Do you know what seriousness disorder is? It is a plague that impacts 80 to 90 percent of adults in America. Apparently, we’re all just a little too stressed out, too serious about ourselves, and forget to take the time each day to laugh! I’m guilty as charged and was thrilled when I got to attend a laughter yoga class as part of my yoga teacher training that was led by an amazing woman by the name of Sarah Uma.
Sarah is a certified laughter yoga instructor and started us out with a general introduction to the importance of laughter and the background of laughter yoga by watching the documentary Laughology, which I highly recommend. Next, she walked us through an hour-long laughter yoga class that I have to admit was one of the best yoga workouts I’ve had in a long time. Seriously, my sides were aching, and my abdominals were a little sore the next day from all the belly laughs, but the yoga high I got from all the laughing was well worth it!
So, if you are wondering what the heck you do in a laughter yoga class, here are a few of the laugh exercises she took us through:
- Walking around the room, pointing at each other and laughing. It sounds a little brutal but it is serious fun.
- With a partner, we sat back to back, and felt the vibrations of the other person laughing (this is really cool and something I would recommend you try with a friend or lover).
- We all put a serious issue we had in our hand and then let everyone else in the room laugh at it. This seriously was very therapeutic.
When is the last time you laughed for over an hour? I’m telling you, this is “serious” fun and some of the best medicine I’ve had in a long time.
Laughter yoga clubs were started by Indian physician Dr. Madan Kataria about 15 years ago. Dr. Kataria realized that laughter was a powerful way to heal, so one day he went to his local park and recruited people to laugh with him. His laughter movement is a worldwide phenomenon, and today there are over six thousand laughter yoga clubs in 60 countries. I seriously want to join or start my own yoga club, but I don’t think I’ll be too effective recruiting strangers at the park to laugh with me. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
Here are a few ways you can get more laughter into your life right away:
- Get together with a group of your close friends and laugh. You can laugh with anyone, but I know that when I get together with my good friends, I laugh a lot!
- Find a laughter club near you on the LaughterYoga.org Web site.
- Listen to laughter yoga sessions on Blog Talk Radio. Here’s two that I know about:
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- “Four Directions Laugh Radio” has interchangeable daily themes, which presently include: “To the Moon Tuesdays”; “Wiggle Wednesdays;” “Thirsty Thursdays”; and “Squeeze and Release Fridays.” Sessions run Tuesday through Friday at 9:30 a.m. ET. Call in to (347) 539-5612 or listen/instant chat at www.blogtalkradio.com/fourdirectionslaughradio.
- Join the online virtual laughter club It’s Time to Laugh!. This weekly laughter yoga session is hosted by Laughing Lady Amy. For one hour each week, they chant, clap, dance, laugh, and celebrate life. Call in to (347) 205-9249 or listen/instant chat at www.blogtalkradio.com/Laughing-Lady.
Life is serious, death is serious, work is serious. Why not start taking laughter seriously? I, for one, would like to join the ranks of the 10 to 20 percent of Americans who don’t suffer from serious disorder.
If you are into laughter yoga or teach it, I would love to connect with you, so please leave a comment below.
Images: Porceline Clown – Mari Carmen Guinovart, Happy Clown – Frank Burgey
Wonderfully written post!
I loved the exercise your instructor lead with the “serious issue” in the hand and then letting other people laughing about it. I think I may have to use that one!
Seriousness Disorder is the ugly twin sister of Chronic Giggle Deficiency Syndrome, or CGDS.
Giggles dry up when chronic stress is present.
Chronic stress is responsible for most serious illnesses. Why? Chronic stress interferes with the body’s ability to oxygenate itself and send necessary nutrients to critical body systems like your cardiovascular, digestive, endocrine & respiratory
systems.
Laughter Yoga (like many forms of breath work and meditation) uses diaphragmatic deep breathing from the belly to send waves of the life giving oxygen to the body.
We can live for weeks without food and water but only minutes without oxygen. Many people are oxygen deprived and the stress this places on the body causes disease and premature death.
We all have to die sometime but as the ancient comic sage Bugs Bunny once said “Don’t take life too seriously, no one gets out alive.”
Sending loving laughter energy to you from Giggle On® land!
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