The Room at Meadowbrook.com
  • Home
  • Contact
  • Kangen Water, A Healthy Elixir
  • Blog
  • Spiritual and Personal Retreats
  • Home
  • Contact
  • Kangen Water, A Healthy Elixir
  • Blog
  • Spiritual and Personal Retreats

The Healing and Expressive Arts

Retreats and Educational Classes

Welcome Back to Community!

5/4/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
So funny that 2 years ago I posted that The Room at Meadowbrook and Santuary retreat spot was open!! Here we are two years later with the same announcement after 2 long years in disconnect with others. Our desire for community so large! It is time to create new connections, communities and face to face experiences that enhance our life and spirit!
Welcome back!

We have many classes coming up on our schedule this season. We are still working out the details but will begin our newsletter again with classes that will be coming up! QiGong, Yoga, Bach Flower, Book Club, A Woman's Circle and even some drumming to intrigue you to join us. We have missed our spiritual journey friends, those sharing the healing and expressive arts! We invite you to come be part of a positive community about self development and growth. 

I thought it good to share our mission statement. To invite you into sharing in what we offer. We also invite others to create a class, a workshop or gathering to offer to the fine group we have begun here.  Join us in raising the vibe of community!

Where Your Soul Blossoms From Within!


Creating a spiritual community that celebrates our oneness with spirit, people, animals and nature.
Collaborating with heale
rs, teachers and students of all philosophies geared
​toward healing.

Enhancing health, surrounded by nature on a peaceful farm, enveloped by a loving, safe environment for growth.
Educating paths to  freedom, finding more health, vitality and well being for ourselves and  families. 
Joyful experiences that heal through creative exploration of self awareness, playful artistic movement and being.
  Supporting personal power, collaborative sharing and caring that aligns spirit, body, mind and emotions, individually and collectively."


We offer a nurturing environment on a small farm promoting the healing and expressive arts for both people and animals. Our goal is to educate others on ways to live more holistically in small classes, inviting them to discover deeper connections with themselves and others . 

Our room is available to all inspired to educate and share about their art of healing. Connect by  emailing info@theroomatmeadowbrook.com for information on how to collaborate.
Picture
0 Comments

Retreat Sanctuary is Open!

1/26/2020

4 Comments

 
Exciting news to have an intimate retreat center open in this 20/20 Vision Year! We have converted the upstairs of the farm house into a cozy nook where approx. 8 people can stay over in a communal retreat. There are common areas in the house, the kitchen and the Room to be used for your stay and learning. It offers the best of cozy home feel and intimate interaction for creative self growth so part of our mission.

When we step away from life and are submerged in a group energy of growth and learning, we really find transformation on all levels to be deep and true rapid growth to occur. It has been our niche to support the small groups in transformation, among nature and in a more feminine, homey environment. Growth can occur many ways and our space supports the smaller groups. It also capitalizes on the "cozy" communal submersion to develop deep connections and opening.

We offer the retreat sanctuary with a open area for drinks and snacks. This can be used for sharing and teaching as well. We offer meal plans that we provide or you can create your own tastes with your group. We are moments away from Lake Nockimixon State Park and it's many access areas as well as the small farm here with goats about. We can work with any group or organization to create a unique visit here in Upper Bucks County. We have organic and vegan cafes and coffee shops in minutes of our location as well. There is alot here that creates a unique spot to host any gathering.

We invite you to come visit us, see if we can host your creative education or even a girls gathering away to commune and play. Our rates are reasonable, our gifts plentiful and our experience unique. If you have any questions, need an appointment or a visit, connect with Lyn Hicks at lyn@lynhicks.com.

We look forward to supporting your health and well being in whatever way we can. 
4 Comments

Winters Rest and Rebirth

11/10/2019

2 Comments

 
Picture
Yesterday, I put to sleep many of the plant friends here on the property. We are letting go of the old husks of things preparing for the busy holiday season. I really got to reflect on how we have created so much here. Circling in my mind all the growth of this place as I worked with the plants from my flower farm. Time allows us to see bigger picture of  accomplishments that often our daily mind  seems to want more done than is. I was proud of myself and what Sue and I have created. 

We had our first Healing the Healers retreat this month and it was a smashing success. We got feedback on our space which was mostly all good. Just mechanics and things to be shifted. It is an ongoing process as is farming and life. We are so enthused to bring all these new ways to support the healing community and the community towards healing.  No longer do we need to feel like "black sheep" as magic healers. We are creating ways to collaborate and grow ourselves through support and open the community to these great gifts.

