Saturday, May 18, 2024

Saturday, May 18, 2024

   I had another wonderful night’s sleep. The Laughter Yoga is tiring. This is a remarkable process.  Yvette introduced me to it.  One of the hotels called the yoga studio where she works and asked if anyone could come and lead a session of Laughter Yoga.  Yvette was aware of it and watched some videos about it. She decided to take the certification course because she was preparing to lead a group.  She got me involved when she needed to make a video of her laughing with someone else.  I joined her in the forty-day challenge, laughing every day for forty days.  The yoga was developed by a doctor from India.  The instructional videos are annoying, but the process is brilliant.

    While I don’t enjoy doing the laughing exercise, I can appreciate the benefits.  The founder discovered that the body doesn’t know the difference between real, heartfelt and fake laughter.  Laughter lifts the spirit. I don’t know if he started with this premise or realized it as an added benefit.

   I don’t usually laugh; I chuckle.  Deep laughter is used in this yoga. What are its benefits?  Lung expansion and reduced health risks, particularly coronary disease.  The yoga exercises include arm movements to engage all the lobes of the lungs. Orchestra leaders who wave their arms around have a lower incidence of coronary disease.  The arm movements must do something to improve circulation in the upper body and move plaque right along.  Besides good respiratory and coronary health, laughter tightens the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles. It’s an all-in-one exercise for the body and the mind.  Yvette will be a great leader of this yoga here on the Big Island, leading groups at hotels and beaches. She had a great big laugh before she discovered this yoga.

   I went to the vet to pick up a second order of meds for Elsa’s ears—$51! The first one was supposed to last for two weeks, but it didn’t make it through the first week, so I was not sure what I was doing wrong.  

   I drove down the hill from the vet to go to Costco. I got my steps in wandering the aisles.  They rearrange regularly. You never know where something is going to be.  I get my steps in, wandering up and down all the aisles.

 The lines weren’t too bad, although the parking lot was full. I don’t bother looking for a spot. The Costco parking lot was never full in the past. Now, there are only a few left at the far end.  I have no idea why the change. May be more island residents are coming from all over the island because of the higher grocery prices. 

  I walked to Darby’s to pick up the trash barrel I delivered the other day full of green waste. I wanted to fill it up immediately. However, a light rain started to fall. It wasn’t a good time to collect the greens, but I did trim some of the shrubs.