The Power of Laughter to Heal and Make Us Stronger | Jess Brain

TRANSCRIPTS: The Power of Laughter to Heal and Make Us Stronger with Jess Brain

Roger: You've probably heard the saying that laughter is the best medicine, but did you really believe it? What if I told you that laughter not only has the power to heal you physically, emotionally, and spiritually, it also has the power to increase creativity, resilience. Psychological safety amongst teams.

Well, today I'm sitting down with my friend Jess Brain, the certified brain trainer and laughter leader who has brought all the goods on why laughter is so powerful. 

Jess Brain: What happens is it really breaks down all the barriers, and everyone realizes when we are laughing together, we are not all that dissimilar.

We are actually all human. We all make mistakes and it's okay to be vulnerable and it creates this safe space where it says it's okay to make mistakes and it's okay to be silly and it's okay to share. And it's, uh, you know, you get comfortable [00:01:00] being uncomfortable and, and there's a such beauty in that, that then.

Allows people to take off that, that outer armor, that outer shell. And I think then you really start to see the authenticity in people that, that real humanity that makes it down in the workplace. A safe place to share new ideas, a safe place to share, Hey, I've made a mistake. And that's one thing that I, another thing that I think that you get from practicing laughter that is really unexpected.

Roger: I love Jess's journey to becoming a laughter leader from an accidental party trick to starting an online laughter class during the pandemic when all of us needed connection and a laugh 

Jess Brain: when the pandemic hit. That seemed like a really good time to get a whole bunch of strangers off the internet together and just laugh and be silly and have fun.

So I've been hosting weekly glasses ever since, and it has been [00:02:00] such a wonderful experience. I've, I've learned so much about myself as well as about the practice of laughter, and there are just, it's, it's really endless the amount of positive benefits that you can get from, from practicing laughter and being silly and playful.

Roger: By the end of this conversation, I'm sure you will agree. When you laugh, the world will laugh with you. Hi, I'm Roger Kassner and I'm the host of the What Do You Know To Be True Podcast. For over 25 years, I've been working with leaders and teams to co-create pathways to being better versions of themselves, and these conversations are intended to amplify those stories and experiences of people who have done just that.

In these conversations, I will talk with ordinary people about their extraordinary skill, their superhero power, and the meaningful impact it has on others. The goal is not to try to emulate or hack our way to a new talent. [00:03:00] Instead, the intention is to learn more about their experience with their superpower.

And in doing so, maybe we can learn something about the special talent in each of us that drives us towards our potential and living into our possibilities. If you're ready. Let's have a laugh.

Hey Jess. Thanks for joining me today. I am so grateful that we have this opportunity to chat together. 

Jess Brain: Thanks, Roger. I really appreciate you inviting me to share my superpower. 

Roger: Your superpower of laughter is something I'm really excited to be talking with you about, and it's something that's come up in several episodes.

I originally became aware of you from your appearance on the Let's Talk Brain Health Podcast with Dr. Crystal Color, where you shared an. Shocked me with some of the research about laughter, especially the difference in the rates of laughter between [00:04:00] adults and children. And I think it's come up in every episode since I've heard that.

So you're, you, you have a little bit of a, your reputation precedes you. 'cause I keep talking about it. It's so amazing and oh my goodness, the power of laughter. We're gonna get into all of this and. After I saw one of your, uh, your appearance, I then took one of your laughter classes where we laughed with people from all over the world and you had asked me to track how long that elevated feeling I felt after the class, how long I felt it, and it was a good two days later, just from one.

Good laughter session and it was as silly and goofy as you said it was gonna be, and oh my goodness, it works. Laughter is the best medicine, and we'll get into all of that. But before we get too far, what is important for us to know about you? 

Jess Brain: Well, that wonderful. Thank you, Roger. Honestly, [00:05:00] laughter has taught me so much that I was not expecting.

Um, and I do think it is laughter is the best medicine. It is this brilliant tool that we can use at our disposal at any moment. Um, and I've now been doing it for five years, hosting laughter classes and teaching about laughter and the philosophy of laughter and e theory and the neuroscience behind it.

And I think that's what, uh, one of the many things that sort of really allowed me to do a deep dive into it was because. My last name is Brain, just Brain. So many years ago, I decided I should really know something about the brain, and from that moment on, I was hooked. I wanted to know everything I could possibly find.

