Last night, my sister, asterkitty and I had a treat. We attended a free class taught by Dr. Kenneth Weizer, a naturopathic physician at the Providence Integrative Medicine Program here in Portland, OR The subject? Laughter is the Best Medicine!
And yes, yes it is! There is a lot of research to show the health benefits of laughter, including but not limited to lowered blood pressure, cardiovascular protection, increased pain tolerance, regulation of stress hormones, and improvement of depressed mood. It certainly has beneficial effects for diabetics, people with auto-immune conditions, and people with cancer. Dr. Weizer and the other providers of the Providence Integrative Medicine Program treat a lot of people with the latter — and it is the reason the Integrative Medicine offices are in the Cancer Center portion of the Providence Hospital — a wing that will be expanding this year because, sadly, cancer treatment necessarily is a growth industry at this time as the number of afflicted people has grown.
There are many benefits to laughter, not the least of which is that it feels so good to laugh. It is a good thing it is contagious, too. Remember this Youtube video?
Dr. Weizer is of the opinion that, as infants, we had two responses in our interactions in the world, Ouch and Yummy. Tantrums and fits of crying fall into the first category, and laughter and smiles in the latter. Little children don’t have any inhibitions about expressing themselves in either fashion — and they can go from one to the other without any hesitation. But as adults, these two behaviors are considerably dialed back, especially Yummy. It is far more socially acceptable to express our Ouches, isn’t it? Actually, I am not at all sure that we handle those too well, either. Heaven knows, as a society we don’t handle serious illness very well. (Which is one reason Ann and I make community quilts. We have found that the messages on the quilts are a beautiful way for people to express lovingkindness when someone is ill.) That being said, it is all too often easier and more common for grown people to complain than to laugh. What is with that? Laughter feels good!
Anyway, we the participants in last night’s class all committed to laughing at least one minute everyday. It is a commitment I intend to keep for the sake of my own health. So, please, use this thread to share something funny — a favorite joke or cartoon, a movie or book recommendation — and tell us about your day, your weekend plans, and your menus!
If you are in or near Portland, OR, Dr Weizer will be teaching this free class on the health benefits of laughter three more times this year at the Providence Cancer Center’s conference room. You can check on the dates and times through the Providence's Wellness Classes. Also facilitating last night’s class was Stefano Iaboni, a “professional fool” and laughter coach. Stefano Iaboni will be teaching a drop-in class, Laugh It Off!, every Tuesday from 6:30 to 7:30pm at the Inner Essence Chiropractic & Healing Center, 2205 N Lombard St., Suite 101, Portland, OR 97217. There is a sliding scale of $10-$15 for the class.
Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by and tell us about your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper. Newcomers may notice that many who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well. |
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