Laugh to Keep your Gas Tank Full

It was a blast to laugh and chat with a fellow Laughter Teacher, Wendy Singer.

Wendy reminds us of the timeless magic and power of choosing to laugh. 

Enjoy one of my new favorite Laughter Games - Tatiana's Mental Hammock
Thank you, Wendy, for sharing this special exercise with us!

Transcript

0:16

Wendy, I am so excited that you're here. Welcome to the Law of Happy podcast, and thank you so much for being a special guest today. Thank you. It's my pleasure and honor to be here with you today. I understand that you're a laughter teacher exactly I got involved with it at a time where I was pretty low in my life and I went to a party and it was on Valentine's Day and I. I, it was a birthday party for someone I didn't really even know. I didn't really know why I was invited. And the guest of honor who was providing the entertainment was Albert Nirenberg. And he did a laughter party and I was hooked from the very first laugh, so to speak. Yeah, it was weird'cause there was, we're in this small living room, there must have been about 30 people cramped in and he started doing laughter exercise and I, I remembered, I used to laugh a lot when I was a kid and I had been sick for many years battling a chronic illness and, I had just gotten over pneumonia. I sound like a sad sack now but and I didn't think I would have the breath to, to laugh and and he pulled me up for an exercise, a back to back exercise, very inter lacer. Hands and you sway back and forth. And I laughed my head off and I remember I couldn't believe it. I back down and man sitting beside me said, wow, I didn't know you had that in you, Wendy. I so me neither. And then I just felt great. I made good friends that night that are still good friends and we continued to laugh together. So it just it, it ignited a spark in me and changed, it really changed my life and I started following Albert, with to his groups and volunteering and eventually training with him. And really getting the laughter bug with him and learning from him and just bringing laughter into my own life. It was really just very special to train with him to do the Laffer size training and learn. We create exercises, Laffer size is a bit more extreme. Who cares why you're laughing. Just laugh. I'm just gonna point at something and we're gonna find that very funny. So everybody could just point at theirselves and do a self laugh, which I think is the most important laugh. Here we're gonna take our, are these pointer fingers? That's what I call them. Point your fingers. Point those to yourselves and put your thumbs up. So you're giving yourself a thumbs up. Yes. Okay. And pointing at yourself and just take a deep breath in. And laugh at how hysterical you are. Thumbs laugh. Yeah, I don't wanna go into the silent laugh here. Avoid that one. Oh, you have a, and then for the laugher sides, we could just take the, I wanna keep pointing at yourself and laughing. Take the other hand, you're gonna slap your knee. And there we go. I don't really think. Oh my God. Is there a exercise way of winding down an exercise like or could we just incorporate the very good we could. Yeah. That's left. Just kidding. Just take a deep breath. Yeah. Breathing is important in any form. Yeah, that's for sure. Yeah. Yes. And for thank you for that. That was, I think that was. That was most fun I had today so far. Okay. When I found laughter. As a form of exercise, through laughter yoga. I found it challenging at first to to work my laughter muscle again and to have the laughter flow. It was it felt funny at first. It just got easier and more fun as I practiced. But this was the start of me bringing joy into my life and seeing that I could feel good about myself and connect with people. In a way that I didn't have to talk about myself. I didn't have to, engage in anything other than laughter. And that way I became more comfortable with myself and became more comfortable with people and, started reintegrating into life and finding joy. Wow. That's so powerful and incredible. You're really you're amazing. Oh my goodness. I had so much. No okay. But thank you. That's so nice of you, Wendy. I've done a lot of laughter classes and stuff. I've always appreciated it. I always appreciate it. But but you have a a special gift of just. Making it. I can't even describe it. It's, it is just, it's your energy, and your laugh and the energy of it all. And thank you. That was so much fun. I wanna just wanna ask you to do another exercise, but I'll just maybe wait a few more minutes I just wanna add it's one thing to see the joy of, as you know how you see the joy of people just opening up when they get it and they start laughing and feeling better and breaking through. And but as a leader, I feel the same thing. I get their joy. Like I get as much joy. Yeah, so it's very rewarding. Oh yeah, I I get it. And like you were saying earlier the connection that that we make through, through laughter, how it allows us to connect with with people and everyone just, whether we're the participant or we're teaching the workshop just the connection of with everyone is just such a great feeling and incredible, and I get it. I can, I feel the same way when I teach laughter classes and even doing this podcast. I wanna laugh with you again'cause I, that was so much fun. