♪♫You'll find that life is still worthwhile, If you just smile.♫♪

The title for this entry is from lyrics written by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons, known through a melody/song by Charlie Chaplin.

Why the smile? Well, I realize I actually have quite a bit to smile about. I have a good job in the field for which I attended college, I have a pretty nice apartment, two adorable little kittens (who are nuts but I love them anyway). Most importantly though is probably because I PASSED my CBMT exam and am now officially a CERTIFIED Music Therapist. But really, none of those are the reasons I'm smiling on this particular day, at this particular time. I'm branching out from talking about Music Therapy to share a different field with you today, as well as some thought processed brought on my experiencing it.

I was at a MAPA (Metropolitan Activity Professionals Association) Conference today. The second session of which was an in-service about Laughter Yoga. No, Really... Laughter Yoga. Basically there's scientific studies that have shown that the brain/body cannot really differentiate between a fake laugh and a real one. If you laugh long enough you experience the same effects regardless of weather you are really happy. Couple that with the fact that laughter is contagious and some people's fake laughs are really entertaining... add in a few silly or quirky exercises, and some yogic breathing and you've more or less got the start of Laughter Yoga. So, as I am with most new experiences I went into this second conference session pretty skeptical. Um... Laughter Yoga... yeah sure, you nutcase! (The irony about the fact that most people have this reaction to the term "music therapist" is not lost on me here, okay). Going in I had no real idea what to expect other than that I was probably going to have to at some point or another make a complete fool of myself, because that tends to happen at any kind of audience participatory session in a conference like this. Honestly that was pretty much the best 45 minutes ever. If you have not experienced Laughter Yoga, after today I will totally advocate that you should attempt to go to one of the free classes in the area. It starts with relaxation, and ends with relaxation. We had a five minute period of time towards the end where after we'd done all these "Laughter exercises" we sat in a circle and just laughed... uninhibited laughter with a group of people just sitting and making eye contact with each other. We ended with progressive muscle relaxation. Honestly right now I am both incredibly relaxed and so energized I feel like I could run a marathon (I should mention that I don't run... ever). If this is the result of Laughter Yoga... sign me up!

Naturally attending something like this had me thinking. There's a research statistic that states that Children laugh an average of 200-400 times per day. We've all seen kids break into giggles for no reason, just start laughing hysterically out of the blue. When did you last see an adult do that? In contrast Adults only laugh about 4 times a typical day... 15 at maximum. At what age do we lose the ability to have a great laugh for no reason? As adults we seem to stop giving ourselves permission to be happy, and to just laugh. All the stress, and crap we go through or have gone through just weighs us down and we'd rather scream or rant or cry or drink. We develop ways to alleviate stress that end up becoming new obligations... gotta get to the gym, find time to walk, try and afford that yoga class/pilates class/bowling league, whatever, which then add to stress because they cost money and use time we don't have. We no longer give ourselves permission to just laugh. We make excuses for it though... I don't have time to sit back and laugh with friends... my problems are too big to just ignore... I'm too depressed to laugh. WELL, all the more reason to do it! If depression is caused by an imbalance in dopamine and serotonin in the brain, and laughter is the quickest or most natural way to release dopamine and serotonin into the brain, then wouldn't it be more beneficial to laugh than sulk? Laughing for 15 minutes causes energizing effects and releases those chemicals. Laughing offers the ability to release stress, and release pent up emotions, it boosts your immune system. Sounds like pretty cheap therapy to me.

I have often looked at myself and wondered when I became this person; when I became this serious, skeptical adult. In general at some point I had to have been that child who laughed 200-400 times a day, right? Why then is it so hard to find something to be happy about? It's so easy to find things that are wrong, so shouldn't we then make an attempt to find simplicity in noticing the things that are right? Today my kittens greeted me by the door when I came home, rubbed on my legs and purred. Then, Mia proceeded to bite my foot. So I guess I could CHOOSE to either sulk the rest of the night because she bit me, or to pick her up and pet her and feel loved because she met me at the door and purred. Which really matters more at the end of the day: the one moment she bit me, or the many times she tried to cuddle with me? You can CHOOSE what you focus on, and you can CHOOSE your attitude and your approach to each situation. You can't choose your emotions but you can CHOOSE how you respond to your emotions. A smile or a laugh doesn't make the problems go away, but maybe it can give you a different perspective at least for a few moments in a sea of stress and troubles. I'm not saying people don't have a right to be sad I just hope we also remember that we have the right to be happy, and we all have all the tools we need to do so.

♪ Smile though your heart is aching. Smile even though it's breaking. When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by, If you smile though your fear and sorrow; Smile and maybe tomorrow You'll see the sun come shining through for you. Light up your face with gladness. Hide every trace of sadness. Although a tear may be ever so near that's the time you must keep on trying. Smile, what's the use in crying? You'll find that life is still worthwhile, If you just smile. ♪