Are you feeling a little bummed out today?  Buckle up – you are in for an emotional explosion as I share with you the power of the 7th Element from my book – How to Reinvent Midlife Dreams.

You know you are in a new millennium when you can research in seconds something that we do naturally and find that there is a laughter yoga practice; and there are wiki steps on laughter. Can you believe it? There are actual step by step processes on how to get us to smile and laugh.

Science of laughter

First you begin to smile, then you diaphragm starts to quiver and your vocal chords vibrate making a “ha ha ha” sound.  Your facial muscles change and your cheeks rise. You take a deeper breath, oxygenating your body.  The act of drawing oxygen to your heart and then to your blood.  WOW! a process.

“According to Alexander Lowen, the father of bioenergetic psychotherapy, uncontrolled laughter creates convulsive reactions which free up muscular tension within the body, and charge and mobilize the voice and breathing.” Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

A rush of oxygen to the body and you feel good.  No drug is better than a good laugh.  Take it from me 2.5 minutes of uninterrupted laughter a day will keep the doctor away.

I remember being about seven years old and standing around some of my friends.  One of the kids said to me, “Do you always laugh?” and I said, “Ya.”  I had learnt at a young age that laughter breaks the ice between people. and also help ease a tense situation.

What about you?  Is it hard for you to laugh?  If you are having trouble getting started sometimes all it takes is a sign (or two).

ignore-sign

dildo

Can you believe it? There is a town called Dildo in Newfoundland!  I learnt about some great names like this one on my journey across Canada.  The “Ignore this Sign” was posted on a barn that people came upon as they walked along a path.

We laughed when we saw this…

My wife, daughter and I took a one year trip in an RV across Canada, and along the way we stopped in at a little town called Keno, Yukon.  We met a man named Leo who pretty much ran the town. Originally from Quebec, Leo had a great sense of humor. He was the owner of a small hotel and restaurant. The locals and close by residents would come up for his homemade meals and great sense of humor.  We happened to be visiting when Tourtière was on the menu.

tourtiere

But I digress.  Leo had a wild sense of humor. He said he enjoyed making people laugh and no better place when they are in the washroom. Usually people walk in and walk out. He wanted them to walk in, have a good laugh and feel better coming back to their group.

Here are a couple of snapshots we took.

Men – this is for you…

for-men

Friendship among Women:
A woman didn’t come home one night. The next morning
she told her husband that she had slept over at a
friend’s house. The man called his wife’s 10 best
friends. None of them knew anything about it.

Friendship among Men:
A man didn’t come home one night. The next morning he
told hise wife that he had slept over at a friend’s
house. The woman called her husband’s 10 best friends.
Eight confirmed that he had slept over and two said he was still there.

 

And ladies this one is for you…

for-women

The average person would go in to Leo’s washrooms, for what they thought would be a couple of minutes and end up staying 20 or more reading the jokes he had framed on the wall.  He made me laugh and it certainly helped with the enjoyment of the food.

What about you? Are you in the mood for a laugh?

There are a lot of ways that you could be feeling that are not empowering you to be the best you can be.  So why not laugh.  Take a moment and laugh out loud.  Try it.  Come on no one is watching.  If they are they will want to know what you are doing and you may get them to smile.

Need a little help?

All my growing up, my dad would use this line when people would visit and ask to use our bathroom…

“Give them my name and you will get a good seat,”

he would say.  It usually would catch people off guard and they would chuckle.

Laughter is Contagious

Like a disease, laughter is also contagious.  Have you ever noticed how a smile is contagious? Try walking down the street one day and look at people you pass who are straight faced or focused … just put a smile on your face and watch how they respond.

The next time you are around children watch how they play or interact with each other.  They usually find something funny in all kinds of things. If we lived more with our child mindset we would be a lot less stressed.

Here is a simple philosophy I challenge you to live by for the next 10 days.

  • Laugh when you can.
  • Laugh from your belly.

And if you are not sure how to do this, watch funny movies, listen to comedians (Youtube has great videos of stand up comedy).  These next 10 days will be a remedy that will relax you and give you pure energy of love and kindness.

Remember this:  Laughter starts with a smile.

Yours in Midlife.

Kevin Huhn
Canada’s #1 ‘Reinventing Midlife Dreams’ Coach
Award Winning Expert
Author, How to Reinvent Midlife Dreams
www.KevinHuhn.com