Laughter Tour gives training to chuckle Updated: Thursday, 03 Jun 2010, 6:38 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 03 Jun 2010, 6:38 PM EDT
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Well, they say laughter is the best medicine. And Thursday in western New York, people learned about the benefits of a hearty laugh.Thursday's training was no joke, even though there was lots of laughter. Nowadays, more and more people want to run "Laughter Clubs," and one of the training sites is right here in our own community.No one here worries about looking silly. In fact, their goal is to make you laugh.Lotus Nip is one of 14 people in training to become a certified laughter leader. The Canadian psycho-neuro-immunologist wants to bring humor to her job.Nip explained, "It's so healthy for you, and it makes you feel better. If you feel better, you do things better. You think better and work better."The two day World Laughter Tour workshop is taking place, oddly enough, at Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Cheektowaga. Nancy Weil is their coach, a leading authority on laughter.Weil said, "It's amazing what happens from laughter. You begin to release chemicals in the brain that reduce stress. Helps to reduce illnesses, blood pressure, pain all this from doing this. It's that simple."Trainees become well-versed in the philosophy of laughter. They also learn all sorts of exercises, and greetings.Nancy Casey said, "One way of greeting in Hawaii is, "Aloha." We go A-Lo-Ha."Susan Stewart said, "We teach people to look for opportunities in every day life for laughter. It's there."This was Lorey's second visit to the Laughter Club in a year, and again, I came in tired, and left feeling refreshed. News 4 intern Kelly Mazur tagged along. She quickly learned to roar like a lion, and walk like a penguin.Kelly said, "It was fun. It got me laughing, being with other people makes you laugh."It is infectious, and once certified, these new laughter leaders plan to start up clubs, and spread the laughter in their own communities. Copyright WIVB.com
