30 Dec Everything Is Better With Laughter. Even A Massage.
When Dave Hume, from Brisbane Laughter Club, presented his idea of a laughter massage at the Laughter Wellness 2014 Conference in Brisbane, I was highly sceptical. When we practised performing a laughter massage with a partner, I thought it was a novelty and treated it as such. I would go as far as to say that I was embarrassed that in the audience was Professor Paul Bennett, who had just presented his award-winning research on the positive effects of laughter in a kidney dialysis unit and here we were playing with fluffy clouds and bunny rabbits. Yesterday, I felt tightness in my shoulder blade, so on my way to meet Dave and other laughter colleagues for dinner in Sydney, I couldn’t help but to think of the ‘‘laughter massage’’. I was now ready to listen…
Dave kindly offered his services. He felt the tight area of my shoulder, set an intention for what he planned to achieve and then laughed into it using a range of laughter sounds. Obviously at that point, I started to laugh and I experienced a positive tingling sensation in my shoulder. It felt like my shoulder blade was laughing. The tight spot felt relaxed within minutes and by the time I got home ready to sleep, there was no hint of tightness or post-massage pain.
Dave states “There is a positive, healing energy in laughter that can provide great benefits to help relax the body. Laughing into the body produces a sound wave that releases stress and muscle tightness faster than a massage without laughter.”
My reaction to this experience was so positive that my colleagues, particularly those hearing about the laughter massage for the first time, were curious about experiencing this spectacle. Chamundai (Jackie Curran) said “My body relaxed much more quickly with the laughter massage than when I received a normal massage.”
I felt pleased that the sceptic in me had an awakening. My shoulder felt more relaxed and I felt happy, as I always do after a good laugh and spending time with people who value laughter. An open mind also helped for perhaps as Santa would say, if you believe, you receive.
Anyone who would like more information about a laughter massage can email Dave at davekardinia14@gmail.com.
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