Um, so I became a certified brain trainer and, and then also eventually a certified LA leader as well. I have been practicing la uh. [00:06:00] Since I did my laughter training, which is in 2019, so I could become a laughter leader when the pandemic hit. That seemed like a really good time to get a whole bunch of strangers off the internet together and just laugh and be silly and have fun.

So I've been hosting weekly classes ever since, and it has been such a wonderful experience. I've, I've learned so much about myself as well as about the practice of laughter, and there are just, it's, it's really endless the amount of positive benefits that you can get from, from practicing laughter and being silly and playful.

Roger: That timing is amazing. Just before the pandemic, you became a certified laughter professional. 

Jess Brain: Exactly. 

Roger: Just in time for the [00:07:00] world who absolutely would've needed it then. 

Jess Brain: Yeah, it was really amazing because a lot of people were feeling so lonely and disconnected and depressed, and a lot of anxiety, so it was just this phenomenal way for people over Zoom.

To feel connected and to have something that was a little bit lighthearted and fun and playful, um, and to see other people and to see other people smiling. And I think that that in a way get people hot. And that's one of the many brilliant things. That laughter really does give you a sense of hope and, um, feeling that it's.

You. You are connected to other people, right? Other humans, and you are helping you perhaps get out of a funk, or if you've experienced burnout or you need to sort of have a gentle way to reengage with other people, [00:08:00] a short, 30 minute laughter class. You don't even need to feel happy. You don't even need to engage in the laughter exercises.

Sometimes just watching other people. Can really lift your mood until you feel that you are at that stage. You actually want to, you know, engage in the laughter exercises too. 

Roger: It's, I think, part of the human spirit. When, when, when there is a crisis, when there is something that goes wrong, we wanna be together.

And yet during the pandemic we were told we can't be together. We have to be a part. And I could see not only bringing people together with the intention to laugh, but having to give people the permission to laugh. Exactly. It was probably, it was probably a little harder to get those classes going during the pandemic than say now, but, uh, what a beautiful thing to be able to offer people.

Jess Brain: Yeah. Well, one thing that really stood out to me was, uh, that people said that [00:09:00] hearing the laughter made them feel safe, and especially hearing men, love made the women feel safe. I thought that was really interesting because as I've noticed, laughter as we're sort of walking down the street or you're on public transport, you often hear women laugh in public or the, it's more prevalent than men.

I think men perhaps, you know, get a little bit more caught up in the seriousness of life, and they don't laugh as often. That's why I really encourage men to show up to the Laughter Club because predominantly it's, it's about the 85%. Women. Hmm. And I think that's because women also are a little bit more comfortable being vulnerable and being silly, and feeling, being playful.

But if men could embrace that silliness, a, I think they'd be more attractive to women and they would, you know, [00:10:00] loosen up and not be so stressed and not be so serious. And, um, perhaps be able to establish a little bit more of a rapport with. Their colleagues, their their family, their little bit of a stronger connection when we embrace the silliness and we embrace being playful.

Roger: What an interesting observation I am. I'm often, um, working with teams where there might be a male leader and they're looking for ways to increase a sense of trust, of connection and, and psychological safety. And it would make sense. 'cause when you're laughing, you probably are a little bit more vulnerable.

You probably are a little bit more human depending on what you're laughing at. But, uh, I could see there being a lot of value in, in the contribution towards a feeling of safety that you have something to laugh about. 

Jess Brain: Well, the thing is, when you are practicing laughter, you are not telling jokes. So it's not that you are laughing at [00:11:00] someone or at something, you are just laughing for the sake of laughter.

So that's what really creates this safe space. And when you have in, in a workplace setting, when you have perhaps a CEO or senior leaders and they are laughing with the front desk or you know, the other junior, um, employees, what happens is it really breaks down all the barriers and everyone realizes when we are laughing together, we are not all that dissimilar.

We're actually all human. We all make mistakes and it's okay to be vulnerable and it creates this safe space where it says it's okay to make mistakes and it's okay to be silly and it's okay to share. And it's, you know, you get comfortable being uncomfortable and, and there's a such beauty in that, um, [00:12:00] that then.

