Playtime and Being Playful

Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?

The importance of play cannot be overstated. So many of us adults forget how to play or be playful. Just think about how many times you’ve heard the expression, “Act your age!” It’s as if society expects us to always act serious as we grow older.

I personally love to act playful. I love to act silly in certain situations. (I can embarrass my daughters when I do it around them.) I love to laugh and I know that children laugh about 300 times in a day! That’s a whole lot more than adults. In fact, I read an article saying a 4 year old laughs about 300 times in a day, whereas a 40 year old only 4!

I’ve been doing substitute teaching since last year in the elementary schools here and I’m very happy that I get more opportunities to be playful and laugh because of it. Little kids have less of a filter than adults and I find that they do say the darnest things! While I don’t have grandchildren, people who have young grandchildren probably know this first hand, too.

Being playful makes me feel young. It lifts my vibe. Being playful always results in more laughter for me, too. As a Certified Laughter Yoga Leader, so I can laugh for no reason at all. Doing so with others really results in genuine laughter, as it truly is contagious. It fills my heart with joy!

Today’s daily prompt has pushed me to finally read the Harry Potter series. I have all the books, my daughters loved it and so many children at school talk about it. While they’re sitting on my bookshelf, I’ve yet to read them. I think I’d like to engage with the students at school by reading the books next. It will certainly help me to relate to what they’re saying.

Meanwhile, I’ll continue to go through life never losing my sense of playfulness. Instead of New Year’s Resolutions, I do intentions and this year I chose one word to describe what I’ll intend more of this year. That word is laughter. For sure, it’ll be fun and playful!

I Appreciate Laughter – Day 30

Oh, do I love to laugh! And often! Laughter truly is the best medicine – it raises our joy, reduces stress, has physical and psychological benefits and helps to create a happier life. It’s playful and fun! It feels really good. That’s why I became a Certified Laughter Yoga Leader.

The thing about laughter that I’ve discovered from being a Certified Laughter Yoga Leader, is that you don’t have to have jokes in order to laugh (although jokes can be funny). What’s really cool is that your body cannot tell the difference between “fake” laughter and “genuine” laughter – the benefits are the same. I’m sure you can relate to how contagious laughter is! I love that about laughter! Some laughs are just so fun that it causes us to laugh out loud, too. I appreciate laughs like that! I appreciate Laughter Yoga for its “contagious” qualities, too! hee hee

Today I am leading a VideoChat session of my version of Laughter Yoga at GoodVibeUniverity. Anyone is welcome! It’s free and only 30 minutes at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time. We laugh on purpose to raise our vibes. I call it Giggle Fest & Manifest! You can join in HERE.