Laughter and wellness

One thing that I notice when I visit clients at their workplace is that there is little or lack of humor in their formal work environment. In my view, humor is ABSOLUTELY essential at workplace. Humor is one of the pathways to wellness. In fact, all organizations should take note of the value of humor within the workplace. Studies have shown that happy workers are more productive and humor not only helps employees release their tension but also lightens the stiff workplace atmosphere.

Humor has a lot to do with attitude. Learn to see humor in everyday situations. Don’t take things so seriously all the time. Life doesn’t need to be so gloomy. Work doesn’t need to be that way either. Research shows that while children laugh up to 400 times a day, adults do it only 17 times a day, on average. In many Zen monasteries, every monk has to start his morning with laughter, and has to end his night with laughter. Laughter is an expression of happiness, or an inward feeling of joy and pleasure. In fact, laughter helps us get through situations we often can’t possibly endure. Sometimes laughter is essential for survival.

Learn to see the humor in life. Watch a funny movie or TV programme. Read a funny book. Join a laughter club. Surround yourself with people who like to laugh especially kids who laugh most of the times. Being around people who laugh is contagious. There is something magnetic, something healing, being around people who let themselves laugh often. They are the kind of people who see the bright side of life.

Research has shown health benefits of laughter range from:

• Strengthening the immune system
• Reducing food cravings
• Increasing one's threshold for pain
• Helping the body heal more quickly
• Reducing stress and tension
• Relaxing the body
• Reduce the risk of heart disease
• Being a coping mechanism for anger, sadness, frustration, and various other negative emotions.

And you still don't care to laugh!!!

Here are 2 of the world's funniest jokes:

The great detective Sherlock Holmes and his buddy Dr. Watson are going camping. They pitch their tent under the stars and go to sleep. In the middle of the night, Holmes wakes Watson up: "Watson, look up at the stars, and tell me what you deduce." Watson says, "I see millions of stars and the probability of life on other worlds." Holmes replies, "Watson, you idiot, somebody stole our tent."

A woman gets on a bus with her baby. The bus driver says: "That's the ugliest baby that I've ever seen. Ugh!" The woman goes to the rear of the bus and sits down, fuming. She says to a man next to her: "The driver just insulted me!" The man says: "You go right up there and tell him off – go ahead, I'll hold your monkey for you."

http://www.metronirvana.com/