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay. This is gonna. Entail a little bit of swaying. Yes. This is a, I have to give credit to my niece Tiana, who gave me the idea for this. So one day she was just sitting around having a kind of daydream or something, and I asked her, where'd you go? And she said, I went into a mental hammock. So she made a hammock in her. To rest her brain and it really lends itself very well as a laughter yoga exercise. I like that Tatiana's mental hammock. So you're gonna take that, you know those, the piece of mental floss that usually it's like dental floss, but we're gonna use it now as to just to weave a hammock. So imagine you're working at the side of your head and going in and you're gonna make a little mental hammock. And then when it's ready, you're gonna just let your brain rest in there. And what you do in a hammock, you sway. And imagine, so all that weight of your brain and all the stress that's going on in there in the brain is melting away and relaxing and letting you take a deep breath. And laugh and your brain is resting and we are swaying back and forth. We're swaying the brain of mind on the hammock. Yeah. Your brain is fully secured. It will not. Sway out of their hammock there, and you can just imagine all the stress just dripping away. And you can also now think that maybe you're at one of your favorite places, maybe on a beach or something. The cocktail, and you two are in havoc, your brain. And you and just enjoying the sunshine. And if it's safe to do you can close your eyes if it's safe, if you're not driving, and you can imagine. Imagine, yeah. Lying there with your brain on the beach in the ock. I love it. And that's perfect. That's exactly what I aim for. Like in my glasses, whatever, just to. You take over and go with it. Oh, I didn't mean to take over. No, you take no, it's like a give and take. That's what I mean. It's a give and take. It's wrong words. That's it. Shows me you're enjoying it and you know you're, yes. You get it. I do, and I was having fun and and thank you. And I, I have, I, can I ask you about I'd read about a 40 day laughter challenge. Oh yes. The 40 day laughter challenge. So I did that. I guess after I had been trained as a leader and I guess, and I feel like I had been in this stage of really laughing a lot. Going to the groups really connecting and having fun, but I really wasn't letting it in. And I was going through a challenging time in life, so I heard about the 40 day after Challenge, so I started doing it and at first I laughed. I laughed, I cried, laughed and cried. The emotions are so close together. And so I was trying to laugh for 15 minutes a day, and it was hard at first, but I had been practicing pretty boisterous laughter with the Montreal Laughter League. So I was in practice, I was in training and. What happened was I started to laugh really easily. I started to not really need prompts. I could just sit there and do the laughter and I, I am the kind of person that finishes what I start, but I did not finish this 40 day laughter challenge. I stopped at day 21. I, because I was feeling good, I felt like it had become part of my life and I like to describe it as if I was a gas tank. My body was a gas tank and I was running on empty before. And as I laughed each day, I started to fill up. So at day 21, I was feeling solid and strong, and. I didn't really know why until a bit later, which I'll tell you. But I stopped at day 21 and the significance of day 21 is that they say it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. And I felt like I had brought joy inside. And so I feel like my gas tank was being filled up with joy and I was feeling solid and strong and I stopped and I, kept laughing, but I didn't need to finish it. And the gas tank has remained. At a good level. I still have bad days. I go up and down, but I've never gone low like that because I got this tool now that of joy filled up with joy and yeah. That was the key, to have the solid solidity of joy and not searching elsewhere for solutions, go inside and find them. And that has helped me with everything in life of coping with everything, and learning how to take care of myself. Yes. That's so important. Yeah. And I can, I believe and can relate to everything that you just shared about how it's important to, find it and feel it from within. It's a practice. I think, I feel that it, we can't just laugh once and then it's going to sustain us or help us