36 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 12-18, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com FACE TO FACE As Ginger Joy Johnson nears the front of the line at Monterey’s Alta Bakery on a recent Saturday morning, she’s delighted there are ginger scones in the display case—in her experience, they’re almost always sold out. So she orders one, along with a hot chocolate, which will provide fuel as she gives massages in the afternoon at The Refuge. Johnson, 45, grew up in Pacific Grove, and in her mid-20s, she married her high school sweetheart and followed him up to Washington state for his work. She attended the University of Washington, graduating with a degree in audiology. After divorcing in 2018, a new chapter in her life began: She moved to Taos, New Mexico, where she studied with a spiritual guru. Her journey continued when, in 2019, she traveled to India for a week to learn how to practice and teach “laughter yoga.” It’s not the type of yoga that involves stretching, it’s about laughing with a group of people and experiencing their energy and joy—it’s like laughter as medicine, a vehicle to improve physical and mental health. An ailing relative brought Johnson back to the Monterey Peninsula in 2022, where she practices massage therapy, life coaching and—sometimes—laughter yoga. Earlier this year, Johnson won the American Laughter Championship. After that, she took third place in the World Laughing Championship. The events, which take place over Zoom, have contestants compete in different categories—most contagious laugh and most diabolical laugh, among others—and contestants are eliminated with every round based on the votes of those watching, including the contestants themselves. Per the World Laughing Championship website, “The goal of the championships is simple. To create more contagious laughter in the world and to elevate the pursuit of joy and happiness.” Weekly: When did you first become aware of laughing championships? Johnson: It was around the time of the pandemic, I started seeing glimpses of it. [My friend Larry in Rhode Island] said we need to start an American one so we can qualify for world. The main thing is we’re measuring how contagious people are—the more contagious you are, the more likely [you’ll] get into the next round. I got the Facebook page going and we got a lot of people to compete. It was really fun. So you and your friend co-hosted the first American championship in 2022. When did you start competing? I got to a point where I told Larry, “I want to compete next year.” In 2023, I competed, but I was disqualified because my microphone wasn’t working. Does the championship come with any sort of prize? I have a plaque, the Doug Collins Award. [His] laughter was so contagious. A documentarian asked him, “How can you laugh so much?” He said, “I just feel like I’m getting tickled inside.” What got you into it? I’ve always loved laughing. I was the kind of kid who’d laugh so hard I’d almost pee myself. I’d run to the bathroom and trip and still laugh. The laughing niche has really helped me break down the stress and lonely feelings I went through after my divorce. The main thing was I really lost my person in that relationship—and the joy. For me it’s very therapeutic. When you are hurt in a relationship, when you are stressed, you kind of cocoon the heart and it’s hard to trust ourselves, it’s hard to trust others. When you laugh with a group of people for a while, the burdens are not as heavy. So Ginger is not your birth name— how did you come to adopt it? When I divorced, I wanted to change a little bit more who I was. In my marriage, I was known as Leah, my birth name. I was breaking down internal judgments, and I found I was more playful and fun. My friend said to me, you’re a Ginger. I said I love that name. It’s a root, it has spice, it’s medicinal, it’s fun. So there are two different meanings—ginger the root, ginger the redhead. Now I tell people I’m the laughing ginger. It’s easy to remember. Ginger just does feel like my identity. I actually joke about that “woke” stuff—I like to say I strongly identify as a ginger. Are you in any ginger communities? I would be. I am a part of the ginger festival that happens in the Netherlands every August. Last year I was teaching laughter yoga. It’s called Redhead Days, in Tilburg. Laugh Factory A spiritual journey paved the way for Ginger Joy Johnson to become America’s 2024 laughter champion. By David Schmalz Although she can stop laughing, Ginger Joy Johnson’s laugh is so fun and contagious that she wins competitions. Johnson also leads laughter yoga sessions. DANIEL DREIFUSS
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