Podcast appearances and mentions of maia aziz

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ A former national track champion, Greg Hunter spent over 25 on the front lines of healthcare, before co-founding ManageUP, a fully-integrated solution to healthcare administration. Manage Up offers a platform for effective performance and organizational culture management and was born from the recognition that healthcare administrators challenges related to performance management issues were having an adverse impact on the very cultures they were trying to improve. www.manageupprm.com

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Sylvie Dagenais-Douville is a published author, public speaker and the founder and owner of the Laughing Institute. Trained by Doctor Madan Kataria, and with a background in gerontology and visual arts, Sylvie is a professional laughter yoga leader who has been promoting laughter as a proven method to help cope with stress and anxiety and to live a healthier and more positive lifestyle.  www.institutdurire.com

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Dorothy Rosby is a syndicated humor columnist whose work appears in newspapers in eleven Western and Midwestern states. She was the 2015 first-place winner in the National Federation of Press Women contest—Humor Column category and a finalist for the 2015 Robert Benchley Award for Humor Writing. Dorothy is the author of two humor books: I Used to Think I Was Not that Bad and Then I go to Know Me Better and I Didn’t Know You Could Make Birthday Cake from Scratch, Parenting Blunders from Cradle to Empty Nest.  www.dorothyrosby.com

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Fred Sarli is a mechanical engineer and non-practising agnostic who has been working in the pulp and paper industry for over 25 years; he is currently Technical Sales Manager for a multinational German engineering firm that manufactures paper machines (and pioneer for the first such machine back in 1857). Fred’s hobbies are mainly in the arts including historic bouts with musical theatre, choral singing, ballroom dance, playing piano, playing and recording with local bands, worked as dance instructor at a swing dance school cofounded with his sister and organizing swing dance nights. His current love affair is with the ukulele.

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Kathy Laurenhue is the CEO of Wiser Now, Inc. a multi-media publishing and staff development company focused on wellbeing in aging. Wiser Now provides online courses, webinars and other consulting services to a variety of clients in the U.S. and Australia. Kathy is also the author of four books, including her latest, Creating Delight – Connecting Gratitude, Humor, and Play, which essentially sums up her life and work goals. www.CreatingDelight.com www.WiserNow.com https://www.facebook.com/groups/creatingdelight/  

Maia Aziz’’s parents were asking her “where do you want to do volunteer work this summer,” while her friends were off doing kids’ things. “It was just what they expected of me,” she recalls. “I didn't know how to exist without that core value of the importance of helping others.” Today she is a Certified Humor Professional (CHP) and contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People. She hosts a weekly talk radio show, Morning Moments with Maia… Conversations of Love and Laughter, where she shares heartfelt and often hilarious conversations about love, laughter, leadership and life.

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Mary Kay Morrison is an educator, author and speaker whose work includes integrating what we know about applying cognitive research on emotions to learning. She is founder and director of Humor Quest and currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Association of Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH).  Mary Kay is the 2016 AATH Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and volunteers for the international AATH Humor Academy graduate study and certificate program.  Mary Kay is a Diplomat with the American Institute of Stress (AIS) and the author of Using Humor to Maximize Learning; Exploring Links between Positive Emotions and Education I and Using Humor to Maximize Living. http://www.questforhumor.com/ Ways to Play Every Day article on the Benefits of Humor  

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Jeff Justice, CSP. is a comic turned keynote humorist & stress management speaker who teaches people how to use their sense of humor appropriately in the workplace to release stress, defuse anger and better relationships. With a background in communications and a career as a top stand-up comedian and improvisational actor , Jeff’s innovative programs on appropriate humor in the workplace have been featured on CNN and CNBC and in articles in: Time Magazine, Newsweek, The Daily News, TV Guide to name but a few. He is the author of 7 books and is president and founder of “Jeff Justice’s Comedy Workshoppe”, the largest and most successful school for stand-up comedy in the country.  www.jeffjustice.com http://www.jeffjustice.com/how-to-write-a-top-10-list/

