Relaxation Article

 

Lighten Up and Laugh Your Way to Relaxation
By Amy Phillips-Gary

It's a usual day on the metro. People stand or sit as they ride from one destination to another. They might be reading, listening to music or chatting quietly with
others.

Suddenly, a man-- sitting by himself-- begins to laugh quite loudly and boisterously. Those around him begin to look and wonder what has caused this man to laugh so heartily.

And then it happens.

The laughter starts to spread to those in the rows around the giggling gentleman. Soon more and more metro riders are joining in with the laughing-- and none of them quite knows what's so funny.

Pretty soon after that, the entire train car is bursting at the seams with laughter.

Riders are shaking their heads and shrugging their shoulders in surrender to the sheer pleasure of laughing.

This actual scene spontaneously occurred on a metro train somewhere in the world. As I watched the recording of it on youtube.com, I couldn't help myself either. I found myself joining in with the laughter.

And it felt so good!

It really doesn't matter what kind of laughter you experience. You might giggle, smirk, or chuckle. Or you may loudly guffaw and double over with a deep belly laugh.

There's no doubt about it. Laughter is a pleasing, releasing and relaxing activity to engage in.

Even if you can't bring yourself to a full-out laugh, you can almost always find a way to lighten up about what's going on in your life.

I'm talking about the kind of laughter that uplifts and releases-- not the false sense of supposed humor that comes from cutting down another person or finding some amusement at his or her (or your own) expense.

Unfortunately, many of us don't allow ourselves a really good laugh regularly. It seems too easy to get wrapped up in the assumed seriousness of being an adult.

After all, we have bills to pay, examples to set for the young folk in our lives and what can seem like the unending troubles of our world to contend with.

Who has time for laughter and lightening up in the midst of all that?

What's so important about laughter?
I believe that it's time we all make laughter as much a priority in our lives as we do working out at the gym, eating our vegetables and keeping our minds sharp by
completing the sudoku puzzle.

The health benefits of laughter have actually been documented. We have all hopefully experienced the delightful release of tension and stress after a good
laugh.

You may also be aware that laughter releases those uplifting endorphins-- the body's natural "high" chemical.  The immune system can be boosted by laughter and benefits to the cardiovascular system can also result.

When you share laughter with others, a bond is almost immediately formed. It is truly difficult to harbor ill feelings toward another person when the two of you are
laughing together.

Laughter can help you get unstuck emotionally. If I am having a really tough day and it seems like absolutely nothing is going my way, giving myself over to a cleansing laugh can truly shift my perspective.

Can you make yourself laugh?
When you look at your life and you are afraid, worried, angry, disappointed or even disgusted by what you see, it can seem impossible to laugh. As we all know, you simply can't force yourself to be happy or to laugh.

Noticing that you are dissatisfied and unhappy is a great first step toward lightening up and creating space for laughter.

Don't try to analyze why you are feeling stressed out, afraid or upset with the conditions of your life at this time. Instead, acknowledge what you're feeling and offer yourself the challenge of taking one step toward lightening up.

Let's say that you work at a job that you don't enjoy and that pays less than what you'd like to make. Perhaps you have allergies that flare up and cause you physical discomfort much of the time.

And, on top of this, maybe you haven't found a romantic partner yet-- you feel lonely and even worry that you are unattractive to potential mates.

You want to have a positive attitude about life and attract more of what you want, but it's really hard to do when everything you see falls far short of the mark!

In a situation like this, you could make a conscious decision to lighten up. This doesn't mean that you discount how you are feeling or shove aside your unhappy
emotions.

What it does mean is that you choose to focus more of your attention on aspects of your life that feel lighter, easier and more pleasing.

Your lightening up process might start by sitting down and watching your cat chase after a toy. As the feline tumbles, leaps and tackles the fuzzball with a feather and bell "prey," you might notice a slight smile form on your lips.

Yes, your life is relatively the same as it was a moment ago, but by simply watching your cat have a little fun you lightened up.

It wasn't forced. It was a conscious choice you made to shift your focus.

Make a commitment to laugh more often and more freely.
As you begin to develop a habit of lightening up, it will probably become easier and easier for you to find moments to smile about-- and even giggle over-- throughout your day.

You can make a commitment to laugh.

Make deliberate decisions about what you give your attention to. You might choose, for example, to spend less time reading every article in the finances section of the paper and a little more time reading the comics.

You can still be informed about the stock market if that's important to you. But you can allow the lighter side of life to dominate.

If you have been a pretty "serious" person up until now, you might find it useful to create a list of laughter-inducing activities.

You might include on your list such things as: reading joke books, watching comedy films or tv shows and attending live improv comedy nights-- even
possibly getting on stage yourself if you are drawn to do that.

As part of your commitment to lighten up, you could set an intention to take part in at least one activity from your list once a week or at whatever interval you desire.

My family and I attended a laughter yoga session in our city. This phenomenon, started by a doctor in India, is quite fun and is just about guaranteed to make you laugh a lot.

At the session we attended, a laughter leader guided us through various exercises in which we breathed deeply, moved our bodies in particular ways and induced laughter by saying "ha ha ha, ho ho ho" and other phrases.

This was very silly at times. However, we all laughed and laughed.

We met new friends with whom we'd shared levity and came away feeling energized and absolutely relaxed.

You don't have to attend a laughter yoga session in order to laugh-- but you can. Make a commitment to lighten up and create a list of laughter-inducing activities if that would help you keep your intention.

Look to children, babies, pets, or the clowns in your life. They are your teachers.

Laughter can come easily when you open up and allow it.

Set aside seriousness and all that is heavy and weighty that you might associate with being a "responsible adult."  Believe it or not, all that you "have" to do can still get done-- perhaps even more effectively-- as you smile, laugh and relax.
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Amy Phillips-Gary is a freelance writer, homeschool mom and a personal growth adventurer.

*For more information about Laughter Yoga, visit http://www.laughteryoga.org/







 

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Susie and Otto Collins are Relationship Coaches and authors of 4 books on relationships and personal growth. To get their FREE weekly newsletter filled with practical tips and ideas for creating more connected, passionate and alive relationships
visit their web site at http://www.RelationshipGold.com

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