Allows people to take off that, that outer armor, that outer shell. And I think then you really start to see the authenticity in people that, that real humanity that makes it then in the workplace a safe place to share new ideas, a safe place to share, Hey, I've made a mistake. Um, and that's one thing that I, and another that I think that you get from practicing laughter that is really unexpected.

Roger: Oh, I love that. Yeah. I mean, it's like when things go wrong, when we make mistakes, you, you know, let's show, we're gonna laugh about it. To make it safe. Yeah. To try new things to experiment and not all the other negative reactions that sometimes mm-hmm. You gets to see people have, when mistakes are made or where someone does something wrong.

If we're showing that laughter is one of those options. 

Jess Brain: Exactly. Rather than perhaps increasing tension. Stress, laugh. [00:13:00] Learning to laugh about it and then learn from it is the key to really creating, um, a safe space where people's ideas can flourish. 

Roger: And that makes me think about the statistic you shared, uh, with Dr.

Crystal Color about the difference in the laughter rates of children versus adults. It seems apropos to what we were just talking about, kids who are constantly learning the, the, uh, the rate at which they're learning new things is astronomical compared to mm-hmm. You know, what, what us as adults might be, and that might be the, you know, part of the reason why the laughter rates are different or maybe it's the other way around.

How do you make sense of, well, first share the stat, share the research, and then how you make sense of it. 

Jess Brain: Absolutely. I, I love this point as well. The statistics show that children actually laugh about 300 to 400 times a day, whereas adults [00:14:00] only laugh about 10 to 15 times a day if we're lucky. So I think it's really interesting what you said about the, uh, correlation between laughing and learning.

And I really do think that there is something there that, um, needs to be studied. When we are laughing, not only does it reduce our stress so our brains can think a little bit more clearly, we become in a flow state, which is where our ideas start to generate a little bit more. And so that's really what is the, the sweet spot for our brain to be functioning.

What I think when I look at laughter and learning and how the brain functions, laughter actually incorporates all these elements. Which is the sweet spot to really activate the brain, what the brain loves in order to grow and heal, um, and regenerate. So that's novelty, [00:15:00] playfulness, social connection, um, and safety.

And so when you've got all of those elements combined just with practicing laughter and this positive energy. Our brain really lights up all different regions of the brain light up. Um, and it allows for the brain to start to start producing EDNF brain derived neurotropic factor, which is considered the miracle grow for the brain.

So helping to generate new brain cells, and also I think that it becomes what I like to consider the fastest and most fun way to protect your brain. It's a neuroprotective exercise. Now, when we get back to the statistics of how often we are laughing and the duration as adults, we're only laughing for about three or four seconds at a time.

And [00:16:00] actually the science says that that's not enough In order to read all the health and feeling benefits, I, I, you know, often invite people to come to the laughter club and they say. Oh no, I don't need to. My partner and I we're both very funny. I watch a lot of funny movies. I laugh enough. I said, well, that's great and that's a good start.

But the science says that we need to be laughing for about 10 to 15 minutes consecutively. Hmm. In order to really reap all the health and healing benefits. And often when we are laughing, say. At a TV show or a comedy show, we are laughing at someone's joke. And so the joke requires our brain to process that, to find out what's funny about it.

Um, perhaps who is the but of the joke, whether or [00:17:00] not it affects me, am I offended by it? Um, so it actually can create a lot of tension and stress. Even if that's just subconsciously. Whereas when you are practicing joyful laughter, as I like to call it, there is no but at the joke, you are just laughing and being silly in this really safe environment and you just initially sort of fake laugh and then eventually that leads to real and contagious laughter where you, your belly aches and your sides hurt and.

That's what I think is just so beautiful about the practice of laughter. You get all the help and healing benefits in a safe space, and nobody is the butt of the joke. It's just about having fun. 

Roger: It was years ago when I read some research about humor. 'cause I've, I've been the person [00:18:00] who, um, tries to bring humor into the workplace and, uh, maybe the younger Roger would've been making, you know, little tease little jokes of other people and that didn't.

That didn't feel right and I don't think it had the, the, you know, achieved what I wanted it to achieve. So then I started making myself the butt of my own jokes and, and I realized, oh, you know, that kind of encourages other people to make fun of me and only me, and that didn't feel right either. And then I came across this research that said, even if you're using self-deprecating humor.

