I was driving home from my laughter club when I passed a California Highway Patrol going in the opposite direction. I looked in my rear view mirror and saw him make a quick U-turn. I looked down at my speedometer and saw that I was going 65mph. He got behind me and started flashing those pretty lights. I could feel my heart pounding and the adrenalin pumping through my body. I am a Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher. I teach people that laughter is the best medicine for stressful situations, so I decided to practice what I preach. I started laughing, not because it was funny, but because I know that laughter can reduce blood pressure and increase the flow of happy hormones. The police officer walked to my car. When I rolled down my window I was giggling, not out loud - at him, but more to myself.
"Did you know you were going 75mph in a 55mph zone?" he blurted out in a very aggressive tone. That took the flight or fight response in my body up another notch. I tried to keep laughing and said, "No" with a smile, "I looked down and saw that I was going 65". He abruptly responded, "That is still breaking the law, the speed limit is 55". I was thinking about the laughing at self exercise. "Ha ha ha, I learn from my mistakes", and forgiveness laughter, "ooops, I made a mistake, please forgive me". I kept giggling to my self while he asked about my driving record. Then I laughed out loud when I explained to him, "I used to get letters in the mail stating if I got one more ticket my license would be revoked". I went on to say, "that was when I was a teenager and in my early twenties, I haven't had a ticket in at least 10 years". He snatched my license and insurance information and went back to his police car. I was watching him through my rear view mirror. I could see him writing. I laughed while thinking, "Ha ha ha, this is going to be an expensive ticket". He came back to my car, handed me back my license and said, "Slow down, and have a nice day".
I believe that the laughter and smiling changed him. Just like Dr. Kataria says, "When you change the world changes around you". I am grateful for the physical effect the laughter had while my body was in a stress response mode. And I am even more grateful for the effect that it had on the police officer who pulled me over. Thank goodness for laughter.
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Monnet Zubieta,
Certified Laughter Teacher
www.morejoy.org
707-824-1993