Our Room will get some changes in these winter months. Our list long of what we want and remembering it is all a process this becoming ourselves as the becoming of the center. Our next phase, the largest shift,  to open the healing sanctuary in Sues current vet office. We will add a salt room as well. Our biggest endeavor yet our dream to support healers and those who need healing is coming in view. Creating a non profit as well so those whom can't afford these healing gifts get an opportunity as well while the healers still get their reward for their gifts. 

We inspire you too, to cozy in this next few months and harbor your light of becoming. There are great shifts in the cosmos supporting us all to be more present, bring forward parts of ourselves we have not yet explored that are key to our expression on the earth at this time. We will use it as a reflective, creative time so we may bring even more to the world by way of the healing and expressive arts. 

We need others to do this collaborative dream. So if you have ideas, want to join in with our project or give us feedback, we welcome more minds and hearts. This is a community space and we desire many  others to consider it their space to create and express in. We have great plans and are open to others ideas as well for what is wanted and needed.

As I cut the plants, I had a great personal epiphany about all I had a hand in here. It truly has transformed over the years and Spirit is guiding the unfolding. May you all use this reflective winter time full of love and presence to support your journey in the coming year. It is a magical life full of many twists and turns. In the process, we find many wonders occurred through the strife adventures. It is time to really see from above all the goodness this year has brought and revel in it! Also to let it really sink into your being, reorder or realign, so you can use it fully in  the year ahead. This is winters magic!

Great blessings to you for a lovely fall/winter season. We will have our regular classes of sound healing, drum circles, feminine circles and a lighter workshop load at this time. We are planning an open house, education day in the new year so you may see our changes. Please join our mailing list to be part of the events and get our monthly schedule. It is a powerful time for the healers and the community being healed. Love is the vibe of health so may we all fill ourselves with more of that and let it do it's magic in this next season of rebirth!

In gratitude for your participation! Connect with me at lyn@lynhicks.com. Our schedule of events listed on our  Google calendar!
2 Comments

Our New Retreat Space!

10/4/2019

2 Comments

 
Our "Room" at Meadowbrook offers a new addition to sharing your wisdom in workshops!  Overnight Retreats. We are in the process of creating what will be called Meadowbook Healing Sanctuary! The next piece, a retreat space for intimate learning is almost complete. November 1, 2 and 3rd will be the first "Healing the Healers Retreat." A weekend of support, learning collaboration and vitalizing our sleep over space for future events. 

We will have potentially 10 or so bed spaces in a beautiful, 3 room plus  kitchenette and common space upstairs, There is also great dining space, a common living room, full kitchen access, the Room and the outdoors pastures. We are moments away from Lake Nockimixon as well so you can do some processes there or allow free time to your participants. It is phase 2 of our creation and it is up and running this season. We invite you to come see it, plan an event there and imagine ways to offer a small group extensive healing by being in retreat.

The space overlooks the corals from the second floor. It is the most beautiful overview of the farm with the pigs and goat romping around. It is clean, open, inspiring, simple, has the beautiful feminine touches that create  relaxation , healing, Invite your clients to  step away to nourish themselves away from regular life. We invite you to come visit and see how you can support your clients, share your gifts in this way of a retreat from life.

Simple, intimate and on a farm. There is great opportunities growing here for creative self development. It is time! 

Feel free to contact Lyn Hicks, 215-813-4073 or lyn@lynhicks.com for a visit. 
2 Comments

Woman's Health through Dance!

6/7/2019

2 Comments

 
 I am sharing a Sensual Dance Class on Mondays in June to get us connected and feeling beautiful in our bodies. As summer comes, we wear less clothes and want to feel good with our shape and look. Dance is an easy way to feel good, gain a shape we like and enjoy the connecting with our body just as it is. Only then, as we seek cooperation and connection to it, can  we transform it for the long term.

Dance is a sacred art that woman have done through out time together to empower. We love to dance and this is why it is the healthy, easy  way to get in shape! We are more likely to continue in any movement when we find joy in doing it. In fact as woman, if it is not fun or joyful, it is not good for our body health. Flow and fluidity are the best health moves for a woman's body. Grace, ease, fun and joy key words to a movement routine designed for us. 

