Don't Make Me
Laugh!
Yesterday was a day like any other. I brought Felix home
from school, got him a snack, and began to search my mind for the silliest
thing I could do to get the afternoon off to a good start :)
I decided to go for an old favorite. I got out the ukelele,
drummed up my best hillbilly accent, and began to sing...
Felix turned on a dime and yelled, "Mom, don't make me laugh!
I'm trying to be angry!"
Well, that was the end of my hillbilly moment.
At least for about 30 seconds until Felix decided he was done
being angry and he wanted to add some funny noises to my song :)
But I thought about that moment for the rest of the day. I
mean, CAN you stay angry if someone makes you laugh? Can you hold on to
tension? Stress? Irritation? What about illness?
I asked Felix. He said, "No! I have to make you
go away if I want to be mad. You're too silly."
Felix
Knows His Science!
Well, it turns out that Felix is up to speed with the latest
research! :)
The University of Graz in Austria has proven that laughter lowers
stress hormones, boosts your immune system, reduces pain, and prevents heart
disease!
But there is some bad news.
The research has also determined that humor is not a reliable
source for consistent laughter and all of its subsequent benefits.
Seriously folks.
We live in a world that has been deemed comically-challenged.
The solution?
Fake
it!
Dr. Madan Kataria, a physician from India, is here to rescue us
from our lack of humor. He has created an entire branch of yoga designed
to get you laughing no matter what!
It's called Laughter Yoga, and you can see a clip of Dr. Kataria
and John Cleese practicing here.
People in 60 countries all over the world gather to say, Ha ha ha
ha, ho ho ho, hee hee hee," and say goodbye to their stress, depression
and illness.
Resistance
Is Futile
And there's one more thing.
The Institute of HeartMath has proven that happiness is highly contagious.
It only takes three people in a room of 100 to infect everyone else.
Moreover, when participants gather to laugh for no reason, it only
takes a few minutes of awkward "ha ha ha" before everyone in the room
is truly laughing their patooties off.
So go ahead, be the one that causes anger and illness to run and
hide.
Laugh for no reason :)
And see how many friends you can infect with health and happiness
this month!
Love,
Smiles, and Appreciation for YOU!
Claire :)
