The Waking UP and Settling DOWN Movement of Energy During a Laughter Yoga Session

When I imagine waking up after a long sleep, the image that comes to mind is my arms stretching upward in a "V" over my head, chest lifted and a enjoying a good, deep yawn. This is the energy of waking UP and stretching OUT.

The cheer in laughter yoga after each game that's always a big takeaway for participants is, "Very good, very good, YAY!" Hands are overhead in a "V", chest lifted, and we're enjoying a good cheer - just like my image of waking up. Indeed, that part of the session does wake up our playfulness and gives a loud voice to a sense of celebration that may have been long asleep.

The opposite movement of energy happens during the silent meditation at the end of a session. After five long minutes of non-stop laughing, we immediately stop and (try to) enter into silence. The switch is often dramatic and even cathartic for people. Silence after laughter allows the joyful energy to settle back DOWN and IN - bringing renewed energy, a quiet mind and an open heart. It's as if our non-stop laughter shakes up a snow globe, and our silence allows the snowflakes to gently float and settle back down to the floor of the globe, our being.

Quite a bit goes on in a laughter yoga session energetically. Your voice, your body, your being move in all kinds of ways, sometimes in ways you haven't moved them in years. The process seems more normal and easier the more you do it. Laughter yoga can then be habit-forming once your life is uplifted by such movement. I hope you'll join us to experience it for yourself!