{"id":235909,"date":"2012-11-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-19T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/its-all-happening-november\/"},"modified":"2012-11-19T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-11-19T08:00:00","slug":"its-all-happening-november","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/its-all-happening-november\/","title":{"rendered":"Todo est\u00e1 pasando: noviembre"},"content":{"rendered":"

Darlynne y Marc Menkin | Noticias del Centro<\/strong><\/p>\n

Laughter IS the best medicine<\/p>\n

Several years ago when we headed back east to visit our family, Marc\u2019s mom asked if we wanted to attend her \u201claughter therapy\u201d workshop. Our first reaction was \u201cwhat?\u201d\u00a0 Being the persuasive mom that she is, we said yes and before we knew it, we were surrounded by a bunch of senior citizens in a room filled with giddy laughter. At the time, the concept of laughter therapy sounded a bit quirky to us.<\/p>\n

Who could have known years later, we would start a tour company that not only embraces, but encourages laughter. As we often tell our tour groups, \u201cOur adventures are part historical, part hysterical.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"It\u2019s<\/a>
Laughter is the best medicine. (Courtesy Laughing Matters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We\u2019ve all heard the saying that laughter is the best medicine. If that\u2019s true, then we should be looking for more ways to laugh, right?<\/p>\n

The good news is that there are plenty of places that promote laughter. For instance, did you know laughter yoga classes<\/strong> are held every week and are free?<\/p>\n

We checked out the Saturday parque balboa<\/strong> class and initially, we had our doubts. As we parked our car along Sixth Avenue, Mother Nature wasn\u2019t cooperating.<\/p>\n

The skies were grey and it was drizzling. Going to a laughter yoga class did NOT sound appealing, but that\u2019s when we met three friendly-looking women, all headed in the same direction.<\/p>\n

We couldn\u2019t help but notice their calm, peaceful demeanor, so we asked \u201cAre you looking for the laugher yoga class?\u201d<\/p>\n

They immediately perked up and said \u201cyes, the class is held rain or shine!\u201d Elizabeth Homan said she discovered the class a few months ago. “I was on a walk and I saw people laughing and stretching,\u201d Homan said. \u201cI stopped for a few seconds and someone named Robin waved me over to join them. Right away, it felt good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gladys Munguia said this was her third time attending the class and that it\u2019s a great way to relieve stress.\u00a0 Minutes later, we met Louis the laughter yoga instructor and the rest of the class. There were 24 students, which Louis said was surprisingly big, especially for a drizzly morning.<\/p>\n

There were a few late-comers who commented on the rain but that didn\u2019t discourage the group, they just smiled and said \u201cCome on over, it\u2019s all happening!\u201d\u00a0 From that moment on, we knew we were exactly where we wanted to be.<\/p>\n

\"It\u2019s<\/a>
Join the laughs with Laughing Matters (Courtesy Laughing Matters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our favorite part of the class was the laughter shower. Approximately seven to nine people would form a small circle and close their eyes. The rest of the students would surround them and \u201cshower them\u201d with loud laughter.<\/p>\n

Granted, it might sound a little odd, but don\u2019t knock it untll you try it.\u00a0 It\u2019s definitely a feel-good, positive exercise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so important we laugh every day,\u201d said Michael Coleman, who heads up the classes and is the founder of the non-profit group Laughing Matters.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudies show that laughing relieves stress, it lifts our moods and it\u2019s good for our minds and bodies,\u201d said Coleman. \u00a0Rebekah and Justin Hollister couldn\u2019t agree more.<\/p>\n

The couple opened The American Comedy Company<\/strong> on Sixth Avenue this year, so they see first-hand how laughter can be a blessing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn these tough times, finding humor in everyday life is necessary,\u201d Hollister said. \u201cEveryone needs to let off steam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since its grand opening in March, the shows consistently sell out, proving that people do indeed like to laugh.<\/p>\n

We got tickets to a recent show featuring Filipino-American comedian R<\/strong>ex Navarette\u00a0<\/strong>and there was non-stop laughter going on that night.<\/p>\n

\"It\u2019s<\/a>
Laugh up a storm at the American Comedy Company, Downtown. (Photo by Mark Mecalis\/Mecalis Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mary Baristas who saw Navarette\u2019s show with a group of friends said it was the perfect way to forget about her stressful week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI go to comedy shows at least a couple times a month because it helps me to lighten up and it\u2019s cheaper than therapy,\u201d joked Baristas.<\/p>\n

Want to bring more laughter into your life? Check out these websites:<\/p>\n

www.LaughterMatters.org<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

They hold various classes including Laughter Yoga and Sitting classes at senior homes.<\/p>\n

www.americancomedyco.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Rebekah and Justin would love to see you laughing in their audience.<\/p>\n

www.nationalcomedy.com<\/a><\/p>\n

This is an interactive, improv-style comedy show that encourages audience participation.<\/p>\n

Marc y Darlynne Menkin son los copropietarios de "Where You Want To Be Tours". Muchos de sus recorridos y b\u00fasquedas del tesoro para formar equipos presentan \u00e1reas secretas del centro. Se les puede contactar en menkin@wheretours.com. Para obtener m\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n sobre sus recorridos a pie, en bicicleta y en autob\u00fas por San Diego, visite <\/em>www.wheretours.com<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

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Darlynne and Marc Menkin | Downtown News Laughter IS the best medicine Several years ago when we headed back east to visit our family, Marc\u2019s mom asked if we wanted to attend her \u201claughter therapy\u201d workshop. Our first reaction was \u201cwhat?\u201d\u00a0 Being the persuasive mom that she is, we said yes and before we knew […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":235910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"It\u2019s All Happening: November","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11547,11600],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-235909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-features","category-sdnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}