Breakin': It's the 80's... there's a professional dancer trying to make it to the big time. Though she's stuck in a rut and equally stuck in dogmatic traditional forms of dancing, her inner creative self is seeking a to burst out and find that creative edge her soul is looking for. Yet she doesn't know what to do or where to turn. Disgruntled and feeling slightly oppressed by traditional dancing, the young girl finds herself on the Venice Beach Boardwalk. She comes across a group of street performers doing a new, edgy style of dancing. She befriends these dancers who "breakdance" and finds herself discovering her creativity, freedom, and her real self.
Breakin' 2 Electric Boogaloo: Let's face it... some sequels were made for pure profit. But when you're 6 years old, all you care about is how much fun something is! I don't remember the plot, I vaguely remember any storyline, however, I do remember that everybody solved their problems with dancing! That, to me, was the essence of Electrc Boogaloo! You can dance your problems away! Joy was the solution!
When I began my spiritual journey, I was depressed. In fact, I suffered from depression and was on anti-depressants. It was difficult for me to feel happy, let alone enjoy hearing the sound of laughter. I couldn't see myself as a happy person. Then I found Laughter Yoga. I'll admit that I faked it in the beginning. As I did Laughter Yoga even more, however, I found that the fake laughter became the real laughter. My problems were still there, but by laughing, I was no longer stuck in the emotions I once associated to my problems. In a weird way, I felt more confident in my outlook on life. My problems became more manageable.
The physiological benefits of laughter had allowed me to dissipate the heaviness I was emotionally feeling. According to www.helpguide.org, under "Laughter is the Best Medicine, The Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter," a person "can't feel anxious, angry, or sad when you’re laughing."Although there are layers to why we laugh, physiologically, while a person is laughing, the body isn't experiencing anything else but the act of laughing. The body is taking in more oxygen, releasing physical tension, and endorphins increase.
For me personally, lifting myself from depression involved me laughing more. While being depressed, I came to the understanding of "laughter is the best medicine" (Anon). Truth be told, before I found Laughter Yoga at the Agape International Spiritual Center in Culver City, I started watching a lot of stand up on my computer. The act of laughing did help, and over time, I started to feel much better. Once I started Laughter Yoga, the inner joy began to increase. Over time, I was able to get off of anti-depressants and I started going for walks to the beach. The process and daily practice of laughing had pulled me out of a sad and lonely place.
As I continue my practice of laughing daily, I come across numerous studies to empirically support the importance of humor and joy in our lives. If you feel the need to geek out over data, then I highly encourage you to check out Dr. Kataria's website www.laughteryoga.org . If you want to jump right into it, then feel free to join your local laughter yoga club.
Laughing, like dancing, can help you in overcoming sadness or depression. Though I also believe the psychotherapy played a large part in my recovery, laughing was beneficial in more ways than I could have imagined.
Thank you for reading!
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