You're, you're signaling to people that they should be making fun of themselves and they don't feel comfortable with that. If they're not, if they're not the, you know, the class clown type, like I can play sometimes. So rather than making fun of a, a target like yourself or anyone else to make fun of situations.

Which, um, you know, I don't know how the situation is the butt [00:19:00] of a joke, but there's oftentimes that something occurs and we can laugh at that thing that happened. Everyone's in on the joke. Everyone feels like they can participate in the laughter themselves. And as you were just describing the continuous laughter, it made me think about the laugh class where we were doing pretty goofy things.

Um, it was a little bit like goofy improv. And you're right, it would be a little forced laughter at the beginning, but then, you know, you, it's, it's like you can try to fake laugh now, but good luck. You're gonna, you, you're really laughing because it was so fun with, again, it was about 12 people and we were doing little exercises and at first it's like, okay, I'm, I'm, you know, I don't, I don't know if I'm okay with being goofy with these strangers.

And you just get sucked in and next thing you know, you're, you're giggling your butt off. And I think that's where you talked about the sweet zone of where the healing, where the power of this [00:20:00] comes from. And I, I felt it, like I said, it was with me for two days. 

Jess Brain: That's amazing. Yeah. I, I loved how you said that it lingered within you, and I think that's something that I really wasn't expecting.

One of the first times that I ever took a, a laughter class was in New York. I just moved to New York and I took her about half an hour after class, and I walked out of this class and I was eating. I felt this wild euphoria. I, I didn't know what had sort of come over me. I mean, to be fair, it was New York, so it was, was a lot going on, but I, I felt like I was high for about three days.

And to think that you could get that just from 30 minutes of laughing and being silly and being playful. And I've had many people come to my class, some people who, um, have quiet depression and I. [00:21:00] Wow, this is better than any drug a doctor has ever given me. Someone else said, I feel like I'm walking down the street in the sunshine.

Whistling a happy tune, and that hasn't happened in a while. Another direct quote. And so there's really quite an incredible power that comes from just practicing this laughter and reducing stress, getting rid of anxiety, sense of competence. Even self-love, self-acceptance. One thing that I think is also really interesting to note that I've discovered is that a lot of people are quite self-conscious about how they laugh and the sound of their love.

And, am I laughing too loud? Am I sort of taking up too much space? And what I've noticed from practicing laughter is that you get more comfortable with your own, the sound of your laugh. 

Roger: What's one of your favorite? Laughter exercises for the [00:22:00] laughter class. 

Jess Brain: There are so many. 

Roger: I feel like I'm asking you to pick your favorite child.

Jess Brain: Exactly. It's a little bit like that. Uh, I do like, uh, the laughter cream, so it's where I give people some anti-aging cream. And say, would you like some cream? It's anti-aging laughter cream. And so then everyone will say, oh yes, I'll take a little bit. Some people take two big scoops and then we rub it on and we laugh at the same time while we are rubbing in our laughter cream.

And some people, you know, pretend that they've got a big bucket and they pour it all over their head and they're gonna it all over their arm. Because I think you know that part of the silliness of the mind is acting. Um, but really it reminds you that laughter is anti-aging. It makes you feel younger.

Hmm. It, it, so it's just, it's really embracing that [00:23:00] childlike essence. Um, so yeah, that laughter cream, it goes everywhere. It's all over. Well, I 

Roger: would, I could see the benefit of that exercise like 20, 25 minutes in just to give yourself a national face massage. Exactly. 

Jess Brain: Massage the cheeks because they, so, yeah.

Roger: Well, I remember we were, we were doing the canoe exercise. And, you know, 12 people pretending to canoe. And, you know, it, it, it, it took a little while for like the hearty laughter to begin. Like people are like, ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha. And, and it was almost like, I, I thought for a moment like, okay, we're not, we're not getting that.

The big laughs yet is, is just gonna. Move us to the next exercise and no, you doubled down. You went even harder, like into the rowing and laughing. And then pretty soon everyone's like, okay, I'm in. And started. Yeah, like 

Jess Brain: I think then someone even fell out of the canoe.[00:24:00] 

Roger: And so that's the beautiful thing about this. It is silly and it just invite, it just pulls you in to be silly and to be able to share that with other people you don't know. And yet. It just connects us, 

Jess Brain: but you also bounce off each other and that can also help to encourage a little bit more laughter.

