What does it feel like to laugh? To really laugh? To let go? To proper deep down belly laugh? To let it flow? Amazing right! Now how often do you think you actually do that???
Try and remember the last time you did. Does the memory come to you easily? Can you remember how it made you feel? Who it was with? Why you were laughing?
Whether you can or you can’t it doesn’t matter…we remember because it doesn’t happen often enough and we forget because it doesn’t happen often enough.
Children laugh up to 300 times a day, whereas adults laugh on average 17 times a day. So what changes? Why the huge difference?
As children we learn through play, which is fuelled by imagination and often by laughter. But as we grow up, learning and play separate to become work and play and we stop associating the two together; viewing them as separate entities, where one cannot happen alongside the other. More often than not we develop the belief that work needs to be done before play can happen.
So laughter diminishes and with that joy and with that our ability to manage negative emotions and to manage experiences successfully decreases. If we are more playful we can be more productive in work. It feels more pleasurable; it helps to relieve stress and connects us with others and the world around us.
As we develop as children we use our imagination to problem solve and make sense of what is going on around us; our sense of humour develops alongside this to help us manage difficult situations. These child-like traits can be suppressed and forgotten as we enter adulthood, which then can hold us back in our personal development. People who tap in to these long forgotten child-like traits show higher levels of adaptability and are more likely to come up with new or exciting concepts because they are within the child-like state of believing that anything is possible!
Once we apply child-like thinking – thinking without limits – to what we choose to pursue we are more able to move forward with ease and create opportunities.
So how do we bring more playfulness in to our lives?
This is where Laughter yoga comes in!
Laughter yoga is a hugely powerful wellness tool. It really is the best medicine. We hit adulthood and how much we laugh just plummets! We stop laughing so freely and so easily as our responsibilities increase and we are no longer shielded from certain aspects of life. And at just a point in our lives where laughter could really support us. Could elevate us.
So we need to choose. We need to choose laughter. To seek laughter. To generate laughter. To create opportunities to bring more laughter in to our lives. To embrace laughter and let it ripple through our lives. Laughter is innate; we were born with the ability to laugh.
“At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.” Jean Houston
Laughter Yoga delivers on so many levels. It really is the best medicine.
So how can you get your laugh on?!
How can you get your laughter mojo back?
I encourage you to get curious and ask yourself how often you laugh. Just check in. You probably know the answer already. Whether laughter is something you access easily or not I warmly invite you to hit play on the video below and join me for some mental floss laughter. Then notice how you feel. Notice your energy levels. Notice your motivation. Notice your vibe.
Then do it again.
Cat Googe 