feel that inner joy or peace like forever. It's a practice I find that we have to maintain. And I wanted to ask you if you have a a regular practice that you like to do in your own life that helps you feel good. I know that there's. Laughter. But is there a certain Yeah. Part of the day that you like to do it? Or what can you tell us as a trick? Yeah, I I, full disclosure, I don't have a practice. I just laugh whenever I can. However I laugh all the time with my partner and who I actually met through laughter. But so it's nice to have someone who understands laughter to. To do that with. But I feel like since I did that 40 day laughter challenge that I adhere to the philosophy of laughter all the time. I'm not gonna say thinking more positively, but because I don't always, but thinking of, alternative ways of thinking. If I'm going down the rabbit hole I'll say, wait, I don't have to go there. Just switching the negative to the positive. And that comes from laughter. So that's what I practice all the time. If I have a crisis at work I think what I don't have to panic just yet, and that is a training that I've. Had from laughter of the positivity that laughter brings because it is such a positive emotion. So I practice in a bit of a different way. It's not necessarily through laughter, but through all of the secondary effects of laughter and, using it to relieve stress. Using it in, tense situations. Not breaking out into voiceless laughter or anything in front of my boss, but just. Yeah, just using the philosophies that you know and the tool I have a stressful situation or a meeting or presentation. I will sit and laugh for 30 seconds or 15. I don't need a lot. You don't need a lot to kick in those or relaxing hormones. Oh my gosh. That is so helpful and a great practice. But I had tried multiple ways of, changing. Change the way I, my thoughts to relieve stress before I landed on laughter. And laughter was absolutely the key to, for me to, to have, a Rosie dis disposition or what's, I can't remember what the expression is, but just to, to feel better. Yes. I guess just to feel better as simple as that. Exactly. Yeah, I think I and I suggest to people that want to start is just to. Look in the mirror or something and do a self laugh. Yes. 10 seconds, 15 seconds to begin with. Yeah. You can't go out right out the gate with 15 minutes because that won't work. No, but it build, it's a slow build and slow is just fine. Exactly. Exactly. I even found, one minute of, straight laughter. I had to, work up to that. But that's a great place, even just a few seconds. Yeah. To build it up and to be gentle with yourself and it's a practice and it's almost equivalent to going to the gym. Anybody who's willing to give it a try to just give it a try. And I have to, say that when I did my first class or my first, experience with simulating laughter as an exercise. It was when I was doing my laughter yoga leader training was my first time actually participating in a laughter exercise. And I I found it challenging and I I started to feel. Even a bit of frustrated with myself, I was thinking why I started to, be part of myself thinking why isn't the laughter flowing my, but then, but it was a great practice in and of itself because I told myself, okay, let's just breathe and be gentle with myself and, because that's important too. So it was, I learned a lot and all that to say, even though in my case it felt challenging at first, I practiced being, gentle with myself. And then the laughter flowed. And the laughter actually flowed when we were told to stop laughing. Because we were gonna go into a silent, quiet silent meditation. And that's when my laughter just flowed. That's good. That's amazing. What an experience that must have been. That's wonderful. All that to say, the more I practiced laughing as an exercise and allowing it to flow my laughter, the easier and more fun it became. And you were mentioning that too, to just, go at your own pace and be gentle with yourself and be open to it and see, see if it works for you and if you like it. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.'cause it's, it's a lot of fun. Definitely. So that's above all. Exactly. Definitely a lot of fun. I just had so much fun in those couple of exercises we did on this podcast with you. Wendy, thank you so much for for everything that you shared and for. For laughing with me. Thank you so much for inviting me. It was, it's such a joy to finally meet you and you're very lovely. And thank you for being so warm and welcoming. Thank you. I'm laughing. Thank you. This is great. And thank you. And yeah, it's mutual. I've been excited, looking forward to meeting you and it was such a pleasure and so much fun. So thank you Wendy. And and we can just say goodbye, wave, goodbye, and laugh. It's like our goodbye laughter. We're and laughing so much. Thank you so much. You soon. Bye. Bye.