Creativity Archives - ECOLE YOGA DU RIRE

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!

I started practicing laughter yoga in 2003. At the time, I was what you might call a serious, stressed-out manager. I’m not sure if the people who worked with me had that perception, as I’ve always been a fairly good-natured, smiling person.

However, I consider that to have been my reality. “Pressurized” by difficult objectives, tight deadlines, the amount of work required… In short, a pot under constant pressure.

When I sent in my registration for the training weekend in May 2003, I knew I was in for something different. But probably not this different!

Here’s what I learned

1. It’s not as hard as you think to laugh intentionally

Once I’ve decided to start laughing, once I’ve made the physical motion to laugh and I know I have to laugh for at least a minute, I do it. What’s more, when we laugh as a group, the simple fact of hearing others, seeing them laugh, knowing that we’re there to do just that – laugh – has a leverage effect on our laughter! Did you know that we have a special laughter sensor in the brain? So when the detector detects, guess what happens!

In a laughter yoga session, we all start laughing at the same time, on the leader’s signal. When he or she says GO, we all go. Even when I’m practising alone, I hear myself laughing, and every time I do, I catch myself thinking how ridiculous it must look to see myself laughing like that, and THAT makes me laugh!

2. Some exercises work better than others

I admit it. I have my favorite exercises. In the sessions I run at the laughter club, the same people often take part every week. I can’t have them doing the same routine over and over again. So I vary. Some evenings, all the exercises trigger my laughter quickly. Other nights, I look at the list I’ve chosen to do and make a note not to do it again in the future! Of course, I always ask the group if they liked a new exercise that I didn’t like so much. If their opinion is positive, then I bring it back for them. But not for me! Silent laughter, for example, is a must, and it’s terribly effective for me. Silent laughter appeals to the ban on laughter!!!! Mischievous you say!

3. It’s definitely an aerobic exercise

I’m hot, out of breath and red in the face! It’s not jogging, but it feels like it. It’s something I keep an eye on when I’m working with a group. How the participants’ faces look. The heart beats faster, the lungs are hard at work… in short, “ça y va aux toasts” as we sometimes say in Quebec! Which means it’s very energetic. Hence the importance of taking the time to breathe properly between exercises – or during my laughter meditation.

4. I rarely laugh this hard or this long on a daily basis

Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrratively not! In a laughter yoga session, I can easily laugh for 20 minutes. Not necessarily in a row, but certainly 20 minutes in total. On a daily basis, my laughter only lasts a few seconds. Here and there during the day. And then some! That’s on days when I’m not alone in my office or in a particularly good mood. Most of the time, if I’m focused on my work (whether administrative, editorial or creative), I won’t even smile. Unless, of course, I’m holding a straw between my teeth. I smile. I don’t laugh. So a laughter yoga session is great.

5. I can laugh even when I’m not doing so well

I’ve been through all kinds of personal storms over the past 20 years. Bereavements, job losses, physical injuries, arguments… you name it, I’ve been through it. I remember an evening when I had just learned of the death of a close friend just before leaving for the laughter club. I cried on the way to the community center, and then it was as if I’d put my grief on hold for the hour of the session. I was able to lead the meeting, and when I got back to my car, I started crying again. That evening, I realized that during the hour of the session, while I was laughing with the group, I hadn’t been thinking or suffering about my grief. I had been completely in the moment with the participants. The pain hadn’t gone away. It was just “a little on the side” during those moments.

6. I don’t feel like I’m forcing myself anymore

People sometimes tell me that they can’t tell the difference and don’t know whether I’m laughing “for real” or “as if”. And neither do I! HAHAHA! I don’t feel like I’m forcing myself anymore. It comes quickly and stays if I decide to keep going. I think that must be the body’s ability to train itself to do something easily and naturally. Once the habit is well established, the body reacts to the first signal to start! A bit like Pavlov’s dogs! It’s the best conditioning you could wish for!

7. After the sessions, I love everyone

You’re right. I look at people on the sidewalk and I just want to compliment them. I look at them and I SEE them! If I felt anger or impatience towards someone before (I’m normal! It happens to me, yes yes!), after the session, those feelings are gone and have given way to openness and tolerance. I’m not saying that I magically forgive everything. No. What happens is that my heart takes over. Not just my head. Notice how you look at the people who make you laugh. Or those around you after a good laugh. It’s like making room for… love after all! Less judgment and evaluation.

8. Laughing makes me creative

I need to take stock of my achievements over the last 20 years, and I have to admit that laughing makes me much more creative! Of course, I know that laughing activates the left side of my brain, the part linked to imagination, love and creativity. I think laughing does stimulate that part of my brain. On the other hand, I think all those exercises I created by improvising during the sessions based on what the participants shared with me, that’s all about PLAY. I’ve certainly started playing again by practising laughter yoga. Because laughter is a game! At least, the way we start the exercises, the way we interpret reality in a more playful light, is an invitation to play. And play means creativity!

9. I don’t care what others think of me when I lead a session.

HAHAHA! I know that many must look at me and think that I’m not doing anything serious! That I’m maybe even weird or strange or… a little crazy! I know because – I confess – that’s probably what I would have thought myself 21 years ago! As I lead a session, I’m focused on the participants. On their complexion, their faces, their smiles. When I’m with a group, I invite them all to start the exercise at the same time and follow me. No one can judge anyone… except maybe me, because I demonstrate before giving them the GO.

I KNOW how liberating and beneficial what I’m doing to them is. So what do some people think of me? I don’t really care! The important thing is to make sure things are done right for optimum effect. Am I wrong? I laugh! I say the wrong word? I laugh! And believe me, I do goof up sometimes! I’m probably the best example of how to LAUGH AT YOURSELF!

10. All are beautiful when they laugh

Certainly. I have no hesitation in making and statement! Eyes sparkle. Cheeks are rosier. A sparkle lights up the eyes. Even toothless mouths are more beautiful. I read a long time ago that laughter is good for sex appeal. Well, I don’t know, but what I do know is that I’ve never seen a serious face more beautiful than a smiling one. If you’re holding back laughter because you don’t like your teeth, don’t stop! You look at your eyes when you laugh! What’s more, it’s the energy the person gives off that is felt. A beautiful, positive, vibrant, loving energy. Don’t you think that’s beautiful? HAHAHA! I think just like you.

That’s all I’ve learned… and more! Because my main discovery is that laughing brings out the best in me!

Laugh with me, will you?