As we dance, we  move energy and emotion through our bodies, enjoy being in it, feel beautiful and slim down for the warmer seasons. It is important we do move and sway in a way that feels good to us. It awakens our innate health system that truly operates our body deva for health and well being. I  suggest lots of free form movement for we know how to feel good and allow our body to move as it needs.  We are not caught up in following too many moves which can give us cause not to get them and then feel like our body doesn't work for us.

As woman, body connect is so powerful and important to beauty and health. Not only that, our intuition is housed in our body so as we make a good connect, feel good and happy with our temple body, we can enhance our sixth sense, our powerful sensing of the world. When we don't like our body we tend to not listen to it and miss the key messages about the world around us and the things we need for  self care. Woman innately have this intuition to support them to move in the world and we miss it if we are not connected positively to our body.

In my class, I share some simple moves and ways to play in the body temple. How to loosen up our torso where all our organs are housed which releases toxins, moves emotional blocks and gives us fluidity and grace for all our day.  It reminds us of all the magic ways and sensual movements that are natural to woman. We get to close our eyes, be inward and sense how good it feels to be in this sacred body temple all while letting the music flow us in movement. We burn so many calories, get an internal burn of the deeper muscles. get our heart rate up and have fun!

You can do this at home easily, in the morning as you get ready, put on some music and sway about as your beautify to go out in the world. This increases your vibration and creates a magnetism as you glide through your day. It has much more magic then you realize. Just try a practice for 1-3 songs a day for a week. Nothing long, just some free form movement and experience how that week goes and how you feel. Also notice how your feel about your body, your confidence level and the way people respond to you. I promise it will be one of your best weeks you have had in a long time. A valuable way to move, get in shape, feel beautiful and flow in oxytocin.

Dance through life! It is a wise phrase. The Art of Being a Woman in a graceful way.

Lyn Hicks,
www.lynhicks.con
​Published Author and Beauty/Health Mentor.
Email lyn@lynhicks.com to attend or for more information.


​
2 Comments

Greater Growth in Community

2/11/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture
Sue and I began The Room at Meadowbrook as a way to support ourselves spiritual through community in the healing and expressive arts. As we were seeking others with like minded ideas, ways of living, sharing different paths to healing, self development and relaxation, we considered so were others. We wanted an open space for ideas from all schools so we could expand our understanding of the different approaches rather than it being in one vain of philosophy. We are all different so allowing this individual unique path to unfold and be developed was important.  We all could be curious and inspired by paths we were not familiar with.

We have found greater growth and support happens within community. Magic comes in to heal and transform. The Space, the Farm, all the energy has a more powerful vibe as we gather in groups and do different arts and creativity. It feels amped up and sacred. All who participate and visit the Room , feel this special, loving energy. it calms, relaxes, soothes and opens all of us to the true self we are. Our intimate community is supporting each other and themselves for quickened growth and understanding.

​Our classes are varied encompassing the many ways to spirit, health and creativity. We invite all faiths, healing modalities, movement practices and creative expressions here to share with others.  We are turning to a more collaborative age. All will find greater peace, support and community as we open to others ideas and perspectives. We don't need to own those ways but we can learn to appreciate them as a way toward goodness. Being in community, learning from each other, realizing we are all facing simiiar issues and seeking ways to greater health and well being in our life supports us collectively and individually. 

We invite to be part of our circle that inspires all to learn of themselves through whatever path inspires. Exploring together, in allowance and acceptance, opening to different ideas and finding the thread of love between them all that builds fellowship among us. This is what our growing community at the Room at Meadowbrook offers.  We are supporting brotherhood in it's authentic form.  We invite you to participate and share in the belonging, true communion with others.
1 Comment

Free Holistic Education Day

1/9/2019

1 Comment

 
On Saturday, January 26, 9-5, we are excited to share a Free day of classes to the community. Our mission to educate others about the healing and expressive arts, build community in learning and participating and open us all to the new and old ways to experience our body, mind and spirit in health.

We are greatful for the educators that are offering this free day for us all to particpate. Many will be having a class later in spring so you can get some learning and follow up with a more detailed workshop in the coming months. Below is our schedule and we look forward to seeing you with us!


