Phyllis Larsen, an amazing graduate of the Iowa School of Laughter Yoga and a member of the Lansing Laughter Club, has passed away. We remember her joy and laughter with great fondness.
Phyllis and her husband, Mike, first heard about laughter yoga in the Ode Magazine laughter issue of August 2009. They read this article in which I was mentioned and realized we were neighbors. So they started attending my laughter club and eventually became laughter yoga leaders.
Laughter yoga made an immense difference in Phyllis' life. After one of the first laughter club meetings she attended, I gave them a tour of the church. As we walked around, she said: "Do you realize that I could hardly walk when I came in here tonight?" She and Mike were astonished. Indeed, the half hour laughter club meeting had literally transformed her walk from a painful shuffle to a normal gait (and I dare say she had a spring in her step). From that moment forward, they were hooked on laughter yoga. Though Phyllis was a long-time sufferer of rheumatoid arthritis, she found pain relief and increased happiness by practicing laughter yoga.
Phyllis with her husband, Mike
Phyllis going through the "laughter car wash"
With her graduating class at the Iowa School of Laughter Yoga
Phyllis is in the bottom right hand corner of this photo taken at a laughter yoga event in February at the AmerInn in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
At Phyllis' funeral at the Methodist church in Gays Mills, Wisconsin, people were invited to come forward to share memories. I got up to say what a generous laugher Phyllis was and I convinced the whole congregation to do "milkshake laughter" with me (pictured above). It was Phyllis' favorite exercise and I'm sure she was laughing with us as we did it.
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