Angels. I cried some more. And finally, I gave in. All that data is lost? well, it’s lost.

  • What was ESSENTIAL? I’ve drawn up a list.
  • Have I got what’s ESSENTIAL? Almost, but not in the desired form.
  • And now, WHAT DO I WANT TO DO, TO CREATE, TO BREATHE? Nice meditation project!
  • Am I still healthy? Yes, even if my features are a bit tired!
  • Am I still alive? Certainly!
  • Am I still able to smile and laugh? My challenge to laugh 5 minutes for 5 days came in the middle of a crisis, so the answer is definitely YES!
  • Did someone die because of this? No! If we exclude the machine that gave up the ghost…

What can we learn from this adventure?

  • Always make a FULL machine backup
  • Don’t put everything in Outlook! Keep another form of track of what needs to be followed up!
  • Long live the paper diary, the notebook for what’s important and what you need to have to hand everywhere, all the time.
  • When the machine shows signs of illness, deal with it IMMEDIATELY, without waiting for an unlikely miracle!
  • Allow yourself to take deep breaths several times a day and look up at the blue sky, which reminds us that life is beautiful… in spite of everything!

That said, I apologize here to anyone who feels neglected or abandoned… my machine refuses to let me pick up where I left off! The alerts won’t come back. So if you’re reading this and wondering why I haven’t waved to you by now if I should, hold up your finger and tell me in a written or phone message “Uh…. Linda… still waiting!”

And that’s just the Computer Challenge part! There are the other challenges… But that’s another story! HAHAHA!

BREATHE LINDA BREATHE!

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

P.S. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!… Unless it was the fridge door that was left open….

A mini-challenge to laugh for 5 minutes over 5 days in February

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Oh la la…

I’ve had a lot of requests to do another 5-minute-a-day laughter challenge live on Facebook! But I’m running out of time this month. It’s quite a challenge to commit to being live, every day at the same time for 21, 30 or 40 days! But I thought I’d offer a mini-challenge to help you get off to a good start each day by laughing with you from February 16 to 20 at 8 a.m. Quebec time / 6 p.m. Paris time!

Unlike the other challenges, this time I’m also suggesting doing something extra. Laughing is already a lot, but this time I’m suggesting little things you can do every day to increase the joy in your life.

The one for Day 3 is very simple, but very powerful indeed. When you wake up – or as soon as you can – write down three things you’re grateful for on a piece of paper. Put your hand on your heart and think about each thing for 30 seconds. That’s all there is to it. You’ll allow this small gesture to amplify a feeling inside you: gratitude. And in the process, you’ll feel happier and calmer!

If you want to easily print the sheet to help you think about it for 7 days, the sheet to download is here

When will you start?

Have a nice day!

Laughter, joy and health

Your HAHA Sister, Linda

p.s. Would you like to treat yourself to a SUPER tool to enhance the joy and cheerfulness in your life? CHAQUE JOUR LA JOIE is for you!

p.p.s. Would you like to train for joy through multiple exercises? S’ENTRAÎNER À LA JOIE is for you too!

p.p.p.s. Use the code lindaleclerc and benefit from a 10% discount on the price of the programs!

Laughter and tears

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For many people, laughter and tears are polar opposites. One is synonymous with happiness, the other with sorrow.

I’m living both intensely this week as I lead programs (conferences and workshops) with wonderful groups and laugh my heart out, and as I learn one after the other of the deaths of two very dear friends… I cry my eyes out… and I’m filled with gratitude for these people who believed in the great value of laughter and sororité (the French word for Sisterhood)… Two people I loved and who loved me.

Why am I sharing this? I’m not doing this to ask for your sympathy, but rather to tell you that despite the tears, I feel a luminous joy in my heart. It’s not bright, but it’s there. Alive and “settled”. I’m not too surprised, since I believe it was the assiduous practice of intentional laughter that ignited it!

Madan Kataria tells us to laugh in spite of everything… Yeah. Sometimes it’s just not an option – like it is for me right now. You’d tell me to laugh and I’d want to tell you to get lost! (or worse! hahaha)

But if you keep laughing every day, it’s joy that settles in… in spite of everything. See the difference? Not laughter. JOY. And that’s good.

Laughter, joy and health
Your HAHA Sister, Linda

My roadtrip to Zion, Illinois

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Wooooooooohooo! That’s what I said to myself as I left home on October 5, driving to Zion, Illinois – about 90 minutes north of Chicago – where I was offering a corporate workshop during the American Laughter Yoga Conference.
For various reasons, flying wasn’t an option for me this time. As I was talking about it with a friend, I was absent-mindedly looking at the distances on Google Maps and all of a sudden, I began to think that a 13-hour drive wasn’t THAT LONG! For me, who’s in the car frequently to get to the groups I work with (offering conferences, training courses, workshops and retreats is rarely done at my offices, but rather at clients’ sites), it suddenly seemed almost “right next door”!