And, and the more you do it together, the more you get to know the other people and the dynamic. And so it's a great bonding tool. You really bond really quickly. And I think as you get to do that, then you, you know, sort of how someone's gonna react and you're sort of looking out for how they're gonna be playful, how they're gonna interact with the locker exercise.

Roger: So I'm working with a team right now that is trying to increase the level of psychological safety and trust. And we've talked about different exercises and I'm like, oh no, this is it. And we [00:25:00] gotta, we gotta get everyone laughing together. And, and maybe that, that the, the first exercise in every meeting is we do something that just gets people laughing and how do we, how do we make sure they laugh more than that three to four seconds?

How do we get them to keep, keep going exactly. In the laughter. And then, and then am I gonna be brave enough to be the person who just keeps paddling? No, no, no. This is gonna be good. This is gonna work. And I'm, yeah, there's a little bit of like Steve Carrell in the office. Like, am I gonna be Michael Scott doing something that no one else is buying in?

But I have, I have faith that I can get people to, to laugh along with me. 

Jess Brain: Well, that's the thing, like it's embracing the silly. Um, and I did have someone turn up to a class and they said, you know, halfway through, they said, yes, I feel so silly. And I said, that's okay. Because we all feel silly right now, and that's part of it.

Once you get past the, I feel silly, oh my God, we're all being so silly. [00:26:00] That's when you can really relax into it and embrace it and have fun and you know, be a little bit more playful. 

Roger: It's like, that's how we know it's working. When you feel silly.

Jess Brain: So the science says that. Practicing joyful laughter can help. It tells the body to produce, uh, or to, um, encourage the production of T cells. And these T cells are considered the super cells of the body and they tell the body to produce more antibodies, which, uh, kill off all the bad cells, all the cells that are dying and even cancer cells.

And the brilliance about these T cells is that they have memory. So the next time your body as a disease or an illness, these T cells come in and we'll be like, oh, I remember [00:27:00] this. So you are through laughing. You are teaching your body how to heal in this moment and also in the future. And what I've noticed in the sort of.

Free laughter Jess versus the now laughter dress. Embracing the superpower is beforehand. I think I would've, I would've noticed sort of the stress and tensions sort of start to bubble up. You know, something happens, this goes wrong. Someone's in a foul mood, someone cuts you off, you know, while you're driving.

And then I think, you know, it'll all bubble up and get too much and then you might have an outburst. Um, but now that I've been practicing laughter, what I notice. That things might happen. Uh, something goes wrong, you stab your toe, um, someone is in a foul mood and it just doesn't affect me. It, it gives you this sort of resilience and this force field [00:28:00] where you are just sort of protected and your energy.

And so I think it's really wonderful practice because life's always gonna have the, its ups and downs and laughter gives you this. This force field that just sort of protects you so that you can balance your emotions. You can feel this sort of inner sense of calm and contentment that no matter what happens, you can just laugh it all and, and that is just a, a brilliant practice.

It, it really is. It's, it's such a, a great tool to have at your disposal. Stress reducing and inner calm. And I think it also creates a sort of, um, new pneumonia, this inner calm inner contentment and this inner flourishing that's just, yeah, just beautiful and [00:29:00] calming that you get to take with you. It's not just that you feel it just during the class.

I think that after practicing it now for five years, that it has a cumulative effect, like a snowball. It just, it just keeps building, getting bigger and stronger. Like with anything, if you practice, you can get better. And I think the, the practice of laughter, not only do you get better at being more comfortable, being silly.

Um, but all the health and healing benefits also start to strengthen. 

Roger: What or who inspired you to have this superhero power of laughter? 

Jess Brain: It was actually when I was 16 and I had just spent a year living overseas. I came home to Australia and I was invited to a party and I got a bit out of place and I don't know what came over me, but I decided to get a group of people together, boys and girls.

I said, all right, everybody on the count of three, [00:30:00] we're just gonna fake laugh. So 1, 2, 3, and everyone fake laughed. And eventually this real contagious wild laughter erupted, and then more people rushed over. I said, what was so funny? No, we just fake laughing. So we did it again, one, two, very, and after that, I, I felt included.

