Laughter can be great stress relief !

I started an adventure in September. It just came to a wrap this month.

What kind of adventure lasted 10 months? An outside of my comfort zone, nothing I have ever done before adventure......
I have a friend that started taking a Comedy Improv class at  a local theater. She told me what a great time she was having and encouraged me to join her for the next session. I really had to think about it. It's evening hours, I have a son that needs supervision (contrary to his belief on that topic,) and in the past had suffered great stage fright when it came to doing anything in front of others. After much thought, and arranging a weekly sitter for my son, I decided to go for it. Hey, you supposedly only live once. I don't know if I agree with that, but that's a topic for another day.

Beginning Improv...…..

There are RULES to improvisation. Yes, I said rules.

1. Always agree/say yes.
2. Say Yes AND
3. Make statements
4. There are no mistakes, only opportunities or happy accidents.


I've taken three sessions of improv, and still don't always remember the rules. One of the hardest things for me to do was not think before I spoke. It is opposite of everything we have been told growing up in life. I remember countless times hearing " you need to think before you speak." That definitely doesn't apply here.  You are not to think , but to react. It's interesting and FUN.
At the end of every session, the last class is a performance. I didn't tell anyone about it. It was MY thing, plus I really didn't know how I would react to "performing," since I had such horrible stage fright in the past. Something came over me...I didn't care. Now, my friend pointed out, that I probably didn't care, because I didn't know anyone in the audience. Good point, whether that was the reason or not, I was there to have fun, and that is exactly what I did.

I had a shift change while taking the Intermediate Improv class. I was working Fri/Sat and that changed to Sun/Mon. That meant I got off work at 5pm (often working 5am-5pm) then headed to class from 5:30pm-6:45pm. There were days I was dragging, but the class did something magical for me. For that hour and fifteen minutes, any stresses/sadness/anger I experienced at work went away. Some nights I left there so energized, I felt like I could run a marathon. My face/stomach hurt from laughing. I loved this class. It was my time to PLAY.
This time, I promised my friend I would tell people. I posted on Facebook and shared the date and time with my co-workers. The performance rolled around, I had some co-workers and friends in the audience. Guess what?! I didn't care AGAIN ! I mean, I hoped that had a good time, but I was there to have fun.
My third and final (for now) Improv class ended June 11th. It was fun, but for now I am glad it's over. I can honestly say if it wasn't for my friend, Susan , encouraging me to join her, I would not have sought this out on my own.

Susan  and I goofing around.

I believe laughter truly is a healing medicine.


**I am not a professional blogger, nor am I an English major, so there is misspelling and grammatical errors up the wazoo. This is just me putting my thoughts out into the world. 
***Also, there are cookies attached to this blog, and I don't mean chocolate chip.