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Andrew Scot Proctor is a social media guru and entrepreneur who teaches people how to make their lives measurably happier using science-backed strategies, including positive psychology and mindfulness. He is the #1 Positive Psychology broadcaster on Periscope through which he has taught thousands of live students about the science of happiness and human flourishing.  Andy is a contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People, has earned over 5 million views on his own happiness blog, and is the author of Live Your Mission, a book that helps you find more meaning through discovery of your unique life purpose. www.andrewscotproctor.com

Faith, Laughter, Humor, Purpose, Suffering   Episode 41: Faith - Maia Aziz URL: http://www.julieannsullivan.com/faith-maia-aziz/   On this episode of Mere Mortals Unite, we interview our first Canadian, Maia Aziz. Maia has her own podcast called Morning Moments with Maia. She’s a mother of six, a wonderful wife, and works at Mackay Rehabilitation Centre in Montreal as their program director. I hear she’s a great cook and I know she can crochet awesome scarves. She can do it all, but none of that prevented her from having a child with some genetic anomalies.   Maia shares her story and how it solidified her faith that all will be well. She reminds us that we have the ability to choose having faith that life has a great purpose for us, but we have to remember to make that choice. A key to her success is to accept that sometimes we have to suffer through and know that’s OK. We all have days that don’t go according to plan, so join us to find some helpful ideas on how to cope.   You’ll discover:   What Maia means when she talks about faith. The benefits of having an attitude of faith. How Maia trusted that her daughter would be OK after discovering she had some genetic anomalies. What it means to allow yourself to suffer through a hard situation. Actionable steps to developing a deeper faith.   Interview Links & Other Resources   Follow Maia Aziz on Twitter Connect with Maia Aziz on LinkedIn Connect with Maia Aziz on Facebook Morning Moments with Maia Morning Moments With Maia: Sheva Carr on Humor and Human Trafficking Morning Moments With Maia: Judith Henry on Humor and Caregiving iTunes - Subscribe, Rate & Review

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Cynthia Keeler is a mental health counselor and coach who assists clients to recognize and develop their resilience, through prevention and wellness techniques, including Positive Psychology, Flow, the Arts, Humor, Laughter and Mindfulness. With over 25 years of experience in therapeutic clowning, Cynthia, a certified laughter leader and active member of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, has a particular passion to encourage self-care awareness and self compassion among healthcare providers, first responders and caregivers. 

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Morning Moments wishes you a and your loved ones the merriest of Christmases.

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Jude Treder-Wolff is a writer/performer, psychotherapist, storyteller and improviser. She has been a featured in shows all over the New York area, and speaks on the topic of Transformative Storytelling for conferences and events, most recently at The National Association of Social Work 2016 conference in Albany, NY,  and the 2015 Applied Improvisation World Conference in Montreal. Her solo storytelling show Crazytown: My First Psychopath was selected for the 2013 Midtown International Theater Festival and the 2012 Chicago and San Francisco Fringe Festivals and has been performed at Actors Theatre Workshop and Broadway Comedy Club in NYC among others. Jude has been published in the International Journal of Arts & Psychotherapy and has been featured in numerous news outlets including New York Newsday, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Women's Day, and the New York Daily News. www.judetreder-wolff.com

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ After a life-threatening ski accident, doctors weren't sure Steve H. Lawton would survive. But because of his attitude, his helmet, a message from God and a rubber chicken named Henrietta, Lawton not only survived, but recovered nearly completely and lives to share his tale and the wonders of positivity. In his new book, Head First! A Crash Course in Positivity, Lawton shares his inspirational story as well as eight practical positivity principles he took away from the tragedy, and instructions on how to implement them in your life immediately. Through his unique experiences, Lawton has molded his messages and insights about how to create a positive mindset, lead with positivity and achieve better outcomes for individuals and organizations.  www.stevehlawton.com

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life! http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Debra Chaves Norwood is an attorney, writer, public speaker and World Laughter Tour certified laughter leader who has dedicated her life’s work to advocacy for minority rights and against women’s discrimination and child labor practices. She is a former International Humanitarian Law instructor for the Mid-South Chapter of the American Red Cross, and currently serves on the board of Human Friends International, a not-for profit interfaith harmony and human rights organization that recently testified before the United Nations regarding the use of unjust rape laws in Pakistan. Ms. Norwood is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association and Chair for WLT (Women in the Law), a faith based program for women attorneys. She is the host of two Internet radio shows: Look Good! Feel Good! Segment of Your True Colours Image Radio on www.blogtalkradio.com/businessovercoffee and a bilingual radio show Mi Vida(My Life) also on BOCI Radio. www.debranorwood.com  