I felt like I had created these bonds with people. I went home just thinking, what sort of magic was that? What sort of juju, what did I create? And then a couple years later I, I found this practice called Laughter Yoga, which is more, it's about laughter and breath work, not downward dog. And that it was, um, practice in the parks in India.

So I booked a trip to India. I got up early in the morning, went to the parks in new. I couldn't find any laughter classes. I was devastated. [00:31:00] Anyway, I continued my trip, went to Vai, which is the holiest city in India, right on the Ganges. Got up early in the morning and I'm walking along the banks of the Ganges, and all of a sudden I see all these kids from the local orphanage practicing.

Laughter yoga on the banks of the canes. And I sat there and I watched them and every time I talk about it, it still gives me goosebumps. But just to sit there and just watch them gave me so much joy. It was truly wonderful. Like clearly these kids, they had holes in their jumper and you know, life might have been pretty tough for them being an orphanage.

Um. They were having so much fun in that moment, so I never really lost that feeling. Then I decided to take my Laughter Leader training. That's [00:32:00] really what sparked it and inspired it knowing that. You could create such an intense difference in people's mood and connection and joy just from laughing together, even if you don't know the people.

That's a really wonderful thing about laughter is it's sort of this, this unspoken language that you can have a connection with somebody else just through laughter. You don't need to be the same age, the same background. You don't even need to speak the same language. Yet you can still laugh together.

It's this sort of shared mental alignment. It's just really beautiful. So I think those, those kids on the banks of the ess definitely inspired me. It's, it's a memory I don't think I'll ever forget. It was really beautiful. When 

Roger: you laugh, the, the world laughs with you. And then you talk about, you know, we might not share the same language, but we could always share a laugh.

Jess Brain: [00:33:00] Exactly 

Roger: how wonderful. So this might seem like a silly question, but you know, I, I think you'll, you'll forgive me for it, but I'm, I'm curious, what do you see as the relationship between your superpower of laughter and joy? 

Jess Brain: The superpower of laughing translates to this joy you feel. And you get to share with other people, your family, your friends, your coworkers.

It has this ripple effect that goes out beyond yourself. And not only that, do you carry it with you throughout your whole day and your week, but you get to give it away and you give it away in perhaps being a little bit more patient with other people. Perhaps. This what I've noticed that you. I'm more willing to open the door and say, someone don't, don't worry.

Don't rush. Take your time. Perhaps you, you give away your joy, um, by being a [00:34:00] little bit more altruistic, a little bit more generous with your time, your money, your belongings, you. I'm a little bit more compassionate and understanding and kinder and caring. That is what I think is, is the superpower that then every, that, that power again then gets passed over to other people, and I like to think that it is just being passed along and along and along.

Roger: I was thinking that. Is, is laughter the language of joy? But even that seems too limiting, that language itself. You know, there's limitations of language and we've talked about that a lot in this, in this series, but is is joy like the energy? 

Jess Brain: Well, it's interesting that you say that because when you are practicing laughter, it does give you energy.

Physically, it gives you energy as well as mentally. It allows you to feel more [00:35:00] motivated, more productive to perhaps tackle a task that you've been putting off for a while. Um, but it's not just about the, the language, that's the joy. But I think it's also about the sound, the sound of laughter, and how that raises your, the vibration.

It raises your frequency. It, when, when you're talking about our, our energy and our frequency, it, high frequency is about joy and love and gratitude, and low frequency is fear and and stress and doubt and laughter, and hearing other people laugh. Feeling that vibration, that energy within you really cuts out the doubt and the fear, and the anxiety and the stress, [00:36:00] and you get to live in this high vibrational state, and then you get to pass it on to your friends and family.

So it's a, it's a language. It's a sound, it's an energy. There are so many different facets to laughter as as a practice. A week before I started the Laughter Club, there was an article in the New York Times that came out about laughter medicine, and the last line in the New York Times article said that laughter will help reaffirm one sense of humanity.

Oh, I mean, I, I just, I just think that that is so beautiful. Because it really does make you feel more human, make you feel more connected. It uplifts your, your soul, [00:37:00] your, your mind, your heart makes you feel more at peace and, and in harmony with, with yourself and the world around you. 