9 am  Tai Chi Health with Lyn Hicks
10 am  Therapeutic Diets with Tammy Westney
11 am  Transmute the Negative Into High Vibes with Alyssa Martin
12 pm  Chair Yoga with Catilyn Adams
1 pm  Essential Oils for People and Pets with Sharon Cowell
2 pm Jin Shin Jyutsu Self Help with Sue Walski
3 pm  Animal Communicator Nancy Heath
4 pm   Meditation with Carol Ragucci,
5 pm  Reception and What's in store for 2019!



9 am Tai Chi Health with Lyn Hicks
Learn the basic ways of moving your body for health, vitality, and energy management through flowing Tia Chi moves and other eastern art practices.. Easy, graceful supportive movements to support our organs, increase flexibility and fluidity as well as embrace your body as it is. Followed by clearing practices of Aharaj Yoga (considered spiritual aikido) to transform stress, anxiety, angst and depression. Learn to feel and enhance your energy field through powerful practices of movement. Cultivates energy, power and clarity in mind, body and spirit.
Lyn Hicks is a Health and Beauty Mentor and Published Author of The Lotus Project, inspiring woman to find their playful, creative self through the Sacred Feminine Arts.  She educates on Energy Management, harnessing  what you have, to use it effectively and creatng  more  to raise your vitality, joy and fun.
She is also the coordinator at The Room at Meadowbrook.


10 am Therapeutic Diets with Tammy
 
Tammy Westney MS, LDN, CNS, CPT is a life-long advocate of healthy eating. She holds a Master of Science degree in Nutrition and Integrative Health, is a licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist, is a Certified Nutrition Specialist, and is a Certified Personal Trainer. She has written two books, Food is Foundational, a Nutritional Workbook, and Food is Foundational, a Seasonal Cookbook. Tammy teaches the art of using food as medicine, specializing in plant-based whole foods and gluten-free dishes. She sees individual clients with health problems ranging from autoimmune and endocrine disorders to age-related and metabolic issues. She uses a functional and integrative approach, treating the whole person with diet, exercise, and stress reduction. Tammy can be reached at 908-285-0725 or tammy@coffeeowlnutrition.comTammy Westney MS, LDN, CNS, CPT will be presenting a workshop on therapeutic diets at The Room at Meadowbrook at 10AM. She will cover Ketogenic, Anti-inflammatory, Basic Elimination, and Low Histamine Diets, as well as Diets for Autoimmune Disorders and for Rebalancing the Microbiome. She will discuss who can benefit from each of these diets, as well as strategies for creating good health.

11 am Transmute the Negative Into High Vibes with Alyssa Martin
What do you want to bring into your life in 2019?  What would you like more of?  What do you want less of?  In this workshop, you will explore your desires, dreams, and wishes and learn techniques to transmute negative experiences, thoughts, and energy into the high vibrations that will bring your desires into reality.

Alyssa, "the Happy Mystic," helps women and teens who have are looking for something more to life. She assists them in connecting to that deeper part of themselves while embracing more of the playful side of life. Alyssa teaches how to go within to find the solutions, and to tap into who-you-truly-are when designing your next steps.  Her workshops and coaching program are designed to bring out more of who you really are so you can love that person like crazy! If it’s always been easy to put yourself on the back burner, help others and be depleted with no energy left for self… then it’s time to get back to self-love basics and see what spirit-based coaching can do for you! Also, here is a link to my website "about me" page: http://alyssaom.com/aboutme/

12 am Chair Yoga with Caitlyn Adams
Chair Yoga is a gentle way to stretch while we work on balance and strength together. Join Caitlyn Adams of Energy Healing with Caitlyn for a combination of seated and standing poses. Perfect for all levels! The chair is there for support if you need it, with plenty of modifications to fit all abilities. It's also a great way to return your practice to its roots, noticing how your body moves and feels using these props.
​ Caitlyn is a Yoga Instructor who loves gentle yoga with lots of props and modifications.  When her health (physical and emotional) was at an all time low, it was yoga and reiki that helped her rediscover her inner light.  She is also a Reiki Teacher/Practitioner, Crystal Enthusiast, and Essential Oil Lover.  For more information, find Energy Healing with Caitlyn on Facebook or visit energyhealingwithcaitlyn.com


1 pm Essential Oils for People and Pets with Sharon Cowell
Learn how to combine essential oils for yourself and your furry friends. Join Sharon for an educational class on how essential oils can help your household and your pet concerns. 


