"Make it for Maggie" Fundraiser

"Very good, very good, YAY!"



These words echoed through the room as nearly thirty women gathered in the spirit of joy and love to participate in a special Laughter Yoga session as part of the fundraising event called "Make it for Maggie." The project originated as part of Maggie's Month, a philanthropy project intended to get families involved in working together on things that make a difference in the world. My good friends Tracy and Kat took this idea one step further, orchestrating an amazing community event that involved many, many families, and many, many people!

The idea was this: a couple of dozen women volunteered their time and skills to teach classes in their particular area of expertise. Kat and Tracy organized the classes in a venue which allowed for multiple classes to be ongoing simultaneously, then sold tickets to the full day's events. For $15 you could come and take as many classes as you wanted, all day! All of the proceeds went directly to Maggie for her medical treatments.

I was honored to be a part of this amazing event, and taught two classes during the day. I made my debut as a raw food instructor, demonstrating (among other things) how to lovingly massage kale leaves (yes, you read that correctly: massaging vegetables. ha ha ha!) to break down the tough cellulose fibers and create a stunningly beautiful, tender, healthy, and delicious raw kale salad! Beet and apple salad and raw energy bars rounded out the vibrantly colorful and tasty menu, and I had a fantastic time sharing my experiences with raw, living food!

My second class was, of course, a wildly fun Laughter Yoga session. More than twenty five women joined me on the stage (!) for a fun-filled hour of joyful expression through laughter.

Maggie, age four, is undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy as part of her treatment for cerebral palsy. And so one of the exercises we did was hyperbaric laughter therapy, in which we envisioned laughter molecules infusing every cell of our bodies, just as the 100% oxygen chamber infuses oxygen into the body during the pressurized treatments. Laughter molecules, indeed! Ha ha ha!

In all, the day was a remarkable success, raising enough money for several treatments for Maggie and bringing together a talented, caring, wonderful group of women for a memorable day. Tracy and Kat, you are an inspiration to us all; thank you so much for organizing this fantastic event! My world has been expanded by you and by the spunky spirit of Maggie, her mom, and their journey.

I am reminded of a quote by Leo Tolstoy: "The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity." Indeed, this is why we are here, to contribute in some way, big or small, to making a difference in the lives of others.

Laugh on, my friends!

Idaho's First Laughter Club!

I am extraordinarily pleased to announce that Idaho, at last, will have a Laughter Club! The "Laughter on the Falls" Lunchtime Laughter Club will meet on Tuesdays at Noon on the Greenbelt in Idaho Falls, beginning October 12! We'll meet near the corner of Riverside Drive and Memorial Ave for outdoor Laughter Yoga sessions--free and open to the public! The inclement weather location will be half a block away at the UU Church, 555 E Street, in the lower level yoga room.

There are more than ten thousand Laughter Clubs worldwide, in more than 65 countries. Here is the list of laughter clubs in the US; HOORAY to see Idaho on the list at last! Read more about Laughter Clubs on the Laughter Yoga website here....

Laughing on the Shore

While staying at the lodge on the north shore of Lake Superior, I did a short laughter session with family--just for the joy of it! Ahh, laughing outdoors, filling the beach with the sound of laughter... there is something very freeing about it!

Laughing daily is no longer optional, I've discovered. I have to laugh every day, or it feels like something is amiss in the world. There is no doubt that laughter has a profound, even if subtle, impact on one's physiological and mental wellbeing!

But don't take my word for it -- come laugh with me and find out for yourself!

Impromptu Laughter Session

A few days after becoming a Laughter Yoga teacher, I traveled to Minnesota to visit family and to spend a holiday weekend on the north shore of Lake Superior. I hadn't yet formally established a laughter club, but was eager to begin laughing with people right away, so I decided to round up a few people to see if we could have an impromptu laughter session. During breakfast, I went around the dining room in the lodge where we were staying and struck up conversations with people at other tables, inviting them to join me after their meal to laugh with me in the solarium.

Three people decided to join the fun, and considering I'd only invited about a dozen to begin with, I thought this was a wonderful success! Together with my mom and sister-in-law, we had a group of six people laughing and playing.



It was an interesting exercise, leading a laughter session while holding onto Cedar. He was not about to let go of mom in the midst of this obvious craziness, so I did what I could with one hand while holding him on my hip with my other.




Cedar didn't seem to be overly amused with the laughter antics; unbeknownst to me, he was apparently picking his nose during much of the session!







After awhile he was comfortable enough that I could set him down, but he didn't go far:



Nonetheless, we all had a fantastic laughter session and the three who joined us became instant friends for the weekend. This is what I enjoy most about laughter; when you've laughed with someone, you become friends for life! Now, let's laugh together!