Laughter

This includes meditation practices as well as music, song, dance, poetry and laughter as medicine.

Laughter

Postby Judith » Tue Oct 22, 2013 7:30 pm

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LAUGHTER

http://www.laughtertherapy.com/

I had a talk over supper with a couple of friends about laughter—what makes you laugh? We decided that there was something ‘childish’ in the best sense about laughter, ‘cracking up’ old patterns –it makes you stoned, more joyful and happy-‘laughing like a drain’ might be construed as laughing your troubles down the drain...

http://www.helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/alter ... icine.html

We don't laugh because we're happy – we're happy because we laugh.said the 19th c psychologist [b][u]William James

LAUGHTER IS A LIGHTNING BOLT OF WISDOM:NOT A SIGN OF DENIAL OF TRAUMA BUT A SHIFT TOWARDS A NEW PERSPECTIVE ENABLED BY THE IMAGINATION - THE INDIVIDUAL STEPS BACK AND GAINS A BROADER PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE...


At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.
--Jean Houston
I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.
--Woody Allen
Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.
--Victor Borge
A person who knows how to laugh at himself will never cease to be amused.
--Shirley MacClain
A day without laughter is a day wasted.
--Charlie Chaplin
If you're too busy to laugh, you are too busy.
--Proverb
If we couldn't laugh, we would all going to go insane.
--Jimmy Buffett
Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive.
--Bill Cosby
Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on.
--Bob Newhart

--Maya Angelou
The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.

--Martin Luther King Jr.

Everybody laughs the same in every language...
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Re: 25 different ways to laugh-who knew???

Postby Judith » Thu Jan 09, 2014 6:34 pm

Twenty-five different ways to laugh—who knew?

Well this sounds good—laughter therapy doesn’t need to be boring! Try confetti laughing for instance...

and just was reminded of that old record my grandparents had of 'The Laughing Policeman'-- here he is and the song too--a bit errrm, strange in places re laughing when he arrests people (!) but the gist is that he keeps happy...

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI1nPd7hezM

http://www.laughteryogaamerica.com/lear ... d-1967.php
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Re: Laughter or even Just Smiling!!!

Postby Potatoes » Sun Jan 12, 2014 7:27 pm

Bill Hicks

It's just a ride...
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMUiwTubYu0

Can you become a vagal superstar?
Why just smiling is good for you..
.


http://www.ecohustler.co.uk/2014/12/01/ ... -kindness/

The following is a quote from Graham Music's Book The Good Life:

The parasympathetic nervous system is the system linked with wellbeing. The core part of this system is the Smart Vagus nerve, which links with the heart, the stomach, brain stem, and facial muscles.(HENCE SMILING!!!)
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When this system gets triggered, it functions as a ‘vagal break’, turning off sympathetic nervous reactions, so that we feel calmer, more at ease, we have an increased window of tolerance, and more of a hormone called oxytocin flows through the system. And this state of wellbeing is directly linked with a feeling of wanting to help people. Spontaneous altruism would often require us to be in this state.

One way of measuring vagal tone, is Heart Rate Variability (HRV). People who meditate a lot have incredibly high Heart Rate Variability. There is a term for such people, ‘vagal superstars’, coined by professor Dacher Keltener from Berkeley. These are people for whom very little phases them.
The sort of clients that I (Graham Music) see in therapy tend not to be vagal superstars, but rather have a very narrow window of tolerance. (This can also happen with trauma-ie the trauma of cancer diagnosis- JE)
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So, a big part of simply being a supportive human being is to gently catch someone just before they switch out of this window of tolerance, out of this smart vagal place, into sympathetic reactions, or dissociative reactions.
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Ladies Having Fun

Postby Joy in Thailand » Fri Jun 27, 2014 1:55 am

Hello Everyone,

Someone sent me this video and it tickled my heart so just want to pass it. Life IS Great ----THANK YOU GOD..

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4QzHeUE-CM&authuser=0
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Lighten up! Laughter is the medicine chest...

Postby Judith » Wed Jul 09, 2014 9:43 am

Lighten up! Laughter is the medicine chest

http://www.factmag.com/2014/03/17/laraa ... -cafe-oto/

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Get into the play zone by doing some ‘seriously playful laughter’ with Larraji—this 12 minute clip takes you through the body and produces the laughter which can stimulate your T cells via the thymus, radiate from the centre of your brain—and lots more--

just keep this one and have a go when you can- seriously uplifting!
And Rembrandt knew about this in 1630...
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How I Used Laughtercise to Help Me Deal With Cancer

Postby MandyR » Thu Dec 04, 2014 12:35 pm

I had just been diagnosed with cancer for the third time (Hodgkin’s lymphoma twice in the 1990s and breast cancer in 2011), and as I unwrapped the Laughter Yoga training DVD that sat in front of me, I thought blimey, what on earth is my friend Stephanie Hill getting me into this time?! She really is barking mad!