2 pm Jin Shin Jyutsu Self Help with Sue Walski
Learn various self care techniques that you can do on yourself to increase the flows and healing of your body. Sue Walski will share ways this ancient healing art can support you to heal yourself. Very easy, peaceful and an informative way to know thyself and heal thyself.
I graduated from Michigan State University in 1981 and moved from  Michigan to my new journey in Pennsylvania.
Establishing Meadowbrook Animal Hospital in 1987 in conventional veterinary philosophy. As I explored alternative health care for myself in 1998
I added additional training for alternative care for small animals. Chiropractic Certification through AVCA(American Veterinary Chiropractic Assoc) 2000; TCVM(Traditional Chinese Veterinary  Medicine) Acupuncture 2005; Reiki Master; K-Laser Therapy; Bach Flower Essences and Jin Shin Jyutsu. I am well educated in Dog/Cat Nutrition through Whole Food Supplements by Standard Process. In 2016 declared the name Meadowbrook Animal Healing and use my additional training toward Holistic Health for the family pet. Classes at The Room will be directed toward helping pet owners understand how alternative healing modalities will support there pets over all health. 
For more information on Meadowbrook Animal Healing,  http://suzannewalskidvm.com/


4 pm Meditation with Carol Ragguci
Carol has a lifetime of experience in the field of health, Nutrition and Wellness. As a result of her journey, Carol had to gradually develop healthy tools to deal with these challenges that had affected her throughout her life, which had caused her severe anxiety. This experience and journey has enabled her to empathize and share these tools with others who are experiencing similar circumstances. 
For over 40 years Carol has chosen to research and study a plethora of information pertaining to health, nutrition, spirituality,and overall wellness, and continue to further her knowledge and experience. This passion led Carol to further her knowledge with a more formal education.  She then attended the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and now is a Certified in Holistic Nutrition and Wellness Counseling, and continues to further her knowledge and experience. Initially, Carol had focused mostly on nutrition ( or 'body'), she now has a deep understanding of the importance to give equal attention to the 'mind and spirit', which most importantly, includes BRAIN HEALTH.
Carol works with a state of the art, innovative light and sound technology device for BRAIN-BASED WELLNESS. In 10-20 minutes you caneffortlessly achieve relaxation! Our APP offers over 800 streaming programs to help you to reach any goal you might have by re-training your brain. Holistic and natural, no medications! Weight loss, smoking cessation, insomnia, pain relief, a better golf game and much more. 
She will be explaining the technology and then offering a beautifully, relaxing group motivational meditation.4 pm Meditation with Carol Ragguci


 5 pm  Reception with
What's New for Meadowbrook in 2019


For information contact lyn@lynhicks.com or 215-813-4073
​
1 Comment

Where Your Soul Blossoms

12/28/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Room at Meadowbrook was created to gather community of like minded people who want to develop their spirit. "Where your soul blossoms" such a wonderful description of our mission here. We wanted to offer many ways to develop your divine essence, not particular to one belief or system. All healing and expressive arts are welcome. We know that the alternative, holistic lifestyle supports us as spiritual beings.  Learning in all ways can expand our experience here. We offer many paths that ultimately lead to the same realization. We are all one humanity, we are all love and we are all seeking ways to express ourselves in goodness.

This new year we inspire you to join in a  community that supports your soul, your true divine spirit. Only through creative play, lightness, experiences that uncover this unique you can your soul blossom. It is not a thinking or a particular mindset. it is an experience of doing, being present and being aware that there are many levels to you and re-membering  them. We invite you to play, experience those parts of you with us. 

Practical things like nutrition and movement classes offer physical health so we offer them. We have Sunday celebrations of Spirit and workshops on meditation.  Healing art classes including  Jin Shin Jyutsu, NLP, energy medicine, sound baths, and yoga and sound healing combined, all support your healing and offer self care. Expressive arts like writing workshops,  healing with our voice, sensual dance, Tai Chi, Belly dance and a NEW mask making weekend retreat, are designed to find parts of yourself through creativity. We offer woman's health, a Sacred Sisterhood Circle, How Lovely to be Queen Day retreat to support the nourishing Divine Feminine. We have intuitive healing sessions, free holistic classes, crystal learning and so much more to support you in ways of health and self awareness. So much more to come as this energy of spiritual awareness is coming present in our world. 

