Reflection Paper
By :Jessica Vial
7/24/2016
Laughter Yoga
“Laughter is the best medicine”[1] has always been one of my favorite quotes. I have been told this all of my life! This class has really taught me that the quote foundation of my childhood could not be more right. Because of this class I can focus more on what’s important and can truly make us, the human race, happy. I have learned that is it is the simplicity of life that we can find true happiness.
Reflecting back on my life I have always been a very happy person. Luckily, my parents have taught me that what is most important is not in the material things. But I got to truly experience that when I was out on a mission. We would teach people who had close to nothing and they were still some of the most loving and happiest people that I have ever met. They truly understand happiness. I was so blessed to have seen and been a part of the life style of someone who truly understands Laughter yoga. And because of that experience, I can now wholly enjoy and understand this class. Every principal of the class has made me see the world differently. For someone to wants real joy in this life, they have to apply, most principals that were taught to us throughout this Semester.
Yes, other classes do help you understand and enjoy this life by understanding more about the world. About those things and people around you. Classes such as history, math, English, psychology, Biology, etc. these classes teach important things. But out of all the classes I have taken, Laugher yoga has taught me something of most importance. It taught me how to be happy and how to help those around me to also find joy. Without this joy that we can only find in ourselves nothing else really matters and that is also the reason I took the class!
Out of all the lessons that were taught, the 3 that stood out the most were:
1) Relationships, Health, Wellness and laughter
2) Journaling and self-soothing
3) Community Involvement
First, Relationships, health, wellness and laughter. I chose this one because relationships are what all people search for in this life. Because of the relationships we see psychological problems from kids and adults. Problems that are very hard to fix. My relationship with the people I love, such as my parents and my friends, is everything to me. It has made me grow as a person and is the foundation to everything I know and love. They have made me who I am. Relationships have everything to do with health. There is not a person in the world who has no human contact. Such as the babies that don’t get held, they die from lack of love and human contact. Part of our existence is to have relationships and to love others. The need to be loved and to love is a beautiful part of life, which will make or break us. For this reason I chose this topic to be my first. I love how basic it is and still makes a human who they are.
Second, Journal and self-soothing. I have always enjoyed living in Utah because of the mountains! I love hiking and camping and jumping into a freezing lake! Everything about the mountains calms me down. I came home a couple of months early from Brazil and when I got back I was greatly stressed. It got to a point where I couldn’t even stand being home, so I would drive up to the mountains every day and I would go on a hike. This was perfect therapy for me! Just having fresh air and seeing the beauty of the earth calmed me from all of my troubles. As I hiked and found a good place to stop and breathe, I would sit to read and write! I would journal my feelings and read about happy things that helped me. After a couple of months doing this I learned that its all about attitude and about point of view. So the finding happiness in vision, smell, hearing, taste, and touch is a huge thing to me. I love that we talked about how we need to find our own happiness in our happy place. We are all different and truly need to figure ourselves out to know where to go and what to do to make us happy!
Third, community involvement. As I have mentioned several times, I served a mission in Rio, Brazil. These were the best 9 months of my life! They were also the most selfless months of my life. I completely believe that those 2 statements have everything to do one with the other. Every day I would go out to the poorest communities and I would help with whatever I could. I painted hospitals for hours. I walked for hours in the hot Rio sun to get water for people. Every minute of every day was for someone else and I loved every second of it! This gave me a bigger perspective of life. It made me see that happiness is not something you can find with material things. Happiness is a thing you share with others and that others give you. Serving gives you a sense of worth. It gives you character and dignity. Learning to love others and to cherish everything they are, good and bad, will make you see the type of person you should be. It also helps you see your many blessings. We are very privileged to live where we live and to have the freedom that we have.
As a conclusion, this class has been amazing. It is a class that everyone should take because it’s real. It’s a subject everyone struggles with. Happiness is hard to find but when you do find it, you truly realize it has been there all along. Laughter cures any worry, fear, stress, etc. and that is what I have learned from this class! Laughter is one breath away! A happier life is our choice and this class helps us know how we can get there! So the real question is: Why would we work to find happiness when its right in front of us?