Maia Aziz, Healthcare Administrator (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Lieutenant Commander Chip Lutz, USN(Ret), MSEd, CSP, is the President and founder of Unconventional Leader, LLC and has 27 years of solid leadership experience. A retired Navy Officer, he has had two command tours and also served as the Director of Security for Naval District Washington, DC during September 11th 2001. A seasoned educator and trainer, he is currently adjunct faculty for two different universities and has taught over 20 different classes in leadership, management, human resource development, and organizational behavior. He is the author of 4 books, been published in Security Management Magazine, and has had numerous articles on teamwork and leadership published in Zig Ziglar’s Weekly Newsletter. Today Chip joins Maia for a conversation about how our attitudes can shape our work experience. www.unconventionalleader.com

Maia Aziz, Healthcare Administrator (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Dwayna Covey, Director of the Center for Learning and Professional Development Operations at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, is a graduate of the Institute for Professional Empowerment Coaching who through her private coaching practise, New Season Coaching supports individuals and groups on their paths to positive communication strategies, healthy work environments and intentional career choices. She is a certified Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) Facilitator, Certified Laughter Leader and Reiki Master who is a member of the Coaching Center of Vermont, The Association for Applied Therapeutic Humor and the International Coach Federation. Dwayna's enthusiasm, authenticity and humor are a regular feature of  her Bridge Weekly column “Dose of Dwayna.”  www.newseasoncoaching.com www.thebridgeweekly.com

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Joan Accolla is a living example of what can happen when creativity meets empathy.  Joan holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts, with a major in Interior Design from New York Institute of Technology and an Associate Degree in Exhibition Design from Fashion Institute of Technology. She has recently been certified as a Laughter Leader (CLL) through Steve Wilson's World Laughter Tour and currently teaches design at New York Institute of Technology. After twenty years of experience in brand identity, both inside a house or inside the body, Joan founded Growing into Health, a creative business and brand marketing organization that helps clients build healthy and meaningful connections between themselves and their environment.  Most recently, Joan is the Co-Founder and creative director for Healing Headbands Project, a non-profit organization that inspires others to develop a healing mindset by integrating laughter with art. http://www.healingheadbands.com/  

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Scott Mautz is a Procter & Gamble veteran who ran several of the company’s largest multi-billion dollar businesses, including their single largest, a $3 Billion Dollar division.  He is an award winning keynote speaker and the author of Make It Matter: How Managers Can Motivate by Creating Meaning – a book that’s received many accolades including The “2106 Leadership Book of the Year - First Runner Up” and a “Best 30 Book of 2015”.  Scott also teaches at Indiana University and has been named a "Top 50 Leadership Innovator" by Inc. Magazine, where he also writes a weekly column for the national publication.  He’s appeared in Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, and many other national publications and podcasts. http://scottmautz.com/ 

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Sharon Weinstein, author of the award-winning book, B is for Balance; 12 Steps Toward a More Balanced Life at Home and at Work, is a keynote speaker, consultant and educator with over 3 decades of global healthcare experience. She holds the coveted Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation, the highest earned international recognition for professional speakers making her one of only 12% of all speakers to hold this designation.  As if that wasn’t enough, Sharon served as director of the Office of International Affairs for an 1800-hospital alliance for over 10 years and as U.S. advisor to the Kremlin Hospital in Moscow.   No stranger to stress, this week Sharon joins Maia for a conversation about how while it might not be easy, everyone has the ability to attain the balance they are seeking. www.sharonweinstein.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca    John Morreall, Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at the College of William & Mary, is an internationally recognized expert on humor and its benefits. He has been teaching university courses on humor since 1983, and has published six books and over seventy articles on humor. In 2000 an international conference was held in Amsterdam based on his book Humor Works. Since 1988 he has been on the Editorial Board of Humor: The International Journal of Humor Research. He is Honorary President of the International Association for the Philosophy of Humor. In 2004 and 2005 he was elected President of the International Society for Humor Studies. Under the name Humorworks, Dr. Morreall has addressed over 600 business and professional groups in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Japan. His work has been featured in the New York Times (four times), the Washington Post, Asahi Shimbun, the Manchester Guardian, Forbes, and the Economist. His clients include IBM, AT&T, and Pennsylvania Co-Operative Potato Growers.     www.humorworks.com     

Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Andrew Tarvin is the world's first Humor Engineer. He teaches people how to enjoy their jobs more while doing them better. Andrew has worked with thousands of people from 200+ organizations, including P&G, GE, and Microsoft, on topics ranging from mastering office communication to humor in the workplace. Combining his background as a project manager at Procter & Gamble and his experience in performing over 1,000 shows as an international comedian, Andrew teaches people how to get better results while having more fun. He is a best-selling author, has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, TEDx, and FastCompany, and has delivered talks in 50 states, 18 countries, and 3 continents. He loves the color orange and is obsessed with milkshakes. For more, visit www.HumorThatWorks.com.         

  Maia Aziz, Social Worker (PSW) and Certified Humor Professional (CHP) writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter.  Assistant Administrative Chief of Allied Health Services at the Montreal Children's Hospital, contributing writer to The Positive Psychology People and active member of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia spends her Sunday mornings sharing 3 of her favorite things with someone who is out there pushing the positive- a fresh cup of coffee, a heartfelt conversation and some spontaneous laughter. These are conversations about love, laughter, leadership and well, life!  http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ A rebroadcast of one of our most popular episodes, this week, laughter coach and author of Awakening the Laughing Buddha Within, Joe Hoare, joins Maia all the way from the U.K. for a conversation about the mind-body connection and how to get out of your own way to renew your Zest for Life and Be More Dophin. Joe reminds us that all of us always know what our next step needs to be. We just need to stop obscuring it and allow ourselves to live IN the moment, not FOR the moment. Feeling discomfort in our lives is an invitation to change. It's "bonkers" not to accept this invitation and switch our default setting to Joyfulness. http://www.joehoare.co.uk/  

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca    Vadim Mercurio, QA Operations Manager at VMC and graduate of the International Academy of Design and Technology in Video Game Design and Development does anything but play games in his role as leader, mentor and coach in the workplace.  Understanding that true employee development requires a relationship and that traditional forms of performance management do little to build competence, business or trust, Vadim joins Maia in a conversation about the shortcomings of old-school performance appraisals and how to truly elevate, not just evaluate our most important resources, our human resources.       

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     A fellow Canadian and graduate of the University of Western Ontario, Dr. Ken Shonk practiced as a family physician for over 30 years before beginning a speaking career in which he shares with audiences from 50 to 2000 the truth that while there ain’t much fun in medicine, there is a lot of medicine in fun. Over the last 15 years he has given over 900 different audiences what he calls a “chuckles checkup,” in which he deconstructs the history, biochemistry and uses of humor in medicine, showing how a little humor can go a long way to making life more bearable even in the heaviest of life's moments. www.healthyhumor.ca