We invite you to participate this year in our growing community. We have Meadowbrook Healing Sanctuary opening in the New year with healing for both pets and people. A hub of alternative healers will be at your service. Our farm is peaceful, filled with light and intention to support us in our true authenticity. New connections and friends are being made here. Communities of healers gather here. Lightworkers are present and we love to find new spirits seeking to expand their awareness of the good inside us all. 

Check out our schedule, our website with details of events, get on our mailing list and participate or offer your art here. We are a community designed to gather and grow, blossom our souls. We invite you to join us and add your magic presence to our clan. We look forward to an expansive year of new wonderful ways and people gathering! May we see you here too!
0 Comments

Sacred Sisterhood Circles

11/13/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
There is a great movement of woman occurring in our world. Woman are gathering on many levels, pulling together in deeper ways. It is powerful for us to do this and it supports ourselves and the collective of woman in brilliant ways that we never have had before. It is a shifting time that supports woman to commune in deeper sisterhood. Gathering, learning and sharing together in ways that were traditional long ago but have not been around in many years.

Whether it is Moon Circles, Priestess Temples, Red Tent Community or another name, all these are just different expressions of the Sacred Sisterhood being called forward. Most of woman's history, we were very connected and communal, often separate from the men and very happy to be with each other and the children. We served as the core of the "home", sacred space and community. Many of these practices, rituals, ancient secrets and  beliefs of woman are  returning to our world. We were well connected and had great understanding of ourselves, our creativity, our role, our bodies and cycles. We were the healers, spiritual leaders and certainly sisters to each other in a way we have not experienced in our time. 

 These woman traditions have connected, passed through, been handed down and offered in so many cultures. They are all inclusive and of woman.  I have studied with Hindu lines, Priestesses, Tantra schools and Moon Circles.  I find the commonality and what works for me and play and practice that. 

There are key principles that I have found to be so important and missing in our woman's groups these days. Just plain understanding of our bodies, our womb, our creative center and our vibe we are to ride in. We seem to have lost or forgotten our connection to our creativity which is mainly what woman are to do on this planet. Not with just children but with everything. We are the highest creators on the earth for we can create new life. Coming together as a community, understanding our natural empathic gift and that we clear and reset each other. Developing our  incredible 6th sense together. Holding the space and supporting each other in the issues we all face in a deep way. Really being ourselves, all of ourselves, our mess and our brilliance together in a way of full acceptance. 

I inspire you to find a deep, sacred community of woman. I offer a Sacred Sisterhood Circle at the Room once a month for woman to support themselves and other woman. I share the wonder I learned and have played with for years to support myself and others in a magical life. The greatest part is that once we embrace our femininity, understand it and play with it, it takes over naturally for we are woman. It is graceful, easy and fun to be in our feminine nature. We just haven't learned or been taught. It is a masculine ruled world and we are all using these pieces of ourselves to function in the world. Our femininity is lost yet it is the thing that when cultivated brings such health and beauty to our lives.

Join me at this monthly meeting or check my website, www.lynhicks.com to read my blog, see videos on our feminine nature, purchase my book, The Lotus Project, The Art Of Being A Woman or schedule free mentor consultation to support you. Ladies, it is time to support ourselves and each other in deeper ways that will only strengthen ourselves and our world. Awaken your Shakti power to experience your Sacred Femininity!

Lyn Hicks
Playful Priestess and Muse
Eastern Arts Educator, Tai Chi Health and Aharaj Yoga
Woman's Health and Beauty Mentor
Coordinator for The Room At Meadowbrook
www.lynhicks.com
​I Am Woman Facebook Group
0 Comments

Happily Ever Laughter: From Ha Ha to Aha!

9/19/2018

1 Comment

 
Picture
This is a reprint of Edie Weinstein's article  published in the Huffpost Sept. 19, 2017. Edie will host a 30 minute Laughter Yoga Class at 12:30 pm, this Saturday, 9/22 at Our Vibrant Living Festival! Stop by and see what it is all about!

