Exercise 5

This weekend I ran a laugh yoga session with my family, including my mother, father, two younger brothers, and some cousins. When running the session, I tried to use as many exercises as I could that we learned in class. For example, I had everyone go up to each other and shake hands while laughing. Also, I had the group members lift their arms up and laugh generously, make a laugh milkshake by adding different kinds of laughter, and say general, unamusing words and laugh as hard as possible at them. We also tried the rowboat laughing exercise and the centipede exercise. At the end of the session, I found that most of the group members found the laugh yoga session to be fun. I also learned that the younger kids had more fun doing the laugh yoga, because they enjoyed acting silly. My parents seemed a little uncomfortable throughout the session, and did not enjoy it as much. At the end, my dad said, “I don’t really think the laugh yoga session did anything for me, I thought the forced laughter aspect seemed a bit awkward.” My mom was a little bit less reluctant, but agreed with my dad by saying, “The session was amusing, but I don’t feel that I really got that into it.” On the other hand, one of my brothers explained, “I thought the laugh yoga was fun because it gave us the opportunity to be silly and laugh with each other. I enjoyed seeing everyone else laughing, and it became sort of contagious.” I think the session may have been better if everyone was closer in age, but I think overall the experience was a positive one. Most of the members seemed to be happier, and appreciated the opportunity to freely laugh.

I spent more time with my mom this weekend, and made a deposit in her emotional bank by doing nice things for her while she was sick. By doing so, my mother was very appreciative and seemed to be happier. I made her tea and soup, and watched a movie with her. The experience went well because we both enjoyed each other’s company, and she was grateful of the gestures I made. Although I enjoyed spending time with her, there were several barriers that prevented me from spending more time, such as having to finish homework, and playing with electronics. I think these barriers can be improved upon, but cannot be fully removed. When I told my mom I wanted to spend more time with her, she was happy but knew that these barriers existed. In order to diminish these barriers, I would have to spend less time using electronics, and have better time management in completing my homework so that I’m not struggling to finish it at the end of the night. This way, I will have more free time to spend with my mom, and other important people in my life that I do not get to spend enough quality time with.