So, with all my gear in the trunk, snacks and light meals in the cooler (also in the trunk), my road map in plain sight, a series of audio books, lively music on my iPod and plenty of hydration, I hit the road at 7:15 am. First stop, Ottawa to pick up 3 young ladies who were carpooling with me to Toronto. What wonderful people I had the chance to meet! Thanks to them and to our exchanges, I was able to add a few titles to the list of “funny films to watch in case of need” but also, I was able to laugh out loud and, above all, drive almost 5 hours without realizing it, so interesting was the company and the discussions!

Second stop, Toronto. Then on to the USA via Sarnia.

I sincerely believe that customs officers don’t often have to question people in as good a mood as I was that day! It was a beautiful sunny day, I had just marvelled at the countless wind turbines between London and Sarnia (seriously! As far as the eye could see, these giants were towering over me!) and I was soaring! I even managed to make the young man laugh when he asked me about my final destination and the reason for my trip!
My concern once in the USA was to find an INTERESTING place to spend the night. Not too far from Chicago, where I was meeting a friend for brunch the next day, but not too close either, because the more I drove through Michigan, the more I realized that this state is undoubtedly a deer hunter’s paradise… I saw at least 10 of them near the road, their paws in the air, dead from collisions with vehicles! And I’ve made my choice to sleep at… KALAMAZOO! Cool name, isn’t it? I chose where I was going to sleep based on the name of the town! It’s much more interesting to laugh “I spent the night in a hotel in Kalamazoo” than “I slept in Flint”, don’t you think? HAHAHA!

I made it to Chicago without a hitch, found the restaurant where I was meeting my friend – I even found parking right in front of the establishment IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA when everyone was telling me I wasn’t going to be able to park my car there! I had time to stretch my legs before our appointment, then headed back to the resort where the conference was taking place.

What a weekend, guys! It did me a world of good! I’ll tell you more about the presentations by Dr. Michael Miller, cardiologist and professor at the University of Michigan and author of the book Heal your Heart (which I recommend to everyone!!!) and Dr. Sarah Mulukutla, neurologist, who talked to us about neuroplasticity.

On Sunday afternoon, I had to get back on the road to Gatineau, where a heavy load of clerical work and waiting customers awaited me.

But, as you can imagine, I didn’t have the courage or energy to go very far. Especially since I wanted to drop into Trader Joe’s in Grand Rapids, which was kind of “on my way”! So I chose a place with an interesting name to rest on Sunday evening: Paw Paw! That’s right! There’s a town in Michigan with that name! Paw Paw! I can’t say I slept as well as I did in Kalamazoo, but I laughed just as much! With the lady at reception when I arrived (who couldn’t believe I’d come all this way alone!), with the two receptionists the next morning to whom I said I’d “felt at home listening to my room-mate snoring all night” and who burst out laughing, with the 3 women who were having breakfast and who also started laughing when they heard my comment, with the two women at Trader Joe’s who consoled me after I had to leave empty-handed with my two favorite products (and I’d like to thank Fran for the great bag of nuts she kindly gave me as a gift). Right up to the customs officer who greeted me with a big smile (YES!!! IT IS POSSIBLE!) and asked me if I had anything to declare – cigarettes or alcohol… to which I replied with a laugh, “Good heavens, I don’t smoke and the closest thing I have to alcohol is this empty bottle of kombucha which was very strong!!!”.

Everyone on my route greeted me with a smile, and they all allowed themselves to laugh with me! All the way to Kingston, where I finally stopped for a stretch and a hot beverage before setting off again. I must have looked a little tired, because the young man at the counter said softly, “You look tired… long day? Are you going far again?” You know what I replied? “It’s not where I’m going that’s funny, it’s where I’m from! HAHAHA!” I think I impressed him too!

What I’ve learned from this adventure:
* Be prepared for good things to happen, and they do!
* Water, sparkling water, coffee, snacks and light meals that can be eaten while driving or looking at the scenery come in handy!
* Finding a place to sleep with a funny name is an excellent criterion, as it makes for a cooler story to tell!
* Good music is essential for waking up and singing (and dancing in the car!).
* If your phone’s GPS refuses to give you the right directions, paper road maps are perfect for that!
* There will always be nice, smiling people along the way if you ask for them.
* For some people, it’s madness to contemplate such a trip. For others – myself included – it’s a smile-inducing adventure!

