“When life seems like hell, laughter brings us immediately back to Earth if not heaven.”  (from The Yoga of the Nine Emotions by Peter Marchand)

A group of bats, hanging at the ceiling of a cave discovers a single bat STANDING upright underneath on the floor of the cave. Surprised by this unusual behavior, they ask this fellow: “What’s wrong with you? What are you doing down there?” And the fellow shouts back: “Yoga!”

from: http://www.lucid-dreams.com/yoga/yoga-jokes.htm

Remember humor?  It was so easy as a child.  Not being able to let go of judgment can lead to a very serious existence.  Make a practice of seeking laughter daily.  Learn a new joke every week.  Discover what types of humor really invoke a sense of joy in your being.  Let your children inspire you to laugh.  Know they can be a fabulous audience as well.  Test out your Charlie Chaplin impression or improvisational skills with them.  Put your inhibitions aside and unleash your own creative imagination.

Not ready for all that serious humor?  Try the Ha! Game (sometimes called Gigglebelly) to get you started.  Gather some friends at home or play after your yoga class:

1. On the floor or in the grass, have the participants lie down in any formation as long as every person has his or her head on another person’s belly (they should form a chain, so that every participant has another player’s head resting on his or her belly, as well).

2. The first player in line should say “Ha!” The one whose head is on that player’s belly should then say “Ha! Ha!” the third should say “Ha! Ha! Ha!” and so on… (If an error is made, say too many Ha’s, the group has to start counting all over again!)

directions adapted from http://familyfun.go.com/playtime/ha-ha-ha-707215/

Have fun!