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human laughter consists of a series of exhalations with no intervening inhalations |
Mice dogs apes and humans make their breath shallow to create rapport Insistence on |
breathing at long intervals caused me to stop doing this was so focused on diaphragmatic |
breathing that refused to breathe shallowly even when joking with friends This is like refusing |
to make anything other than an expressionless face Think of shallow breathing during fun |
jovial play as a form of healthy panting that serves as a temporary microbreak or counterpose |
to diaphragmatic breathing Refusing to pant is refusing to play |
Rehabilitating Your Laughter Will Make It Much More Pleasurable |
Gelotology is the study of laughter and the positive effects it can have on the body Proponents |
advocate the induction of laughter on therapeutic grounds Laughter yoga hasya yoga and |
laughter meditation also use voluntary laughter for therapeutic purposes Studies have shown |
that it alleviates both stress and pain These practices assume that voluntary or forced |
laughter provides some of the same benefits as spontaneous laughter Voluntary laughter is |
often done in groups and may turn into real laughter Participants are instructed to facilitate |
laughing by using childlike playfulness and eye contact These practices are great but think |
they do not get down to the issues crux From what have seen people who engage in this |
practice are mostly laughing superficially To reap the benefits we must isolate and strengthen |
the core laughing reflex |
The muscles involved in laughing have been traumatized by life stress As an infant your |
laugh was primordial and bona fide Years of anxious laughter and worrying that your laugh is |
too aggressive have damaged your instinctual laughing pattern As you might expect people |
who are depressed or anxious have the least convincing laughs Extremely dominant people |
laugh loudly without hesitating at whatever they like Most people however stifle their |
laughter in the same way they stifle their posture and breathing This explains why most adults |
laughter is eccentric and deviated from the innate laughter pattern |
A babys laughter is vivacious and natural To relearn to laugh genuinely it is helpful to |
watch infants and toddlers laughing Take the time to search for videos of babies laughing |
on the internet and mimic them You will see that infants dont stifle their laughter They dont |
worry about their laugh being too forceful or about offending someone Neither should we |
Your laugh should shake you to your core and be intensely pleasurable |
A hearty and progressive emptying of the lungs applies a significant load to the diaphragm |
and the muscles of the chest wall triggering the endorphin system This is why social laughter |
is correlated with an elevated pain threshold However most adult laughs hardly activate |
the pleasure system at all After years of stifling laughter we have forgotten how to laugh in |
a way that produces this response For many people the diaphragms role in laughter has |
been weakened so much that laughter no longer recruits endorphins and is draining rather |
than energizing |
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body |
Fake or nervous laughter comes from the throat and often results in increased tension |
there During natural laughter the diaphragm does most of the work By training yourself |
to laugh through deep contractions of the diaphragm and abdominals you can rebuild an |
authentic laugh These muscles should reach exhaustion and start to fail during a good laugh |
If your diaphragm and abdominals begin to burn like they did when you were a child you know |
that you are doing it right The next exercise will show you exactly how to retrain your |
diaphragm to fully participate in the act of laughing |
Happiness Exercise Diaphragmatic Laughing |
Practice laughing while exhaling completely This involves an uninterrupted emptying of the |
lungs Inhale completely only after you laughexhale completely Your exhale should consist |
of a long series of laughing sounds punctuated by vocal glottal closure haha equals two |
glottal closures The brief closing of the vocal tract glottis against the exhalation allows |
pressure to build and makes the laugh sound like a series of rapidfire punches They should |
roll out somewhat like the Rs when you roll your tongue Practice this as an exercise and |
attempt to make the laughter last for at least five seconds but shoot for to seconds |
Laugh all the way to the bottom of your range of exhalation Use the principles of anti |
rigidity Try the following variations |
Focus on and coordinate the laughs glottal closures so that they proceed at a |
smooth and steady rate |
Notice inadvertent irregularities in timing as well as the tendency to gulp |
choke or falter and iron these out Its okay if it sounds mechanical and |
robotic at first while you are relearning the basics |
Cause the punctuated exhalations to roll out as fast as possible while |
maintaining a fixed rhythm After you gain coordination in speeding them up |
try slowing them down |
Do this using your voice at various pitches but focus most on using a deep |
voice to create a deep laugh |
Explore your preferred ways of laughing varying resonance inflection and |
timing Modulate each in as many ways as possible |
Employ different melodies and model other peoples laughs Spend time |
listening to and imitating actor Mark Hamills maniacal Joker laugh |
Try laughing while exhaling completely until it turns into a wheeze and you |
feel you dont have a cubic centimeter of air left in your lungs Ensure that the |
laughing pattern remains coordinated even at the bottom of your exhalation |
This will greatly strengthen the muscles involved |
Dont raise your shoulders when you laugh and focus on keeping them pushed |
toward the floor Maintain the tenets of optimal posture Dont allow your |
spine to curve into a forward C shape You might try lying on your stomach |
while you laugh to ensure that your spine is straight |
Do this with a thoroughly relaxed face or while you massage your face so that |
you can laugh heartily without intense facial constriction Induce paroxysms of |
Chapter Finding Happiness Through Playfulness Composed Kindness |
laughter without raising the eyebrows squinting sneering or tensing any |
other muscles |
The pressure to keep exhaling should be forceful and have a life of its own It |
should feel like a boa constrictor is wrapped around your chest squeezing you |
hard and only giving you a short period to inhale every few seconds |
Laugh authoritatively compellingly boldly forcefully mightily Work on |
making it contagious |
Because the muscles are strained stagnant and uncoordinated your laugh may sound like |
that of an insane villain at first But with practice it will become friendly and ebullient It is |
important to do this exercise loudly gleefully and unhesitatingly so make sure that you are not |
worried about others hearing you Do it in a closet or better yet in the car |
It will be uncomfortable at first The muscles you engage may be so weak that they feel |
susceptible to damage Mine certainly were If so take it easy the first few days and build up to |
doing it vigorously Use laughter to work out the cramp in your diaphragm This exercise is a |
powerful complement to diaphragmatic breathing exercises and will help you reach muscles |
that you otherwise could not To this end try it while lying on your stomach from a forward |
fold or from happy baby pose with your belly pushed out |
At first the laughing exercise should make you feel weary After only one week you will be |
able to push harder and be more adept at coordinating the pulses of laughter After a few |
weeks you will be good at it and find yourself laughing more often This exercise transformed |
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