Are you having similar experiences yourself? Tell me about it…

Laughter, joy and health
Linda

p.s. I even turned back to take this picture! Do you see a lot of street names like Gangster Rd? hahaha!

From the aftermath of my 5/30 laughter challenge in September…

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I had received so many messages from people who followed me in my challenge to laugh for 5 minutes a day at noon during the 31 days of last March that I decided to take up another challenge in September! Just in time for the start of the new school year, the resumption of many activities, the end of summer and vacations… Bouhouhou!

Why laugh for 5 minutes? Because that’s the bare minimum to feel the positive effects of laughter.

Why laugh for 30 days? Because it seems to take 21 days to create a new habit in your life… and the following days allow you to install it properly! By doing so, not only have we put a new way of doing things into our day, but we also feel that it has become an essential need!

How does it work? I set up in front of my Facebook Live camera every morning at 9am (Eastern Time – Canada) and I share a few minutes before starting to laugh intentionally for 5 minutes. Believe it or not, my first observation is that it’s sometimes hard to start laughing “at nothing”, but just as hard to stop once the time’s up! For real! And because it’s live, many people come along and laugh “with me” from wherever they are – sometimes at home, sometimes at the office – and let me know they’re laughing by clicking on the laugh icons.

Would you like to read some comments? “I can’t believe how much hearing you laugh helps me trigger mine and once I’m gone, I’m laughing to tears until my stomach hurts!” “That’s my morning ‘good news’! Every day I sit down with you and have a good laugh! Nothing makes me feel happier!” “I was wondering how you managed to laugh like that… I see you’re practicing! It’s inspiring! I’ll do it with you! Thanks!” “I didn’t think we could laugh so much… you’re welcome! I see it now that I’m doing it with you!” “I thought 5 minutes was going to be long! It turned out to be short! And I can’t believe how MUCH BETTER I feel afterwards!”

Would you like to join us? I’ve created a“Défi RIRE 5/30 Laughter Challenge” group, and it’s bilingual!

Not on Facebook, but would you like to take up a challenge with me? I’ve posted all the videos from March on the School’s YouTube channel!

Do it and let me know what happens for you… it takes a few days!

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

Halfway through… halfway through my LAUGHTER challenge

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Well…

I have to admit that this challenge is REALLY good for me! I’m like everyone else, and I don’t always feel like laughing. In fact, I’d say that disciplining myself to practice intentional laughter alone “in front of a witness” helps me to avoid getting stuck in the seriousness of certain moments of my day! I even burst out laughing when I read a word that, otherwise and “normally”, wouldn’t have amused me at all! It was as if I felt free of the situation.

And this is exactly what the practice of intentional laughter allows us to do: not to be a prisoner of the situation, but simply to look at it from a different perspective.

If I can do it, you can too!

Okay, I know. You’ll tell me I laugh easily… and it’s increasingly true. But I’m in the same mood as you. I feel down, angry, frustrated, sad, impatient… That’s right! Just like the rest of us! H U M A I N E! That’s what I am!

No one expects a person to be happy and in a good mood all the time. Emotions tell us that something is going on. There’s nothing wrong with that, because they’re there to tell us something. To change a behavior. To take care of a wound. To take care of ourselves.

So I’m as emotional as anyone living this shared human experience.

However, I CHOOSE more often to breathe and take a step back. For my greater happiness!

Give it a try! Let me know how it goes!

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

P.S. if you couldn’t get started with me on FB, head over to the School’s YouTube channel and do the March 2017 challenge. I’ve even created a playlist for you!

Pleasing is pleasing!

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HAHAHA! You should have seen me moments ago.

The contest ended this morning, and I hadn’t had time to make the draw among the participants who had taken the time to answer the few questions in the survey I sent out a few days ago to subscribers to the École newsletter.

So I carefully jotted down numbers corresponding to the number of responses received and placed them on my desk for the “blind” draw. Not names or e-mails, but numbers. Number 15 is out!

I hurried to send a note to the person who had just won to tell her the news. I think I was more excited than she was! Not about the prize itself, but about winning!

Hence the title of this post: Faire plaisir fait plaisir! I knew I was going to make someone happy, and it made me really happy to know that I was going to please her!

Have you ever noticed how, when we go on vacation or take to the road to surprise someone we care about, all the way to our destination we “wriggle” at the idea of the pleasure we’re going to have, the pleasure they’re going to get from seeing us? The IDEA of anticipated pleasure is as exciting as the pleasure itself (sometimes even more so!).

