As our CHAARG chapter prepares to take on yet another out-of-this-world workout, Laughter Yoga, I found resistance even among my execs to try it. Essentially, laughter yoga is a kind of yoga practice that uses breathing and voluntary laughter exercises to soak in the health benefits of cracking a chuckle. However, many members see this as a “waste of a workout” — you aren’t sweating, your heart isn’t pumping, so what’s the point? As one of my exec members said, the exercises look like “something you would do in preschool.”
So why has it been since preschool since you were allowed to do something silly, laugh about it, and make some friends out of complete strangers? We use these fun songs and games to create vital mental pathways and strengthen social bonds among our quick-learning toddlers — so why should we ignore the continuing benefits of playtime as we age?
And as you play, you can begin to give yourself emotional space to think of alternative possibilities, release yourself from the fetters of responsibilities you set for yourself, and begin to (re)create the life you want. Key word: create– to make something out of nothing, to get the stone rolling because *you* pushed it, or to originate a role by playing a character for the first time.
All of these require action — YOUR action. YOUR power. YOUR mind, body, and spirit pushing and thinking and faithfully believing that regardless of the materials, genes, social standing, talent, faulty TA’s and profs — YOU can create something beautiful. [Note: It doesn’t have to be alone.] And it WILL involve recreating yourself, becoming someone that thinks, says, does things you wouldn’t normally do. Don’t normally get help? Don’t normally wake up at 7am? Don’t normally talk to people you don’t know yet? All of these are in the realm of your possible creation.
This week, focus on adding, not taking away [instead of saying you’ll cut out certain foods, *add* in the stuff that’ll make you feel good!], on creating rather than destroying, + on beginnings rather than endings. Our life is in a constant state of creation — why pretend that playtime is reserved for children and that creativity is reserved for the artist?