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Laughing
Meditation for children:
Humortunities
Angels fly because
they take themselves lightly. - G.K.
Chesterton
Last year I
attended the Chopra Center sponsored
Renewal Weekend in San Diego, (http://www.chopra.com/renewal).
I went with a group of girlfriends. One
of the workshops offered involved
laughing meditation. My friends and I
got there a little late. Entering the
room we encountered a large group of
people, all laughing hysterically and
mingling around the room. My first
response was, “I am soooo out of here.
I am not about to get silly with a bunch
of strangers. I am too repressed for
this.” However, my friend urged me to
stay. We began participating in some of
the activities. We spoke gibberish and
drank laughter milkshakes. Before I
knew it, I was exiting my shell of
repression and beginning to let go and
have fun. Then, twenty minutes later I
was rolling on the floor with the best
of them, completely forgetting my
inhibitions and laughing
uncontrollably. My friend and I were
the last to “shut up”, we couldn’t even
suppress the spontaneous giggles that
were erupting independent of thought.
Reflecting on the experience, I was
struck by how incredibly freeing it was
to let go and laugh. Also, how
incredibly contagious laughter can be.
I began by forcing myself to laugh and
soon the laugher took me over. Laughter
pulled me into the present moment. In
those few moments I entered a true
meditation. I forgot myself and
connected with the part of me that is
intimately familiar with joy. In
addition to being in the
all-encompassing mindful space, I felt
an incredible sense of release and
relaxation as well.
The other day, I heard comedian Karyn
Ruth White (http://www.karynruthwhite.com/fans.html),
refer to life as being filled with
humortunities. She encouraged the
audience to be vigilant as we go about
our daily activities, looking for how
humor might be infused into every
moment. I thought about how easy it is
to become serious as a parent. As we
bustle about completing daily duties, we
often forget to look lightly and see the
humor in things. Taking a simple step
back, observing and asking ourselves the
question: “What might be funny here?”
is an excellent way to center and get
re-connected to joy.
Karyn was also reporting that
preschoolers laugh hundreds of times per
day whereas adults average around
fifteen times, (if that, I
thought to myself). As our children
grow, why not be mindful of humor and
dedicate ourselves to looking for ways
to infuse it into our daily
interactions. This area of the website
provides links, resources, and
activities for bringing the funny into
daily life.
Humor not only brings us fully into the
present moment, but it also brings with
it a state of relaxation. Kids and
adults alike can use laughter, smiles,
and humor in order to elicit a state of
relaxation and calm. I have included
some laughter promoting activities on
this section of the website in order to
guide kids and adults in sharing
humorous activities as a way to relax
the body and the mind, reconnecting
fully with a state of joy.
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Other “side effects” of
laughter:
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Activates the immune
system
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Decreases stress
hormones
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Aids
the healing process
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Reduces pain
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Is an
Exercise for the heart
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Reduces blood pressure
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Fills
the lungs with air
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Lowers inhibitions
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Balances brain
hemispheres
(i.e. one
side needs to understand the
humor and the other side has
to figure out if it’s funny
or not)
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Promotes relaxation
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Establishes connection
with others
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Elevates your mood
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Laughing
Meditation Activities:
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Different Kinds of Laughter
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Start a Laughter Club
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Laughter Milkshake
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Speaking Gibberish
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