Tag Archive for: love

What I’ve learned in my years of laughter yoga

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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?

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

Celebrating loved ones

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Do you take the time to celebrate the people you love?

To do a small gesture – a little extra – to please them, to make them smile?

Preparing breakfast, complimenting them, winking with a smile, noticing a positive detail… telling them you love them.

No matter.

Do you do that?

Today is my mother’s birthday.

I took the time to make the drive to spend a few hours with her.

And when I say “hitting the road”, I mean driving 4 hours on muddy highways on a Thursday afternoon to celebrate her birthday and her presence in my life.

I’m not saying this to make you think “Oh what a good girl for her mother!” HAHAHA!

I’m sharing this with you because I think it’s really important to CHOOSE where we put our time and energy. The PEOPLE (not the things) in our lives that matter to us are the ones we should celebrate.

This summer, I read something that made an image for me. That of a tree.

Here’s what it basically said

Some people in life are like leaves. They’re there for a while, then they’re gone with the wind.

Then there are other people who are like branches. They stand there and resist, but not everything. Then they fall.

There are also people who are like the trunk of the tree. They are solid and strong, and can be counted on to stay.

Finally, there are the people who are like the roots of the tree. The ones who make everything else stand up, grow, blossom and become strong. The very foundation!

The lesson I learned

It doesn’t matter whether you’re surrounded by leaves, branches, trunks or roots, make the distinction and invest your time where it counts most.

But celebrate every part of your “trees” because, without leaves, we’d have no shade and no photosynthesis! Branches – no matter how small – hold the leaves and… begin their life from the trunk. Roots draw their strength from the earth, and without them, nothing would stand. And every part COUNTS.

Each person is in our lives – whether for a time of leaves, a time of branches, a time of trunk or a time of roots.

I think it’s worth the joy of celebrating every part! Let’s celebrate each person as they deserve.

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

 

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

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