Laughter Yoga

Curiosity finally got the better of me and I headed  into a balmy, relaxed  Dublin city, on Sunday afternoon, for this

After a 'Miles of smiles' welcome from energetic and contagiously beaming leaders, Sharyn and Niall,

 twenty five of us launched into an hour of funny walks (a la Monty Python), pulling faces, skipping, lying on the floor with our feet in the air throwing a tantrum, vowel laughter ( ''A-A-A', 'E-E-E' 'O-O-O' ) and frequently throwing our arms in the air going "Yay."
 The main principle is that laughter is as effective when it's fake as when it's real - the same physical and emotional benefits occur. And if you didn't know, guffaws burn calories, lower blood pressure and improve creativity and memory.
 As I joined the circle of participants, my main worry was whether my feet smelled -we had removed our shoes to take part. Also, the concept of faking a wide smile at a stranger, clapping them on the back with a loud cackle or pulling a face while staring into their eyes did initially bring on a bit of   "I feel like a bit of a berk."

Those niggles melted away as the business of laughing loudly for an hour produced a high and as we finished up, Sharyn gave some exercises, or 'Free laughs' which can be practised at home in front of the mirror.

So, I'm off now to pull some faces and laugh out loud -O-O-O-E-E-E-A-A-A

A Clear Head for Writing.

I truly admire people who can write, no matter what.

Novelists, short story writers, poets et al, who despite the droning minutinae of day-to-day must-do's, apply the Kingsley Amis 'seat of the pants to the seat of the chair' dictum and belt out those words.

Forget background noise - J K Rowling penned the first of her classics in an

Edinburgh cafe.




or lack of me-time -plenty of mothers with young children are mightily prolific (you know who you are!)

For some of us, even with the luxury of a few hours a week to get those words onto paper or screen, it's the head-fill of jobs and general family matters that hijack the head, dampen ideas and thwart the flow.

How clear does your head have to be to write?

Can you write in the midst of chaos, be it physical noise or a head filled with distractions?