health: Laughter – Good for body and soul
Article submitted By Juliette Fardulis

In an increasingly frenzied world, it turns out a good laugh can be good for your health. Just ask Renée Cohn Jones, a professional clown, certified “Laugh Leader” and clinical psychologist.

According to Renée, laughter has been shown to strengthen the immune system, provide positive cardiovascular effects and give an internal massage by vibrating specific muscles. Humor itself is a vital component of a person’s well-being Renée said, pointing as evidence to studies showing people who laugh together work better together and are more enthusiastic about work, as laughter relieves stress and prevents negative tension.

A little comic relief not only coaxes smiles, but “releases negative emotions such as anger and guilt,” Renée said. And with laughter, who needs a drink to relax?

“It reduces inhibitions and increases self-confidence,” Renée explained.

“Humorous people face life’s problems better. And a sense of humor is the number one romantically attractive trait.”

Renée created a clown character named Jalapeña when her husband Timothy (then her boyfriend) was out to sea on a submarine with the U.S. Navy a bit too long for her sanity.

“I passed a store called Clown City in Connecticut and when I called they said they ‘sold clown things to clowns.’ I was curious, so I registered for a 4-month course in 1993 to become a clown,” said Renee, who holds degrees in psychology and education. “The clown skills I learned led me to build my own business as a professional clown and helped pay for my education.”

Renée also worked in residential treatment centers, teaching kids to become clowns.

“Kids who have been beaten up emotionally, physically and psychologically can really be pulled out of the slump by learning about clowning,” she said. “It builds self-esteem to know someone really cares for them as a person.”

Renée has two distinct clown characters: Jalapeña, who does birthday parties and corporate events, and a more subdued “Caring Clown.” When she clowns in hospitals, she is in her role as Caring Clown.
“I connect with patients and staff, who also need uplifting,” she said. “My costume is not quite as big and fluffy, and they can still see my face and hair. I want to appear more calm, without wearing my crazy wig and white face paint.

“Caring clowns visit people in a hospital or nursing home and aim to provide healing and comfort to people who are experiencing some sort of physical or emotional pain,” she continued. “They often practice therapeutic clowning and attempt to make a connection with each of their patients.”

A “caring clown” asks nothing of the audience - not laughter, a smile or a thank you, Renée explained. Caring clowns have a desire to serve and often derive a deep satisfaction of their own from visiting someone in need. The purpose of a caring clown’s visit is to bring warmth and joy, provide relief from monotony, show that someone cares, and decrease the stress experienced by the patient and members of the patient’s family and staff, Renée said.

When Renée is in her alternate role as Jalapeña, she notices the immediate joy her antics produce in adults and children alike.
“It’s amazing to watch well-dressed grown-ups at corporate events giggle with giddiness at being able to make a balloon animal,” she said, recalling a party in Connecticut.

Though she now balances her time between her career and mothering her two young girls, Alanna and Megan, Renée formerly did close to 30 birthday parties each month as Jalapeña.

The name Jalapeña is inspired from Renée’s Texas roots.
“I needed a southern name, so I thought of jalapeño peppers,” she said. “One of my daughter’s clown names is Habañera and the other’s is Pepperika.”

Jalapeña has clowned for thousands all across the country and even clowned in Russia with the “Patch Adams’ Goodwill Clown Tour.” In November 2001, Jalapeña and “What?” - the clown name of her husband Timothy - traveled with Patch Adams, MD, and 30 clowns from seven countries spreading good cheer and clowning in orphanages, hospitals and nursing homes. 

“Yes, the real guy, the Patch Adams doctor that the Robin Williams movie was based on,” Renée said, laughing.

Renée currently teaches clown programs at Blue Grouse Health Care Center in Fort Collins, and taught at Poudre Valley Hospital for a year in the past. Her desire is to obtain funding to set up a program for clowns to visit residents at local nursing homes least once a week. 

"My ultimate goal would be to have a full Humor Program, complete with clowns, humor carts, speakers, videos, materials and laughter clubs up and running in every nursing home and health care facility in the area," Renée said.

Jalapeña has also clowned at the International Humor and Creativity Conference sponsored by the Humor Project Inc. in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. for more than 10 years.

“It is a fabulous conference that encourages the use of humor across many fields,” she said.

But the laughs Renée generates do not stop with her own clowning. She became a certified “Laugh Leader” in 1999 through the American Association for Therapeutic Humor.

In the past year, she has conducted presentations and workshops for various women’s organizations, including one on "My Co-Workers Are Laughing At Me… and I Love It!" presented to the American Business Women’s Association.

Renée has also created the “World Laughter Tour” to act as the international clearinghouse for information, ideas and news about therapeutic laughter and the role of emotions and attitudes in health and happiness. WLT helps people achieve their fullest potential via enjoyable, systematic, life-affirming self-care strategies, Renée said.     

The WLT organizes “Laughter Club” sessions, where club members gather to take part laughter exercise workouts and other activities that encourage playfulness, fun and mental balance.

“They enjoy the social as well as the physical experience,” Renée said. “There are discussions of the benefits of laughter and the concepts of sensible living that lead to healthy attitudes.”

Regardless if she’s in her costume as Jalapeña or Caring Clown, Renée strives to prove laughter may indeed be the best medicine after all.

To learn more about the health benefits of clowning, visit www.Caringclowns.org or www.worldlaughtertour.com. Renée can be reached at DrJalapeña@aol.com or 282-7788.