Roger: Hmm. That's so lovely.

I think you just answered my next question, but we'll give it a shot anyway. What do you know to be true about your superpower of laughter? 

Jess Brain: It has the capacity to help us heal. Only does it bring us joy and make us feel connected. It heals us emotionally. Mentally, physically. I think that by practicing it, not just doing something once, practicing it, you really sort of get a bit more of a feel for it and you start to embrace that silliness.

And I think that if by embracing this superpower power, embracing the silliness, the playfulness, you'll really start to change your [00:38:00] energy. I'd like to imagine one day. The whole world just got together. Everybody on the planet got together and we all just laughed together. For one minute. I like to think about what that ripple effect would be like.

Roger: That could be really powerful. So what did you believe early on about your superpower of laughter that you've come to learn to not be true? 

Jess Brain: I guess. I wasn't realizing beginning all the complexities and all the brilliance of laughter, I really just thought that it would be something fun and silly and it would be mood boosting, but I didn't realize how it brings this vulnerability and getting comfortable with that.

Yeah, I, I really thought that just practicing laughter was just sort of this surface level thing I didn't realize. [00:39:00] How powerful it could be to rewire your brain and to really make people kinder, calmer. I've noticed that I'm less reactionary and more contemplative, and I wasn't, I wasn't expecting that I, I wasn't expecting this, what I call a force field.

Force field that you get from practicing laughter and it's um, it's so wonderful to be living in this bubble. A laughter bubble. 

Roger: A laughter bubble. I love that. So what's next for you and your superpower of laughter? 

Jess Brain: I've been taking laughter actually into the workplace, so I'm gonna continue doing that because I think that in the workplace it can really sort of break down the barriers, reduce tension.

Allow people to speak [00:40:00] more clearly and come up with better ideas. Also, looking at, uh, taking laughter into hospitals and to cancer wards, um, because I think that that can be really powerful. I know that it can help a lot and, um, people who are struggling tend to really get a lot of benefit from it. It really flips the scale so.

Um, that's what's on the horizon. And I'm also dabbling at creating a month long joyful practice program. That'll be a, a live learning four week program, um, on the horizon as well. And I'm really looking forward to sharing everything that I've learned in the past five years, as well as the practical exercises, which is what.

I teach in, in My Laughter Club, taking that five years of learning and putting it into a four week program [00:41:00] that people can sort of dip their toe in the water and test out what. The practice of laughter is all about. 

Roger: If a listener wanted to sign up and learn more about either the laughter classes or sign up for the month long program that's coming up, how do they follow you?

How do they get on your, your mailing list so you can be in contact with them when, when the next event's coming up? 

Jess Brain: Absolutely. So on Instagram, it's the brain bar. My website is the brain buyer.com. You'll find all the information there. I also host a weekly laughter class at the moment. Um, I'm considering, uh, moving that over into two laughter classes a week because I think that the world needs more laughter and I have so many laughter exercises and I like to come up with new laughter exercises each week.

That is a personal challenge that I set myself up for. And um, I think now that I've been doing this for five years, [00:42:00] I'm always pushing the envelope a little bit and testing it out, saying, how far, what can we laugh about today? And really, there's not much in this life that you couldn't laugh about. 

Roger: And I, I highly recommend signing up for the class and taking it, like you said, taking it at least once, if not twice, because um, you, it's just too infectious.

You will end up laughing and like it's, it's not only has so many brain benefits, but I think it's a good core workout and it's also gonna like absolutely, really stretch out the muscles in your face. It's a workout for sure. 

Jess Brain: It's an aerobic workout. Absolutely. And uh, people call it the cheek gym. I mean, because afterwards your cheeks hurt.

Your stomach muscles hurt. You know, it is a core exercise. That's a aerobic exercise. Yeah. Deep, deep [00:43:00] breathing. Um, 

Roger: so Jess, are you ready for the lightning round? Yes, please. Okay, fill in the blank. Laughter is the vast medicine. I love that. Who in your life provides laughter for you? 

Jess Brain: My friends and my friends' kids.

So when I get to be Auntie Jesse. 

Roger: Is there a practice or routine that helps you grow, nurture, or renew your ability to laugh?