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca                     T.J. Jones is a leadership crusader. He has 25 years of experience developing leaders in roles as a teacher, coach, sales executive and Director of Training and Development. With a caring spirit, he has led professionals through multiple corporate acquisitions and change initiatives. From the trenches of the realworld, Jones developed his belief, “caring is the heart of leadership,” the inspiration for his new book The Caring Warrior: Awaken Your Power to Lead, Influence, and Inspire (Advantage Publishing, October 2016).  As a speaker, Jones helps his corporate clients develop a cultural blueprint where caring leads to trust, engagement, innovation and business performance, helping leaders and teams to collaborate and perform. Jones uses an approach he calls “ActiveCoaching” with coaching clients and teams. He acts as a personal trainer for the mind and heart, helping individuals to own who they are in order to influence and inspire their teams and organizations. www.tjjonesleadership.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca             Paul Osincup is a Speaker, Consultant, Humorist, and Educator.  With a Master’s Degree in Higher Education Leadership & Administration and a background in stand-up & improv comedy, his mission is to use his expertise in leadership and levity to create positive corporate climates & educational communities. Whether it’s his TEDx Talk, a keynote speech, or a training, Paul delivers a rare blend of wise inspiration and spontaneous wit to both educate and motivate his audience. www.paulosincup.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca             Dr. Lynn Soots is a professional educator that mixes positive psychology into every aspect of developing students to appreciate themselves, the world they live in, and the learning experience as part of finding meaning in their lives.  She claims the underlying foundation to her success is to take the journey with the students; to fully engage and enjoy the time together. As a cofounder and editor of The Positive Psychology People, Lynn hopes to get the meaning across of what it truly means to be human and how we journey through life given everything that is thrown at us on a daily basis. She believes that while life is not always easy, we can find our unique set of tools to help guide and support us through growth over our entire lifetime.  Her particular tools are: humor, chatting, and immersing herself in the moments. Lynn hails from a small town in Canada; Morrisburg Ontario, but has traveled the world as a United States Air Force service-woman. She is a retired veteran and now focuses exclusively on tour-guiding students through the wonderful world of psychology. www.thepositivepsychologypeople.com/lynn-soots

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca             Lenny Dave is a nationally-recognized speaker, humorist and comedy historian, who speaks to a variety of audiences around the country, ranging from senior citizens, corporate executives and cancer patients to college student leaders and their anxious parents. A Past President of AATH - the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. Lenny is both a student of comedy and a practitioner of humor who has most recently been presenting a fun and informative program entitled, 100 Years of Comedy, a tribute to the great comedians of our times.  Lenny was twice nominated by Campus Activities Magazine as "Speaker of the Year,” and has been the recipient of 14 "showcases" from NACA and APCA, the two leading campus entertainment organizations.  He has contributed to three books including Let Your Leadership Speak: How to Lead and Be Heard, What's So Funny About Heart Disease? a tasty, college textbook entitled Culinary Improvisation! Today Lenny joins Maia for a conversation about the evolution of comedy and how our favorite comedians have shaped and reflected the society we live in. www.lennydave.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     Jessica Ruggieri has found her place as the "Ambassador of Inclusion" of a unique team building and consulting company, The Fun Dept.  Jessica takes every opportunity in life to help others live better.  Her love for life, people, and communication have provided her opportunities to diversify her skill sets yet develop her focused passion.  She has experienced the nonprofit, hospitality, fitness, and health industries during the last 15 years and has found the common thread that connects people--fun. Her undergraduate degree in Interpersonal Communication and Psychology and her Masters in Health Promotion, complete with a certificate in Health Coaching, have prepared her for working with diverse groups of people.  Jessica always tells people that she majored in “Small Talk” and received her Masters in “Helping People Live Better” (just a glimpse into her casual personality).  Although she takes her job seriously, she finds light-hearted moments always and creates space for others to feel relaxed, rejuvenated, and cared for in her presence. www.morefunatwork.com  

Faith, Laughter, Humor, Purpose, Suffering   Episode 41: Faith - Maia Aziz URL: http://www.julieannsullivan.com/faith-maia-aziz/   On this episode of Mere Mortals Unite, we interview our first Canadian, Maia Aziz. Maia has her own podcast called Morning Moments with Maia. She’s a mother of six, a wonderful wife, and works at Mackay Rehabilitation Centre in Montreal as their program director. I hear she’s a great cook and I know she can crochet awesome scarves. She can do it all, but none of that prevented her from having a child with some genetic anomalies.   Maia shares her story and how it solidified her faith that all will be well. She reminds us that we have the ability to choose having faith that life has a great purpose for us, but we have to remember to make that choice. A key to her success is to accept that sometimes we have to suffer through and know that’s OK. We all have days that don’t go according to plan, so join us to find some helpful ideas on how to cope.   You’ll discover:   What Maia means when she talks about faith. The benefits of having an attitude of faith. How Maia trusted that her daughter would be OK after discovering she had some genetic anomalies. What it means to allow yourself to suffer through a hard situation. Actionable steps to developing a deeper faith.   Interview Links & Other Resources   Follow Maia Aziz on Twitter Connect with Maia Aziz on LinkedIn Connect with Maia Aziz on Facebook Morning Moments with Maia Morning Moments With Maia: Sheva Carr on Humor and Human Trafficking Morning Moments With Maia: Judith Henry on Humor and Caregiving iTunes - Subscribe, Rate & Review

