Everyday life just goes ‘tick + tock’ with hardly anything to notice.

Then one day … BOOM

In a matter of seconds life is turned upside down by unforeseen circumstances.

My partner has been in hospital for nearly a month now following a cycling accident where he sustained a head injury. He is making good progress but is going to need a long rehabilitation.

The world stops … for him … for me … and for his family and friends as we all come together to support him through this ordeal.

In order to help him recover I need to build up and use my inner strength.

We’ve all heard the wise words – ’don’t try to give from an empty cup’.  This means that the main carers need to look after themselves FIRST to give their best selves to the person in need.  The carer needs to be strong to help the person needing the care gain the best recovery.

Everyone has their ‘go to’ place to re-charge.  It could be listening to music, visiting an art gallery, being out in nature.  Two of mine are walking and cycling.  For me, by far the most important is daily Laughter Yoga.  I can access it anywhere, any time … on my own or with others … sometimes through an App.

There have been times this month when I felt helpless and distraught and then I’ve joined an online Laughter Yoga session, and I have felt my spirit lift in seconds.

I know I have said this many times in previous posts about how Laughter Yoga builds effective resilience … it REALLY DOES.

Yesterday, I took a day off from hospital visiting to walk on Clent Hills and, by the Four Stones at the top, I took the opportunity to do this laughter video.

No-one knows what other people are going through and if they could harness the power of laughter, it might not change their circumstances, but it would help change the way they look at their situation more positively.

I don’t mean the sort of gentle ‘social’ laughter’ … I mean the side splitting, jaw aching deep belly laugh that scrunches your eyes so that tears flow and you feel helpless with laughter.

Can you remember the occasion when that happened?  Bring it to you mind as you read this.  Is a smile forming on your face as you recall the occasion and start re-living the experience.  It might have been your cat or dog doing a ‘zoomie’, your toddler’s expression when discovering you had been hiding behind the door.  It might have just been spending time with your friends with whom you have a deep connection and simply being together is sufficient for the belly laughter to flow.

How did it make you feel?

Did you feel a glow inside, a sense of elation and love for those around you?  Did you feel energised from the deep breathing you did between the bouts of laughter?

Imagine being able to experience all of those … just because you can. It is why I share Laughter Yoga as it made such a difference to my life.

You see when I found it, I was already in a good place in my life, and it was brilliant timing as it showed me how to make the most of every day.  By simply focusing on a few minutes’ laughter, it can bring joy to any part of the day.

Taking part in Laughter Yoga can help you feel like this.  It encourages laughter from the heart; unconditional laughter – without the need to rely on humour, comedy or jokes as these are subjective and depends how we individually relate to the content.

In Laughter Yoga we take lessons from children’s playfulness, a ‘let’s pretend’ idea to act out play so that it is joyful – singing, dancing, playing and laughing. 

Imagine measuring out a length of cloth with one hand reaching to the other hand and flowing across your body – as though measuring the cloth and, as you do so, allowing laughter to flow as you stretch. This is called the ‘One Metre Laugh’ and was one of the first laughter exercises described by an Indian Haberdasher when he attended some of the first Laughter Yoga sessions started by Indian GP Dr Madan Kataria in 1995.  Dr Kataria is the founder of the Laughter Yoga Movement that is a worldwide phenomenon.

Laughter Yoga is a proven technique and has so many mental health and physical benefits.

Come on, give it a go … what have you got to lose?

Whether you want to attend a Laughter Yoga session, join my ongoing group or even study the process and structure so you can lead sessions yourself, you are welcome to check out here:

https://www.merriemaggie.co.uk/laughter-yoga-sessions/

https://www.merriemaggie.co.uk/training/

In my next blog, I shall discuss more about the health and wellbeing benefits from practicing Laughter Yoga regularly.

‘Merrie Maggie’ Thompson