Wellness, joy, and laughter with RCBC managers

Laughter is a magnet!  It draws people together!  When Bridgette Capina of RCBC requested for a Laughter Yoga session for their 400 branch managers from all over  the country at their sales conference in Dusit Thani Hotel, I readily agreed because I  like their number: the more participants, the more people LYoga is able to reach out  to.

We were there before the  appointed time  to check  on things needed for the session.  At the convention hall, the participants, dressed in their business attire, were excitedly waiting, wondering what  the much-talked-about-and-anticipated LYoga is all about, and how  it  is conducted.  

People  who laugh together work better together.  The reason is that laughter demolishes barriers between and among people.  After some warm-up exercises to boost the participants’ energy and drop their inhibitions, the participants began to relax as they  moved and swayed their bodies, swung their hips, bent their waists, danced and laughed hilariously .... feeling young and  strong again.

The participants were taught how to argue in the workplace or elsewhere — laughingly  through  the Argument Laughter. When one commits a mistake, as we all do, he must say sorry, admit the mistake, and make up for it as demonstrated by the “I’m sorry” Laughter.  On the other hand, when a good deed is done, appreciation must be expressed through the Appreciation Laughter.        

When told that laughter is nature’s  best moisturizer, they gasped and muttered unbelieving oohs.  More muscles are utilized when one laughs and  the cheeks become pinkish after a round of hearty laughter. Their interest in  Lion Laughter was heightened when told  about its anti-wrinkle, anti-aging,  good-for-the-face- and-throat-muscles benefits.  Vanity immediately drew  the  ladies and gents  nearer the stage!  Hahaha!   We all  had a super relaxing, almost nonstop laughing time as we did the LYoga exercises, and  the eye palming techniques I taught  as a bonus. They helped me regain my normal eyesight.  It was a fantastic, super-enjoyable LYoga session!

After just one LYoga session, according to the Deakin University Study in Australia, the “general life satisfaction, personal well-being index, mood, self-esteem, optimism, and control  rose  from 4.5 percent to 10.8 percent.  At the same time, stress decreased by 9.8 percent, anxiety by 5.9 percent, and depression by 5.8 percent.” The study proves Laughter Yoga’s immediate effect, and that the more one does it, the greater its beneficial effects will be.  At the end of the classes on workplace well-being, “the participants felt a greater sense of satisfaction with more specific job-related areas, such as being valued as a person at work, and receiving recognition for good work.”  This just affirms  Laughter Yoga’s effectiveness  in improving the work environment.

Nina Michelle Reyes told me  how  her RCBC managers glowingly narrated the LYoga session they had, and  added  she had not  laughed  that  much before and  never  felt  happier  in her entire  life!  

 Let us start the New Year with renewed hope, optimism, and  positivism  to  help  move  our beloved country to the path of lasting peace and prosperity shared by all Filipinos! Happy,  healthy,  and  positive people equals less graft and corruption, less crime, less  sickness.   

Some encouraging, inspiring, and supportive comments from the participants:

• Ligaya Gabriel: Thank you, Ms. Elvie, for sharing your knowledge of Laughter Yoga. I really appreciate it.  My  first time to experience this kind of yoga.  Ha ha ha!

• Priscilla Papena: Fantastic! I will do the Laughter Yoga and the exercises every day.

• Rowena Macaspac: Very applicable to us.

• Crissa Olalia: Ms. Elvie was so good with her contagious laughter. I felt light after the session. Suddenly, I realized I acquired so many diseases because of stress, and I need to laugh more.

• Dolores Padilla: Very enlightening and enjoyable.

• Elmer Awatin: De-stressing!

• Grace Katigbak-Dalawampu: LYoga  is  a very good form of relaxation.  It helped a lot in releasing stress and  relaxed  my respiratory tract.

• Mabel Ozaeta: Very good, very relaxing … effective talaga.

• Alma Orate: I enjoyed  it,  very useful in our daily office work.

• Russ Ricardo: Thanks for sharing your LYoga knowledge, will share it with friends and family. Good job.

• Romy Dy:  Thank you, Ms. Elvie, we felt  the “healing” by your warm and sincere laughter!

• Nina Samson: Ho ho ha ha ha happy, relaxing!

• Bridgette Capina: I mostly enjoyed the unstoppable laughter .…  there’s  nothing  like this! 

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E-mail me at laughteryogaclub.phils@gmail.com. Visit www.laughteryogaphils.com. To laugh, visit youtube:  lycphohohahaha.