Shift Your Mood With A Laughter Experiment:

by Carole Fogarty

“The best yoga posture is the corners of your mouth turning up to the sky.  Smile”.  Sonia Choquette

Feeling grumpy, tired, annoyed,stressed, frustrated or simply flat ?  Then this weeks post may be just the medicine you need.  It’s a 60 second laughter experiment that will hopefully have you feeling lighter, and a little less stressed on the inside.

Research shows that a smile can change your mood, release tension (particularly in your jaw and neck), help you stay positive, boost your immune system, comfort another person, helps you relax and even makes you look younger.

I was inspired to write this post by the lovely Kathy Popplewell after reading one of her newsletters.  Kathy is an awesome Laughter Yoga Teacher right here in Australia (Sydney).  A big thank you to Kathy for allowing  me to share her 60 second Laughter Experiment.  You rock!

Words of advice on laughter from Kathy:

* You don’t need a sense of humour to laugh.
* You don’t need to be happy to laugh.
* You don’t even need a reason to laugh.
* The more you laugh the more you will develop a sense of humour, the happier you will feel,  and the more reasons you will find every day to laugh.
* Laughter can instantly lift your mood, make you feel great and give you more energy.  The more you practice the easier it will become.

60 second laughter experiment:


Step one:

Notice how you feel in this moment, right now.  Notice your mood, your energy levels, how your body feels, if you are frowning or slouching.  Change nothing.  Simply observe.


Step two:

Now simply laugh (fake it if you have too) for the next 60 seconds.

Start by curling the sides of your lips up and then follow with a few giggles.

If that feels really impossible with how you are feeling right now, then use a visual prompt from “you tube” to get your laughter muscles engaged.


Step three:

After 60 seconds of laughing on your own or watching a laughter clip , reassess how you feel.  Notice your mood, your body, your posture, face muscles and energy levels.

The chances are you will feel a little lighter, have more relaxed  face, neck and shoulder muscles, let go of some inner stress and tension and disconnected from any worrying thoughts.

Think about how many times a day you laugh and whether you need to add more deliberate moments of 60 second laughter exercises into your day.

10 Impressive reasons to laugh more often:

  1. Laughter is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to relax your body.
  2. There is no right nor wrong way to laugh, anyone can do it. No skill required
  3. Laugh to reduce your stress and tension. Laughter really is a release.
  4. Laugh to feel young again. Yes, they say laughter is anti-ageing.
  5. Laugh to strengthen your immune system. Yep, its been proven.Your immune system is boosted for at least 12 hours after watching a funny movie.
  6. Laugh to let it go and move on. Literally laugh it off, you’ll feel better.
  7. Laugh to invite play and joy into your life. Kids laugh 300 times a day. How about you?
  8. Laugh to reduce depression. When you laugh your body releases endorphins so you actually start to feel better. Fake laughter works equally as well says Dr. Kataria.
  9. Laugh because life is too precious to be filled with excess seriousness
  10. A good belly laugh is great exercise – go figure. It works both the stomach and face muscles.

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I personally recommend the following for yoga meditation music


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Rest Is Not A Weakness, It’s Essential:

by Carole Fogarty

“Deep rest is a state where there is no movement, no effort and the brain is quiet”

Rest is not a sign of giving in or being lazy.   Quality rest makes a valuable contribution to your body, to your mind and definitely to your soul.  Now more than ever, as stress and anxiety levels rise on our planet, moments of quality rest throughout our day are essential for the prevention of exhaustion, fatigue and confusion.

I’m a strong believer that quality rest is an exceptionally restorative, nurturing and healing practice. The body, when given the opportunity, can and will, begin to rejuvenate itself.   Rest is a vital and essential process that decreases wear and tear on the mind and body.

crocodile.jpg

Crocodile pose (makarasana)

Of course when I talk about rest I’m not suggesting chilling out on the computer or in front of the TV.  I’m talking about giving yourself permission (for 5 minutes or longer) to switch “off” totally.   Withdraw your attention from the outside world, direct all your energies inwards and simply sink into your body.

Try this fabulous deep rest exercise:

Don’t be fooled by the seemingly simple relaxation exercise pictured above.  It’s one of the most effective ways to calm yourself down and trigger the feeling of deep rest.  In fact at my recent Rest and Rejuvenation retreat in Bali one of the participants felt incredibly restless.  We tried childs pose, legs up the wall, and quite a few more, and the only relaxation exercise which conquered the restlessness was crocodile pose (pictured above).

Calm an anxious or nervous stomach easily:

Crocodile pose (makarasana – as shown above) is a deeply restorative yoga pose.  It calms the mind, soothes the nervous system, and focuses the mind.

This is a great pose for connecting with and really feeling your breath.  It helps quickly identify any anxious or nervous feelings you might have around your stomach area and gives you the opportunity to let go and relax this area of your body.

I don’t think I need to give specific instructions for how to rest in crocodile pose.  The picture explains it all.   Lay down on your tummy, rest your forehead on folded arms, close your eyes and follow your breath.  The rest will happen automatically.

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Re-balance Your Day By Checking In With Yourself?

August 2, 2010

Practising moments of mindfulness, can really influence the flow and content of your day.  In fact, I believe the more moments of mindfulness the happier, more satisfied, present and clearer you will become. One way to practice a moment of mindfulness is to pause, ask yourself one very key question (shared below) and check in [...]

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