The Laughter Effect

Title:

The Laughter Effect

How to Build Joy, Resilience and Positivity in Your Life

Author:

Ben-Moshe, Ros

Subject:

Personal Growth

Happiness

Self-help

Psychology

Mental Health

Motivational & Inspirational

Description:

Laughter really can be the best medicine, and in this transformative body-mind guide, acclaimed wellness expert Ros Ben-Moshe shares the prescription. In The Laughter Effect, Ros Ben-Moshe provides a roadmap to tap into the lighter side of life with laughter therapy. Ben-Moshe shares tips and tools to achieve an intentional state of being she calls the Laughter Effect–a way to elevate mindfulness, gratitude, and self-compassion. When used regularly, it enhances resilience to stress, enabling you to respond to adversity and bounce forward with humor, levity, and grace. Drawing on research from around the world, practice and wisdom from humor and laughter therapy, and positive psychology and neuroscience, Ben-Moshe shows you how to use the energy of laughter and joy to counter stress hormones and stimulate a daily dose of positive wellbeing with "happy hormones." The techniques, strategies and practices you'll learn can transform your physical, mental, social and emotional landscape. Viewing life through a laughter lens will awaken a positive change in yourself, how you respond to the world and, in turn, how the world responds to you.

Publisher:

Crooked Lane Books

Date:

2024-03-19

Digital Format:

HOOPLA E BOOK

Summary

Supercharge your "happy hormones" with this motivational self help book featuring mind-body techniques for boosting joy and gratitude through laughter.

Laughter really is the best medicine!

In The Laughter Effect , Ros Ben-Moshe provides a roadmap to tap into the lighter side of life with laughter therapy. Ben-Moshe shares tips and tools to achieve an intentional state of being she calls the Laughter Effect-a way to elevate mindfulness, gratitude, and self-compassion, including:

Laughter yoga, which is comprised of coordinated movements, breathing and stretching, positive reinforcements, and expressions of mirth Starting a humor journal, where you collect things that make you laugh for future reference Smiling and laughing mindfulness practices, including a gratitude mindful body scan Positive reframing to help you find joy in difficult times
When used regularly, it enhances resilience to stress, enabling you to respond to adversity and bounce forward with humor, levity, and grace.

Drawing on research from around the world, practice and wisdom from humor and laughter therapy, and positive psychology and neuroscience, Ben-Moshe shows you how to use the energy of laughter and joy to counter stress hormones and stimulate a daily dose of positive wellbeing with "happy hormones."

The techniques, strategies and practices you'll learn can transform your physical, mental, social and emotional landscape. Viewing life through a laughter lens will awaken a positive change in yourself, how you respond to the world and, in turn, how the world responds to you.

Author Notes

Ros Ben-Moshe is an internationally recognised laughter wellness and positivity expert. She is adjunct lecturer at La Trobe University, where she has taught positive psychology and health promotion. A Global Laughter Ambassador, Ros is a regular commentator and writer in Australian media. Her highly praised first book is Laughing at Cancer - How to Heal with Love, Laughter and Mindfulness . She has spent over twenty years empowering people to embrace intentional smiling and laughter practices to generate positive life transformation and boost joy.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Ben-Moshe (Laughing at Cancer), an adjunct lecturer in positive psychology at La Trobe University, sets out to prove in this cheery if disjointed outing that laughter can indeed be the best medicine. Battling chronic fatigue syndrome in her 20s, the author stumbled across "laughter yoga" (which combines deep breathing, clapping, "chanting ho ho, ha, ha, ha" and "simulated laughter exercises") at a health conference. She experienced "immediate" relief, and promptly began studying to become a laughter yoga leader. Writing that laughter switches off the body's fight-or-flight response and activates beta endorphins, the body's "internal source of morphine," Ben-Moshe explains that simply going to a comedy show or practicing laughter yoga can reduce pain and alleviate gastrointestinal symptoms. Elsewhere, she cites a study suggesting women who spent 15 minutes with a clown after an IVF procedure were more likely to have a successful implantation than those who didn't. (Couples looking to conceive would do well to "enjoy a productive laugh" together, Ben-Moshe writes; while the evidence isn't incontrovertible, "worst-case scenario: you'll have a laugh. Best-case scenario: you'll have a life!"). Though the guidance is somewhat disorganized (scientific research and personal anecdote mix with self-help exercises such as writing a "gratitude letter to yourself" and bits of advice from a "Serotonin Sister--an upbeat incarnation of Dear Abby"), Ben-Moshe's relentlessly upbeat tone is hard to resist. This energetic testament to the power of levity has its moments. (Mar.)