4 Steps to an Instant Vacation

Think back to the last time you had a rip roaring belly laugh.

Remember how the tears rolled down your eyes, how your sides ached? How, the more you wanted to stop, the more you laughed? How those around you could not contain themselves any longer and joined in the rollicking? Remember how exhilarated you felt? How everybody and everything seemed lighter?

Laughter is a powerful way to tap into positive emotions. Laughter is a form of internal jogging. It moves your internal organs around. It enhances respiration. It is an igniter of great expectations.*

Laughter is an instant vacation.**

The French writer Nicolas Chamfort maintained ‘The most wasted of all days is that in which we have not laughed.’

Woody Allen asserts ‘If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.’

There is a Yiddish Proverb that says ‘What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul’ and an Irish Proverb that says ‘A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.’

You don’t even need a reason to laugh! Just do it for fun. Google ‘laughter yoga’ on YouTube and pick a video to see what it is all about.

Here is a 4-step exercise to get you smiling and laughing. You’ll need about 15 minutes to do all of it. However, every step is independent of the others so you can do any of it at anytime.

Step 1: Warm up. Tap into some inspiration with the young Jessica motivating herself in the mirror.

Step 2: Get creative. We can all find unusual uses for all kinds of devices. How many uses can you find for a paper clip? This video shows no less than 22.

Step 3: Share it. There’s that old saying about sharing pain halves it; sharing joy doubles it. Get creative about sharing. Here’s a safe way to share your iPAD with a cat.

Step 4: Shake it up. Follow along with this LAUGHTER YOGA – Laugh Along Practice which covers
* Laughter Yoga Breathing
* Light Laughter Stretching
* Energizing Laughter Yoga Exercises
* Laughter Yoga Meditation
* Stress Relieving Relaxation.