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Little did I know that later that evening, I would be sat on the sofa giggling away with my parents and partner. We started with some of the exercises, and it wasn’t long before the laughter became infectious. Despite none of us really feeling like laughing at this point in time, here we were giving it a good Ho Ho Ho. :lol:

I was devastated to have to deal with cancer again, and this time it hit me much harder emotionally. I don’t know if it was the optimism of youth that carried me through the first two, or the cumulative effect of ‘here we go again’. Perhaps there was even an element of the unfairness of this breast cancer being caused by the radiotherapy I received for my first bout of Hodgkin’s lymphoma 20 years ago.

One way or another I experienced an overwhelming sense of emotion. I found myself just crying for no real reason, I couldn’t sleep, I’d often wake up with tears streaming down my face and I found it really difficult to articulate what was going on. Mortality had smacked me in face again and at least some part of me felt shattered, whether that be my loss of innocence, my sense of who I was, my view on time, my view on what next.

I never thought that Laughtercise would become such a useful tool at this time, but it did, and continues to be so.

So what is Laughtercise and how does it help?

Laughtercise essentially uses laughter as an exercise as opposed to laughing at comedy, jokes or such-like, and is based on the principles of laughter yoga – combining laughter with deep breathing. Stephanie at Grin and Tonic created Laughtercise in response to a growing need for a set of exercises that would make it is easy for people to build laughter into everyday life.

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Laughtercise brings a number of methods including:
The four basic laughs – useful when you can’t find your own
Techniques – such as anchoring laughter into household objects or the stress buster for dealing with difficult situations
Laughter beats – combining laughter with music

Like many I found it a bit bonkers at first and could have easily discarded it as “I’m way too reserved for that kind of thing” but by simply letting go a little and bringing it into daily life, it was just brilliant.

I felt more in control of my life at a point when it seemed like cancer had taken over everything and every thought. Physically the act of laughing and the deep breathing also helped release some of the tightness I felt in my chest following reconstruction for my bi-lateral mastectomy.

Laughtercise gives me more energy, and significantly reduces some of the stress and fear around cancer. It also helped me connect with my family and friends in a really meaningful way. At times like this, people don’t know if they are allowed to laugh around you. It was easy for me to effectively give ‘permission’ for them to laugh with me, and although it started as an exercise, it was contagious and incredibly powerful, helping them to relax and deal with my illness too.

I know it all sounds a bit mad, and I acknowledge that it won’t be for everyone, but honestly you have to try it! I am passionate to bring more laughter into the lives of as many people as possible to help them deal with this distressing disease, hence telling my story on here. Together Stephanie and I have created our first DVD called Dealing with Cancer? Laughter Works. We’re not medical practitioners but simply wanted to share our vast personal knowledge.

Stephanie felt powerless when hearing about my diagnosis. She could see the emotional turmoil I was in and she just wanted to find some way to help my family and me, and I am very glad she did. And it’s a hugely invigorating thing to do anyway, whether you’re happy, sad or just need a little pick me up. Who doesn’t want more laughter in their life?

If you would like to more information, please see http://www.grin-and-tonic.com.
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Re: Laughter a neuroscientists view...

Postby Judith » Sat May 09, 2015 7:08 pm

http://www.ted.com/talks/sophie_scott_why_we_laugh

Let's do it as much as we can!!!!

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"So I understand you have had quite a trip around this little circle of ours. Making new friends. Learning about yourself...hopefully laughing at yourself a bit in the process. We have to laugh...we have to learn from all that is put in our path. Laugh and learn...and sometimes cry or wonder or become angry or sad. It is the way of being on this earth. We are lucky enough to be filled with so many emotions...so many possibilities."

"
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Re: Laughter

Postby lorrainecohen » Fri Nov 20, 2015 3:59 pm

Hi everyone!

Laughter is one of the most wonderful feelings that is also great for the body.

My mother had a great sense of humor and some of my fondest memories are howling with laughter with her.
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If you are interested, I have an 8 minute recording with a dear friend in which we laughed for almost 8 minutes straight. It is impossible not to join us.

Enjoy it for free with my compliments!
http://lorrainecohen.com/lightening-up-audio-gift/

I welcome your feedback!


In One Love,
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