I'm, I'm just laughing at my own questions,

Jess Brain: honestly. Uh, I think it's the, the practicing laugh on a regular basis, but also because throughout the week I am constantly thinking about what could be a new laughter exercise. Then I am rehearsing on my own. And so then I make myself laugh while I'm rehearsing. [00:44:00] And then I get excited about how I'm gonna share it in the group.

So I laugh a little bit more, then I share it in the group. I laugh some more. And then after the class I also laugh about how we all laugh about it. L laughed about it together. So it's, there's a lot of laughter throughout the whole week. Just fight. Getting these new laughter exercises and testing the math.

Roger: Is there ever too much laughter? I'm just kidding the idea. Definitely not. You definitely, you come home from work and you're just like, that's it. No more laughter. 

Jess Brain: I think that's obviously, that's a time and points. Um, but I think that a lot of the time laughter can really help us. Get over our, our ills or any sort of pain or any sort of thing that we're struggling with.

Roger: This might be another question that I'm gonna laugh at myself for, but let's try this one. Is there a book or movie that you recently watched or read that [00:45:00] you would recommend that has laughter as a theme? 

Jess Brain: I read this book last year called The Internet is a Playground, and I picked it up in one of those, um, sort of library cafes.

And I could not stop laughing. I had to buy the book. I mean, everyone in the cafe was staring at me. I could feel their eyes on me because I was laughing out loud. I just couldn't help it. But the, the internet is the playground and it's basically about this guy who writes down how he trolls people on the internet, and it's just laugh out loud, funny.

He's a journalist and I think he just started this in his spare time, and that is a book that definitely made me laugh as well as there's this other book that I picked up many years ago, and again, I read it while I was in a diner and I was laughing out loud and I heard this couple next to me and the [00:46:00] woman said.

What's she laughing about? And the husband turned to her and said, I think she's reading a book. And there's book that says what not to say. And it's a list of like what not to say to a police officer, what not to say to your mother-in-law, what not to say at the beach. And it's another book that I regularly refer to as.

If I need an extra little giggle, what not to say in certain situation.

Roger: I love that. This couple, having this conversation, there's sort of play by play. I, I believe she's reading a book. She be.

Is, what is one thing that [00:47:00] gets in your way of your superpower of laughter? 

Jess Brain: That's an interesting one. What gets in my way? I know if there's anything that gets in my way, really, because I can make myself laugh. Even someone else in bad mood. I've sort of got that sort of horse field that Teflon that just, you know, it bounces right off.

Now. I'm gonna have to pond that one. 

Roger: Yeah, no, I, I, I love that, that, I think it, it actually speaks to the power of laughter that it, it's unavoidable. 

Jess Brain: You get to carry it with you wherever you go. 

Roger: Oh, Jess, I love this so much. I love this conversation. I knew, I knew it was gonna be a lot of fun. I'd been doing my cheek exercises leading up all day, warm up because I, I, I knew, I knew we were gonna laugh a lot.

And I really love how there's more, there's like, there's like a couple different ways to access laughter or thinking about laughter. One, there's sort of like the easy entree of just, okay, it's, it's fun. [00:48:00] Um, it's, it's, it brings us together. It creates connection. It creates a good time. But then. The deeper science behind it, the brain health behind, uh, behind laughter and all the goodness that it could create.

And then also the group dynamic benefits of laughing together, creating that sense of trust and safety, allowing people to be more vulnerable, which we know is the, the entree to creativity and change. And so love all of that. Love this conversation and just. Thank you so much for being here with me 

Jess Brain: today.

Thank you so much, Roger. I've been wonderful to share it with you and share the brilliance of, of laughter out with more people. 

Roger: Mm, thank you. Take care. Bye-bye. 

Jess Brain: Thank you, Roger.

Roger: Thank you all for being in this conversation with us, and thank you, Jess, for sharing your superpower of laughter. The question I'm asking myself now after this conversation is, how can I create more moment where we can practice laughter together as teams? What do you know to be true as a three Blue Pens production?

And I'm your host, Roger Kassner. We are recording on the ancestral lands of the Duwamish and Suquamish people. To discover the ancestral lands of the indigenous people whose land you may be on, go to native land.ca. Okay. Be well my friends, and as always, love you mean it.