The Coach Writes
Read the currently and previously published articles below and enjoy!
Ha-ha, Hee-hee-hee
Laughter — It’s the Best Medicine
Published in Oakland and Alameda magazines — July/August 2009
Laughing matters. Pic: iStock-CarloDaPino
Feeling agitated? Anxious? Or perhaps you’re preoccupied with some concern?
Then laugh.
“That sounds corny,” I hear you say. “And besides, what’s going on isn’t funny.”
Never mind. Deep breath in—and begin. Ha-ha, hee-hee-hee. Just like that, loud as you can and from the belly. And as you laugh, notice how you feel. A little more relaxed and upbeat? More connected with what’s going on around you?
A growing body of research is telling us that laughter really is the best medicine. It seems the well-known saying, “He who laughs last laughs longest,” should read, “He [or she] who laughs a lot lives longest, healthiest and happiest.”
To get your guffaw going, consider what Dr. Naras Bhat, an East Bay holistic physician who teaches pre-med students at UC Berkeley and patients about the benefits of laughter, has to say on the topic of laughter. Bhat, who has run “laughter yoga” workshops with Dr. Madan Kataria, the Indian physician behind more than 6,000 laughter clubs worldwide, believes there are three common misconceptions about laughter. Rectifying them may lead to improved well-being.
Misconception No. 1: You have to be happy to laugh.
Read more in Oakland Magazine
Bay Area Laughter Yoga resources:
- For more on laughter yoga or to arrange a workshop, contact Arya Pathria through his Web site www.laughaway.com.
- To learn more about Dr. Madan Kataria and his Laughter University, see www.laughteryoga.org.
- For information on Annie Goglia’s Oakland Lifefire Laughter Club and schedule, see www.lifefire.com. (Look for the great video on her site.)
- Lydia Gonzales runs regular laughter yoga classes in Alameda and has a laughter club in San Leandro. Contact her through her Web site, www.LaughingLydia.com.
How to rekindle sexual passion when the fire is dead
It’s late at night and you’re in bed. The body to your left, pushing gentle zzzzs, radiates a comfortable warmth. The radio to your right plays softly. Your mental meanderings are suddenly jolted into focus by Rod Stewart’s voice. It’s golden oldie time and he’s warbling on about passion. “I need passion. You need passion. We need passion. Can’t live without passion.”
Read more here….
Corporate Cutbacks — Victim or Victor?
Another one bites the dust. iStock—pidjoe
I became a labor statistic the first time at lunchtime one muggy Friday, just six weeks after beginning what had been “sold” to me as (drum roll here) “the most stimulating and challenging work opportunity likely to come your way in a decade.”
When I arrived at work on Day One in item number one of my totally new executive wardrobe, my bubbling enthusiasm was tempered only by a small whisper of trepidation. Would I rise to the occasion? Would I live up to the expectations of the employer who had actively headhunted me from a secure and sought-after position? In my new job, I had been given an executive title, and an open brief. I had staff awaiting my guidance.
Read more here . . .
The Great Coach Solution
How a personal life coach can help you.
Coaching — for a new direction.
Gail Davies* was about to hit 50. The London–based executive at an international design company had a job she liked, a boss she abhorred, a marriage she was questioning, a body she was too busy to give any thought to, family and friends she was neglecting — and every so often she had the urge to ditch everything, move to Africa and write detective novels.
Read more here …
