laughing yoga?

Penland.

this is a fraction of the view from the dining hall and many other places on campus. Llamas graze the field- their skinny front legs are so like that of a human in length and proportion that when they bend and walk around, they look exactly like two humans in a llama costume. The day the staff and helper students got here early it hailed in the morning and snow was flying horizontally all day. today we are treated to a dusty pink sunset as we dine on salmon and key lime pie. today also, some of us came back for a second helping of laughter yoga, which turns out to be laughing, fake or not, to exercise of course but more importantly, to trick the body into releasing endorphins. I'm not sure if it works so well because it only floods me with endorphins or because I make the choice to step so far out of my comfort zone as to fake laughter, for a half hour. one person laughs to laugh, another laughs at themselves which is real, another finds their inner cackle or snort, which amuses the rest of us. we all start laughing for real. we are given little exercizes, like acting class: paint everyone with you favorite color, throw laughing dust on them, share a flower- and someone will mock it and make faces, so then the next person you bump up against is surprised to find a genuinely amused smile on the face of their new partner. Its contagious. Offer up a plate of worms, laugh like a tiger-- what do I have to gain by being too cool for this? what's the critical mass of people willing to play along? I'm in love. today was better than yesterday. then we all laid on the floor to wind down and afterwards, tried to breakdance.
So that's day two of penland and this is a two month course.