In this case, I knew the person was going to be surprised and happy to have won the prize. And just thinking that she was going to be happy made me happy too!

So… Since shared pleasure is also pleasure, I suggest you try an experiment this month. For the rest of July, every day, think of something that would please someone close to you. It could be a phone call, a surprise visit, a piece of chocolate, picking a flower (where it’s allowed of course!), coffee in bed… Be creative and think about what the other person would like, then DO IT!

Let me know what you’ve done and the results of your little pleasures!

I promise, giving pleasure makes pleasure!!!

And that’s a fact!

Laughter, joy and health

Your HAHA Sister, 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

How can you go on in such turmoil?

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Uncertainty.

Confusion.

Tragedy.

There’s a lot of that around us right now, can you feel it too?

What’s going on in our world upsets me and breaks my heart.

I read about all these things and want to help, but I feel so helpless in the face of it all.

And I imagine you probably feel that way too…. yes?

Events beyond our control sometimes cause us to stumble along the way.

They can be scary and horrible, especially when it seems like they’re everywhere. Social media, headlines, radio, TV…

It’s easy to get overwhelmed and feel like you’re sinking.

If you feel this way, I want you to know this:

I’ll be fine.

You’ll be OK.

Everything will be OK.

Because the world has you. The world has us. WE are here.

The world needs us in all our glorious light, to help light the way, perform our miracles and fulfill our dreams.

We must take care of our hearts. Because that’s where the light comes from, the light that illuminates the shadows.

We are the keepers of our dreams. And these dreams in all of us must be manifested in the world to help it heal.

Let’s remember this when we’re afraid or uncertain.

We’re all going to remember this, me with you, and take responsibility for bringing our dreams and goals to life.

I can do it. One breath, one laugh, one smile, one heartbeat at a time. And so are you. Because we make the world a more beautiful place. One smile and one laugh at a time. Let’s sing, let’s dance, let’s smile, let’s love… let’s cultivate the JOY in our hearts.

Let’s keep on being and loving this world and being the light that shines in the dark.

With huge armfuls of love, deep smiling inspirations and the knowledge that we’re all capable of miracles.

Laughter, joy and health

Linda xxx

Linda’s 5 most frequently asked questions

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I’m often asked questions about my laughter yoga practice, about my life… and here are the ones I get asked the most!

1. Is that your real laugh? Of course I do! Even when I’m doing my laughter yoga exercises, my laughter quickly becomes natural and I don’t feel like I’m forcing myself to laugh. All I have to do is think that I’m doing an ex-er-ci-ce of laughter and my real laughter is triggered! At least for a few seconds. What’s more, when laughing with other people, it’s impossible not to laugh for real after a while.
2. How long do you laugh every day? It depends. There are days when I laugh a lot more, up to 30-45 minutes! Believe me when I say I sleep soundly on those nights! But there are days when I only do my light exercises, so about 4-5 minutes… I don’t beat myself up when that happens. Life’s too short for that! I know it doesn’t happen every day. Plus, I go to my laughter club on a regular basis (it used to be weekly), I have a few subscribers to my online Skype laughter sessions so I have opportunities to laugh with other people who want to do it too! In the absence of laughter, I try to smile more.

3. Do you feel a difference in your life since you’ve been doing laughter yoga? Yes, I do! My body is quicker to react with laughter to all kinds of situations, and that’s wonderful! I know I must be “releasing” something more positive than before… and I’m glad I am! After 11 years of regular practice, I’m sometimes told that I’ve changed – for the better. That’s a good sign hahaha!

4. What makes you laugh? Lots of things, in fact! Comedians, films, TV shows, people I know. I have my favourite exercises, of course, and I also have those I don’t like so much because they take me way too far out of my comfort zone. When I decide to do one of these, I laugh out loud because I know my mind must be going “Woooooooooooo…. that’s so crazy!” hahaha! I really enjoy the value laughter exercises (appreciation laughter, self laughter, argument laughter, welcome laughter) but I have my best of in the more playful laughter (cow milking laughter, windscreen wiper laughter, loudspeaker laughter…) and I LOVE the lion laugh that releases the tension in my jaw.

5. Do you take drugs or drink alcohol to laugh like that? No ! No stimulants, no matter how harmless they may be! Laughing gives me a huge HIGH, and the more I get, the more I want! Thanks, endorphins! hahahaha!


How about a little treat to go with that? Click this link to laugh with me for a minute!

Laughter, joy and health

Linda Leclerc, CLYMT