Fitness Files: The healing power of laughter

A few years ago, I read about laugh therapy. People met and laughed, not at anything in particular — just laughed. “Ridiculous,” I thought.

Last week, I spent two days laughing with old friends and learned something.

“Laughter’s like a vitamin pill,” Julie said, as we bade goodbye to our group of nine retired teachers at the end of our yearly overnight in the mountains.

Just one day before, we’d picked up Julie for the drive to the cabin.

“Julie, your car’s out front. Street sweeper’s coming,” Marilyn said.

“My next-door neighbor always moves it,” Julie said. “Lets GO!”

However, the sweeper was at our heels. No neighbor in sight, so Julie jumped out, flew through her door, got her car key and moved the car, while we circled the block. Julie bounded back to our car.

“You left your car in your neighbor’s driveway,” Marilyn said.

“She’ll move it, but — second thought.” Julie bounced back out, got the key, returned the car to its spot, and slid into our car.

“Did I lock the door?” Julie asked herself. She popped out, ran to try her door. Hurrying back to the car, she passed her cat outside the fence, turned and opened the gate, “Stay in the yard, Gertie,” she commanded. Almost making it to our car, she stopped, returned to give the gate a final slam.

Marilyn and I looked out the car window, heads snapping back and forth at Julie’s ping-pong get-away, laughing at the show.

Reentering the car for the fourth time, Julie asked, “What are you waiting for?”

We laughed louder and the hilarity continued all weekend.

We ate and laughed our way through lunch, “Happy Hour” dinner and finally my “All-American Brunch.”

Every year, I select a brunch theme. This year, teachers entered the dining room to rousing patriotic songs. I belted out a tuneless version, while retired teachers grabbed little American flags and marched around the table. We’re all about 70, but we skipped and twirled like third-graders. Thankfully no one made a video, to go viral as “The Dance of Elderly Flag Wavers.”

“Being silly is totally OK,” Mitzi later mused, “because there’s a level of respect, trust and genuine love among us.” Then she added, “I feel like I’ve been away to a place where we had fun, like when we were kids.”

Perhaps the need for laughter was especially acute for Julie and Mitzi. Julie lost her husband just months ago, and Mitzi’s granddaughter is recovering from heart surgery. In fact, for the entire group assembled, stories of loss were interspersed with the prevailing gaiety.

Julie’s email came the day after we returned home. “It’s true what they say: Laughter is powerful medicine for the soul. So, we all must be very healthy.”

I experienced firsthand that laugh therapy isn’t ridiculous. It’s healing.

Newport Beach resident CARRIE LUGER SLAYBACK is a retired teacher who ran the Los Angeles Marathon at age 70, winning first place in her age group. Her blog is lazyracer@blogspot.com.