When Nancy Johnson heads out the door to work, she’ll likely be wearing a bright yellow smiley-face T-shirt, yellow smiley-face earrings and a red, yellow and blue ballcap with a green bill and a yellow propeller on top.
Johnson’s business is The Laughing Lady and, as a Certified Laughter Leader (through the World Laughter Tour of Columbus, OH,) she takes her job seriously – yellow propeller hat and all.
Born and raised in Minneapolis, Johnson is as petite as she is effervescent, with bright brown eyes and blonde hair curling to her shoulders. She has had a passion to “help people” all her life, and has been doing just that since her days as a Candy Striper, when she discovered she had a natural, friendly way with people.
She holds a degree in Childhood Development and Nursery Education from Texas Women’s University in Denton, TX and has been a VISTA volunteer, office manager, teacher and volunteer firefighter.
For 4½ years, she and her husband lived in Haiti, where he had an aviation business. In 1985 they moved to Sebastian, where he ran Sebastian Aero Services at the airport until his death in 1997. With a son, daughter-in-law and grandson in Sebastian and another son and grandson also in Florida, she chose to remain here. She worked as a substitute teacher and, more recently, became Membership Director for the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce, where her outgoing personality served her well.
Then one day, she came across an article about a 76-year-old woman who had become a Certified Laughter Leader. Intrigued, Johnson looked further into the interesting job title and, in true entrepreneurial style, decided to strike out on her own. She saw the potential in laughter, took the required training and became a Certified Laughter Leader.
The more she delved into the science of laughter, the more she realized the truly significant health benefits of therapeutic laughter. Even in sad situations, laughter can be used. At funerals for example, she said, people tell funny stories about their loved ones. ”It’s a relief. There is a fine line between laughter and tears.”
Participants in formal laughter therapy learn to take a deep breath, hold it briefly, then let it out laughing, specifically in ha-has. Johnson explained that “hee-hees come from the brain, ho-hos from the abdomen and the proper laughs, the full bodied ha-has , come from the heart and lung area.
Research reveals the solid medical and psychological benefits of laughter, Johnson says. Laughter reduces a hormone, cortisol, which causes stress, while increasing endorphins, the body’s own natural opiates, which keep us happy, says the American Journal of the Medical Sciences. The Southern Medical Journal says laughter eases muscle tension. Laughter “increases immune system cells which kill harmful invading bacteria,” according to the Journal of Clinical Research. And the American Medical Association’s Journal says laughter boosts chemicals known to boost mental functions.
Other known benefits include enhancing circulation and blood oxygen levels; increasing pain tolerance, slowing the rate of cellular decay, burning calories, aiding ventilation and helping clear mucus plugs – and on and on.
Johnson’s passion is to “encourage others to smile, laugh and work toward a daily positive attitude and positive actions for healthier, happier lives. Laughter can take you to another place, to live in the moment.”
She has given presentations for groups as small as three and as large as 100, including on May 7, when she spoke to about 70 nurses at Sebastian River Medical Center, “a delightful group.”
How does one “teach” laughter? Not with jokes. Instead, she says, “We have tons of laughter activities. Sometimes we want to laugh, but feel weird about it. If someone sees us just laughing, for no reason, they think we’re crazy. So, (she puts her hand up to her ear, a pretend telephone, then begins to laugh, as in response to someone on the other end) it doesn’t look that nuts any more. See what I mean?”
She reaches into her bag, retrieves several stuffed animals and places them on the dining room table. She presses buttons on the monkey, tiger, donkey, caterpillar and frog and they break into laughter and shake, bounce, roll or flip about. They, she says, often help people loosen up.
“And this helps a lot, too,” she adds. Now she’s sporting a red clown nose and the laughter comes spontaneously.
Some people, though, “can’t really let go. I had a lady in one of my classes who told me that, as a child, whenever she laughed she was slapped. But she was smiling at me. That was golden. I never, ever want people to feel uncomfortable,” Johnson emphasizes. “We want it to be positive. And never at anyone else’s expense.”
Her laughter programs, which are always “audience participation,” often begin with a song or two. Then Johnson will lead a series of laugh exercises, which vary based on the group. She speaks a bit about the physical and mental health benefits. “I encourage eye contact. And often have people turn to one another and say, ‘You look even better when you smile!’“
Taking a long drinking straw from her bag, she says, “When you’re having a down day, hold a straw, or a pencil or pen, between your teeth without closing your lips.” She shows it produces a smile. Although it is “artificial,” the brain, she says, reacts in the same way as if it were spontaneous.
“I encourage people to have things around them that make them feel good. She produces two “light wands” each with twirling discs that flash multiple colors. “I respond to light,” she says. “Everyone is different.”
Johnson has found that almost everyone eventually loosens up and joins in, even those who started out skeptical.
Most of her clients come through referrals, she says. And from September through May, she gives monthly programs at the North Indian River County Library, sponsored by Bay Street Pharmacy. She places a pink-and-white stuffed cylinder on the table, sporting smiley face and sneakers. It is a “Happy Pill,” available at the pharmacy and as a hand-out during her library presentations. The info sheet that accompanies the fluffy pill lists stress relief among the benefits and “excessive happiness, contagious laughter accompanied by a sore stomach and tears” as possible side effects.
Johnson has given programs for board retreats, and senior living facilities and has worked with individuals suffering from dementia. She has conducted classes for Girls Night Out gatherings and Youth Guidance. One boy was sitting in the back, not participating, until she showed him the laughter app on her iPad with 30 varied animated faces on the screen, each with a different laugh. The boy pushed every icon and soon began to laugh.
A video by Pharrell Williams singing his song, “Happy” from the movie Despicable Me 2 often has everyone singing and dancing soon.
Some precautions are necessary when undertaking therapeutic laughter, she explains. If an individual has had recent surgery, especially abdominal or heart surgery; is in the last trimester of pregnancy; has a hernia or serious lung issues, it is not wise to try “full belly laughing. Giggling is OK, though.”
Does she practice what she preaches? “You bet,” she says. “I am always leaving my cell phone in another room and I made a pact with myself to laugh until I locate it. One time I had a friend over and had misplaced my phone. I thought, ‘Oh, no’ but I had to be true to myself. My friend thought it was hilarious listening to me going from room to room laughing.”
Laughter as “good medicine” is going global, Johnson says. The first Sunday in May is World Laughter Day, April is National Humor Month and, the United Nations has declared March 20 International Day of Happiness.
Each time the Laughing Lady dons her yellow smiley-face T-shirt, grabs her bag of props and heads out to another presentation, it is with a determination to help people affirm that, through laughter, “We can be happier today than yesterday. We can be healthier today than yesterday.”
For more information, call 772-713-6030.
