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From Hannah Stuart-Leach in Hemispheres Magazine:
Dr. Madan Kataria stands before an audience and does what he does best. “Ha ha!” he chortles. “Hoo hoo!” The crowd responds in kind: “Hee hee!” This mutual exchange of merriment continues until the doctor raises his hands and begins to speak. “Laughter,” he says, “gives you so much positive energy!”
Laughter Yoga—the “wellbeing workout” founded by Dr. Kataria in 1995—is said to do everything from lowering blood pressure to boosting the immune system. There are groups in more than 70 countries around the world devoted to the practice, including the one Dr. Kataria is addressing now—Bristol Laughter Club, the oldest one outside India.
Which makes me wonder how many people stop outside the Laughter Club thinking it was a comedy club and were sorely disappointed.
Dressed in a smart shirt and slacks, the bespectacled, billiard-ball-bald doctor invites the audience of around 40 to join him in what he calls Radiant Laughter. The idea is that by faking it, people will trick their bodies into replicating the neurochemical and aerobic responses generated by actual laughter.
Which sounds a lot like the argument I gave to my audiences in shows I did in the early 90’s. “Come on people – think of the endorphins and just fake it. Come on! Try it for me. Come on, Dad!!”
For some, this is not as easy as it sounds.
Especially when I’m hanging out with my cousin Duane.
At the back, a handful of newbies shuffle about, their rictus grins and awkward eyes giving the game away. Some look longingly out the window. The doctor apparently senses the discomfort. “How do you laugh with no joke?” he says.
Well, in the 80’s, guys did it by smashing fruit with a giant hammer.
Eventually, however, even the most stubbornly resistant gigglers succumb, and the room descends into cheerful chaos. One enthusiast loses it completely, emitting the piercing staccato howls of a hyena, and the laughter around him becomes genuinely helpless.
“Now that,” says Dr. Kataria, wiping tears from under his specs, “is happiness on demand!”
And from that point on, stand-up comedians were forever unemployed.
Next, my dear friend Zan calls into the show to share a story when she was told, “Listen, honey. There are going to be people who will tell you that you’re too pretty to do comedy. But you’re not.”
But you’re not?? Did she just call Zan ugly?
You can imagine what went through Zan’s mind: “I’m the baby of the family. I’m an Amazon. I’m a triathlete. I can out-anything you, except for being rude!”
This reminded Zan of another performance she did, which was near a “How To Date Beautiful Women” conference in Las Vegas.
My beautiful comedian friend found this so offensive. Why not have a “How To Date A Chick Who Kinda Looks Good In Her Tortoise Shell Glasses and Is Into National Geographic and Finds Hiking Boots Comfortable As Well As Practical” conference? What’s wrong with that?
Nevertheless, apparently the first thing the guys needed to do at this conference was buy themselves a pair of $250 jeans. (keep in mind, each of these guys looked like the guy at work who knew how to fix your printer… and now they were in expensive designer jeans!)
So, Zan ended up in an elevator with one of these coke-bottle glasses wearing, incredibly shy guys and she said to him, “Hey – those jeans look really good on you. What brand are they?”
The guy replied, “Umm… they’re Solid.”
To which, Zan took a step closer and whispered, “yes they are.”
Just then, the doors dinged open and the computer geek flew out of the elevator like a cartoon character – feet spinning in circles, but not really ever touching the ground.
For all we know, Zan offered him the best day of his life.
Finally, we ponder the concept of New Year’s Resolutions with the Know-It-All-Guy.
According to the Know-It-All-Guy, New Year’s Resolutions date back to ancient Rome. It seems that Julius Caesar was a big Miami fan back then (back when Shula was coach). Anyway, Jules would bop on down there to see them destroy the Jets every year, but one year everything changed! That’s when he started dating Janus: a great gal with a good sense of humor, wore sensible sandals, made her own togas, but she wasn’t much into South Florida. But since Julius already had his tickets, he had to think of something really cool to keep his girl happy.
That’s when he went around and changed the whole stinkin’ calendar! He whacked off two days in February and resolved that her birthday would be the first day of the year: Janus the first!
So, as midnight approached, thousands gathered in the square, Kool and the Gang got ready to take the stage, and Julius got Dick Clark to count it down! Then this huge birthday cake dropped down, filled with Roman candles. It was amazing… until the Roman candles went off and the whole thing literally blew up in his face.
So, from that day on, Caesar resolved to: A) never give a woman her own month; B) start pulling for the Steelers; and C) lose thirty pounds.
Fast-forward to the 21st century, and nearly half of all Americans make New Year’s Resolutions. The other half just figure, “Hey, if it ain’t broke…. Well, it will be by next year, so why sweat the details?”
The secret to keeping your resolutions seems to be to lower your standards.