C'mon Let's Laugh - North Carolina Journal for Women

Marilyn Sprague-Smith, M.Ed.
Consultant,
Professional Speaker,
Author, Facilitator,
Certified Laughter Leader

C’Mon, Let’s Laugh!

The Greensboro Southern Women’s Show, held at the Coliseum Special Events Center in September, was a marketplace extravaganza—food, clothing, jewelry, cruises, art, books, magazines, toys, and laughter. Yes, laughter, as in a laughter club’s therapeutic laughter exercises.

Show attendees experienced the power of therapeutic laughter in a mini laughter club showcase during my presentation, Take Time to Laugh. Through simulated laughter exercises, using hee-hee’s ha-ha’s and ho’s ho’s, laughter lovers received the same physical benefits as laughter stimulated by jokes and humor. They also discovered how laughter taps their inner spirit of laughter, an abundant reservoir of hope, enthusiasm, creativity, willingness to live, so they can prevent hardening of the attitudes.

One of the most poignant moments of the show, though, came when a woman walked up to me, pointed to my laughter club t-shirt imprinted with “Laugh ‘til it Helps!,” and said, “Laughter is healing, you know. My doctor wrote a prescription for one hour of laughter per day as part of my cancer treatment. It really works!”

Why wait until you’re ill and your doctor prescribes it as part of your treatment? Choose to make laughter part of your daily exercise routine. You can start gradually with the following suggestions:

• Each morning, greet yourself with a smile. Look into the mirror, make direct eye contact with yourself, smile and say, “I love you.” Pay attention to how your body responds. It’s “thank you” is better than a caffeine fix.

• While driving your car, chant this sequence for at least three consecutive minutes, hee-hee-hee, ha-ha-ha, ho-ho-ho. It’s guaranteed to help you feel the euphoriant effect of laughter.

Yes, laughter does have healing power. Choose a hearty dose of laughter each day and experience a leading edge health and wellness exercise that’s fun. C’mon Let’s Laugh!

Marilyn Sprague-Smith, M.Ed., is an award-winning consultant, trainer, author, professional speaker, and certified laughter leader. Through her consulting and training firm Miracles & Magic, she partners with individuals and organizations seeking a catalyst for long-term positive change. She is one of only six people in the world authorized by The World Laughter Tour to deliver laughter leader certification training. As a frequent guest on National Public Radio’s WFDD 88.5 FM Real People. Real Stories. www.wfdd.org, she shares true stories about the magic of laughter and the sparkle it brings to relationships.

She leads Uplifting Spirit Laughter Club at Unity in Greensboro on the second Friday night of each month. It’s free and open to the public. To find out more about laughter clubs, or to bring her healing laughter programs to your next event, or to register for certified laughter leader training in the Triad, visit www.miraclesmagicinc.com.


	marilyn@miraclesmagicinc.com www.miraclesmagicinc.com www.worldlaughtertour.com

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