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     Kate Offer, Bay Area melodramatic soprano, would like you to know that she is very, very important and special and has done many wonderful and exciting musical things that would make you say, “Wowza!” and “Gee Whiz!” and “Didgeridoo!” She says she lip syncs perfectly for a number of estimable (but easily-fooled) organizations like Cappella SF, the SF Symphony Chorus, and the Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco.  Other bamboozled victims include Volti, the Vallejo Choral Society, the Cal Berkeley Alumni Chorus, Berkeley Contemporary Opera, West Edge Opera, Oakland Opera, Piedmont Light Opera, Goat Hall Theater, Miss Lilly’s All-Star Jazz Hands Kazoo Band and Buffet, and the Alameda Civic Light Opera.  (One of those might be fictional) Kate was voted the "2012 Best Featured Actress in Musical" by BroadwayWorldSF.com.  Learn more about Kate at- www.kateoffer.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca             Erica Swiatek is a high energy, passionate, facilitator, consultant and trainer.  She blends her expertise in the fields of innovation and learning & development to create activities, courses and programs.  Her programs include topics such as creative problem solving, professional development, change management and team building.  Erica also has a passion for playfulness in learning which led to publishing an article on this topic in the 2015 Big Questions of Creativity book. Erica is certified in Myers-Briggs, DiSC and FourSight assessments which she uses these to help team’s problem solve, communicate and understand each other better.  She has a Master’s degree in Creative Studies and is an adjunct facility at Buffalo State College. www.innovatefaster.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca  Megan Werner and Whitney Farrar are licensed, clinical mental health counselors, who have practiced together at a residential facility for juveniles who have sexually offended.  Whitney continues to work with this population and has expanded her competency to focus on clinical work with female sex offenders.  As of late, Megan has been learning the ins and outs of committed youth, who are mandated to live in a substance abuse residential treatment facility.  Both Whitney and Megan have been using humor and laughter with their current and past populations, in addition to various other populations to include acute psychosis, actively disengaged staff, outpatient clientele, business administrators, colleagues, and every day “Joes.”  Megan has experience researching and applying positive psychology based interventions, while Whitney has worked for three years with difficult populations, using creative and expressive therapies.  Both are pursuing specializations in Humor and Laughter Therapy. Megan and Whitney would love to hear from you! mwerner@youthbridge.com whitneyfarrar87@gmail.com    

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca             This week 4X Tedx speaker, international author and social media guru, Bobby Umar, joins Maia to talk about authentic connection,leading from the heart and the hidden strength that lies in our own vulnerability. Website: www.raeallan.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca            Dr. Janet obtained certifications in Clinical Sexology, Sex Education and Erotology and earned her PhD in Human Sexuality from IASHS. She received her certification in Sex Coaching through Sex Coach U, under the direction of world renowned Dr. Patti Britton and Dr. Robert Dunlap and has been enjoying an active private practice in Sex Coaching since 2012. She joined the Sex Coach U faculty in 2013 as the Director of Curriculum and Student Adviser, where she enjoys using her expertise to guide students on their journey to certification. She has been an RN, BSN since 1981 and has practiced in most areas of nursing. As a holistic healer, she has used her skills as a Reiki ll Practitioner, Intuitive, Certified Laughter Leader, Healing Clown, Lay Midwife, Lactation Consultant, dancer, musician and artist to guide clients to optimal wellness. http://janetsexcoaching.com

Meet Chip Lutz &Maia Aziz AATH LCDR Chip Lutz, USN(Ret), MSEd, CLL, is the President and and founder of Unconventional Leader, LLC and has 27 years leadership experience. A retired Navy Officer, he has had two command tours, served as he Director of Security for Naval District Washington, DC during September 11th 2001 where he was responsible for the safety and security of 25,000 people on 9 different Naval Installations in the National Capital Region during one of our Nations most trying times. “If you want others to follow…GO FIRST!”  -Chip Lutz