What if you discovered that there was a simple and profound way to enhance your life, that involves something you already know how to do? Would you be open to making this part of your daily practice? Laughter Yoga is a doorway into a world of wonder, a plethora of play, a bounty of breathing and a font of fitness. Have you heard of it? It’s not what you might think. It is not about getting all stretchy on a mat. There are no traditional yoga poses. You need not even have a sense of humor to engage in it. No jokes or comedy is involved.
I initially heard of this modality a few years back when I connected with Jeffrey Briar who is a Laughter Yoga Master Trainer in Laguna Beach, California. I was only mildly interested in learning more, which, in retrospect, surprises me, since family legend has it that I was born soon after my mother had a good laugh while she was pacing the halls of the maternity ward in labor. And to top that off, I have been a clown for a number of years, entertaining children and adults. In the interim, I had attended a few Laughter Yoga events facilitated in the Philadelphia area by Peggy Tileston, Elizabeth Venart and Alexa Fong Drubay. Each of them have their own delightfully unique style. A few months ago, I discovered that Alexa would be offering an opportunity to be trained to do this work/play. She was assisted by another long time Laughter Yoga Leader named Ernie Oktay.
This time I was ready and I enthusiastically took the leap into laughter and signed up to become certified. Over the 16 hour weekend experience, I opened my mind, heart and mouth as I dove in to learning both the art and science. Together with six other participants, I was willing to let my inner child out to play with abandon, without fear of being thought frivolous. Even as playfully disarmed as I can be at times, there are still moments when I wonder if the propriety police are in da’ hood scrutinizing my every move and implying that my behavior is not befitting a person of my age and professional status. One of the most reinforcing aspects of this training is that the NASW (National Association of Social Workers) offered 16 CEUs (Continuing Education Units/Credits) which legitimizes it in the eyes of my professional colleagues.
Fun Facts
Laughter Yoga is a practice in which creatively designed laughter exercises are combined with yogic breathing that comes from the diaphragm. It is considered light aerobic exercise that most people can do. Although it can be performed solo, when joining together with others, it establishes a sense of connection. Since eye contact is an essential aspect, it builds trust between participants. Childlike playfulness and a willingness to be lighthearted, are part of the process.
Laughter Yoga was designed by cardiologist Dr. Madan Kataria and his wife Madhuri Kataria, a yoga teacher. Together with three friends, they got together in a park in Mumbai, India in 1995 and since that time, 106 countries have established over 6,000 Laughter Yoga clubs.
Getting All Geeky
*Science shows that the mind and body don’t know the difference between genuine laughter and fake laughter.
*You reap the same benefits either way, as long as you engage the diaphragm​.
*To put it to optimal use, it is important to extend your laughter times, ideally laughing for 15-20 minutes a day​.
*It has also been found beneficial in helping with addiction recovery.
*Start out by inserting some laughter into your already existing routine.​
No Timid Tee Hees Here
Full out belly laughs are an important part of the process as you engage your solar plexus and do diaphragmatic breathing. The physiological and psychological shifts are observable. They include increased blood flow and oxygen, release of pain relieving and pleasure inducing hormones, decrease in cortisol (a stress hormone), as well as reduction in depression and anxiety.
Creating Community in A Safe Space
When people come together in a comfortable environment to do what they are not inclined to do in other public places, the benefits are even greater. Laughter Yoga Clubs that are free, are held throughout the world and are also judgment-free zones.
Why Leave Laughter to Chance?
Most people think they need a reason to be happy and an incentive to laugh when it is the other way around. When we laugh, we increase our joy quotient. What one person finds funny, may be distasteful to someone else. If you commit to a daily Laughter practice, watch your quality of life take leaps and bounds changes.
Ha Ha Healing Breakthroughs
By the time the weekend was over, I had several healing breakthroughs myself. I was diagnosed with asthma at age four which I didn’t allow to limit me, but still felt a need to keep up, to push myself, to go beyond expectations. I have experienced being winded and lacking in stamina when I crossed an invsible line and didn’t listen to my body’s need for rest. In addition, more recently, I had been troubled by plantar fasciitis in my left heel which caused intense pain that had me limping at times. Throughout the training, this ‘light aerobic exercise,’ as it is referred to, had me up on my feet, dancing, walking, and of course, laughing. I was able to keep up and bonus... there was limited awareness of pain in my foot. Some kind of magic occurred.
The aha moments arose when I realized that when sprinkled generously throughout our lives, laughter is a universal language that crosses all societally created and reinforced boundaries. It is a portable life skill that knows no time constraint or ‘use by’ date. It is like the super glue that bonds people together.
In a TED Talk, Dr. Kataria shares his insights about the value of Laughter Yoga.

​
1 Comment
<<Previous

    Educators at the Room

    Educating and sharing ideas on the healing and expressive arts!

    Archives

    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    June 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    February 2018
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017

    Health

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly