Laugh Out Loud
| On this page | |
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Introduction |
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Overview |
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Workshop Session Plan |
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Key Learning Outcomes |
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Laughter Tips From Swami |
Introduction
… some thoughts for you to consider…
Laughing is the way… laughing is so good for our mental health and not taking ourselves too seriously. In schools we are seeing more negative behaviours arising through bullying and negative humour. It is important children learn to laugh for no reason, to simply laugh at lifes inconsequentialities.
Laughter workshops are worldwide.
Learning to laugh at life helps us to deal creatively with problems and to feel a sense of empowerment over issues. It is not to laugh at people but to laugh at the situation and see the funny side. It helps us let go of the beliefs we have been attached to and see things differently. One of the easiest ways to increase confidence and happiness is to allow humour to come into the learning process.
Children naturally play and are often our teachers as they see life with innocence. A laughter workshop removes competitiveness and allows children to be with each other and have some fun. To learn that laughter is as important as numeracy. Some teachers may look at that seriously, but really, if you cannot laugh and enjoy your life how can we find the peace of mind to learn the subjects that don’t come so naturally. If we feel relaxed we are in a good space for learning as we are open to life.
Laughter impacts the body by increases oxygenation, circulation and energy. Studies have shown that it reduces stress hormones and improves the functioning of the immune system to fight disease. Did you know that endorphins are hormones that are health producing. When you laugh, you experience wellbeing and a burst of energy. It is also great for learning how to relax, team building and energised thinking in a creative way.
Workshop Focus:
Release stress, build confidence, step out of the comfort zone and connect with joy
Target Audience:
Students and staff
Duration:
45 minutes
Expected Outcomes:
Release stress, stimulate endorphins and health effects, and relaxation.
Overview
The Laugh Out Loud Workshop runs for 45 minutes and is great either in the morning or after lunch. Perhaps it is in between tiring classes.
Consider having this program once a week at school or to help with re-energising students or staff. They will love you, well let’s say they will like you a lot. To laugh out loud stimulates and gives people a really good belly laugh.
The program is delivered by ‘Peace-fool the clown’. The clown is a powerful symbol of fun, equality, esteem and non judgement. Employees who enjoy where they work and feel free enough to share a good joke with colleagues are more likely to stay with the company.
Workshop Session Plan
- Introduction;
- Warm up face and body bits;
- Pattern ball name game – get to know each other and have a laugh;
- Dress ups;
- Laughter practice – ho ho ha ha activities;
- Mexican wave;
- Relaxation.
Key Learning Outcomes
- To develop a humorous muscle.
- To learn to laugh for no reason.
- To understand that laughter promotes endorphins, circulation, respiration and lower blood pressure.
- To team build through shared laughter.
- To learn not to take ourselves too seriously and that we are here to be happy.
- To destress and relax.
Laughter Tips From Swami
LAUGHTER TIPS FROM SWAMI BEYONDANANDA (teehee)
| 10 Ways to Wake Up Laughing — and Leave Laughter in Your Wake |
1. Laugh Every Day. Seriously … laughter is good for you. And when things “just aren’t funny” — that’s the most important time to laugh. Try this at home: Watch Funniest Home Videos with the sound off and Spike Jones playing instead.
2. Don’t Worry, You’re Already Funny. Instead of trying to be funny, learn to see funny. Especially learn to see what’s funny about you. Imagine God watching the Comedy Channel, and you are what’s on.
3. Bring Laughter to the Outernet . Take the best of those jokes you get on the internet and share them on the “outernet.” Practice by telling the same joke to five people. Short jokes are fine. Remember, it’s not the length of the joke that matters, it’s how much pleasure it gives.
4. Savour and Save Humorous Healing Stories . A good laughsitive cleanses the system and leaves the mind open to receive nourishment. Keep a notebook of jokes that “enlighten as they lighten.” You will find yourself remembering and using them just at the right time.
5. Turn Worry Into Laughter . When you find yourself worrying about something, step back from the worry and see if you can find something in the situation to laugh about. Worrying has no proven benefits. Laughter does. Did you know that one Youngman of laughter — the mirth contained in the average one-liner — can release up to a megahertz emotional pain?
6. Reframe Suffering as Comedy in Disguise . Sing the blues when you are angry, sad or frustrated. If you must complain, complain creatively — and thoroughly enjoy your complaining. Say, “You know what I love about this ….?” Look for the comedy “hidden in this picture.” (e.g., “I’m not on the verge of bankruptcy. I’m just having a near-debt experience.”)
7. Build Critical “Muscle” By Pumping Ironies . Looking for the inherent contradictions and incongruities in situations helps build a strong body politic 12 ways. Train your inner child to ask, “How come that emperor isn’t wearing any clothes?” When you watch the news or read the papers, be on the lookout for truth disguised as humour.
8. Develop a Comic Alter Ego . A shy, mild-mannered man named Edgar Bergen went “inside” and found a brash, outrageous alter ego which he called Charlie McCarthy — who would do and say things that would make Edgar blush. Even if your “character” never makes it beyond your bathroom mirror, a comic alter ego is a great way to give voice to daily frustrations and lovingly laugh at your own “shadow.” One of the best ways to break the addiction to your own personality is try some other ones on!
9. Write Your Laugh Story . Spend an afternoon or evening writing your life story as if it were a comedy. Which comic actors could play your family, friends and foes? Who would you get to play your part? Give your story a title. A friend of mine calls his “Don’t Do What I Did!”
10. Play Regularly . Have you ever felt the Creator is toying with you? Well then, follow Swami Beyondananda’s sage advice and become a creative plaything. Bring the childlike quality of play back into your life. Run up the down escalator. Dress for Halloween — any day the mood hits you. Plant the seeds of harmless fun wherever you go.
© Steve Bhaerman, www.wakeuplaughing.com , 2002. Feel free to circulate, with attribution only.