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca            Jeff Jackson is a writer and salesman who left corporate America to pursue an acting career in NYC when mother nature decided on other plans for him. A father of twin boys, through his writing and speaking he is a staunch advocate for helping men and fathers be their best. Along with his own Daddy Is Best blog, his witty writing has been featured in the Good Men Project, Multiplicity Magazine, Encouraging Dads.com  and most recently in the newly released book, Go Ask Your Dad- Questions, Answers and Stories about Fathers, Fatherhood and Parenting. www.daddyisbest.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca             Nick Mosca holds a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard University where he won The Billings Preaching Prize Competition for his work at the intersection of humor and theology. He is an avid speaker and writer about this and other inspirational topics through WABC Radio, The HealthCare Chaplaincy Network, The Milken Scholars Program, The Madison Avenue Baptist Church, Judson Memorial Church, and Toastmasters International. Moreover, Nick served as a co-host for WABC’s longest-running program, “Religion on the Line,” and was featured on The Religion News Service website. This week, Nick joins Maia on Morning Moments to talk about the place of humor in faith, the place of religion in comedy and how finding the hilarity in the holy might just be the key to world peace. www.nickmosca.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca             Beth Boynton is a RN, MS is an organizational development consultant who uses theatre improvisation activities to teach communication, collaboration and leadership skills to healthcare professionals. She is the author of Successful Nurse Communication : Safe Care, Healthy Workplaces & Rewarding Careers and  Confident Voices: The Nurses’ Guide to Improving Communication & Creating Positive Workplaces. She is an avid blogger who publishes a blog called, Confident Voices in Healthcare a wonderful blog dedicated to making healthcare safer, kinder, fairer, and more cost-effective.  www.confidentvoices.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     A physical therapist by day and stand-up comic by night, Dr. Laura Hayden has appeared in countless clubs, theatres, casinos, cruise ships, military tours and shacks all over the United States and 26 countries. As a stand-up comedian she has performed at festivals in New York, Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Scotland. Other credits include TV Guide Network, Laughs on Fox, The Night Shift with Kevin Ferguson, Funny.com, Dead Americans, LATALK radio and XM radio She is the author of Recipes for a Broken Heart. A wonderful collection of heartbreaking stories of love lost and the comfort foods that help people get through, and author The Shoe Blog, a tribute to life, travel and the joyous pleasures of fancy footwear. Today, Laura joins Maia for a conversation about how healthcare practitioners need to care for themselves as they care for others and how comedy and laughter can be invaluable tools in the prevention of caregiver burnout. www.laurahayden.com           

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     Trevor Smith B.A., M.S., M.Ed. Over the years, Trevor has skillfully used the principles of improvisation and laughter  as training tools to help employees reduce workplace stress, improve their communication skills, become more creative problem solvers, improve their ability to work as part of a team, and create that spark that leads to an overall healthier and happier workplace. Now he has combined his improvisational techniques with leadership training and development strategies to create a unique series of talks, trainings, workshops, seminars, and retreats for CEOs and HR leaders in addition to employee groups. Trevor supports organizational leaders and teams by teaching them the importance of incorporating fun and lightening the mood in the workplace.  www.blueskyconsulting.us

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca             Cindy Miles, Family Caregiver Resource Coordinator for the Southwestern Commission Area Agency on Aging, is a Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher (CLYT) with Laughter Yoga International.  Cindy was personally trained by the founder of Laughter Yoga, Dr. Madan Kataria, a medical doctor from Mumbai, India, who started the movement in 1995.   She has presented at national and regional conferences and has provided therapeutic laughter workshops and retreats to organizations, large and small across the nation.  Cindy recently conducted a multi-state research project, which was just published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal, “Advances in Mind Body Medicine”.  Her research project resulted in North Carolina’s approval of Laughter Yoga as a Title III-D Evidence-Based Disease Prevention/Health Promotions Program. Today Cindy joins Maia for a conversation about the link between humor, laughter and healthy aging.

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     Jacki Hartford is a Regional Director of The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), the country’s oldest and largest nonprofit study abroad and intercultural exchange organization. Since 1947, CIEE has helped thousands of people gain the knowledge and skills necessary to live and work in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse world by offering the most comprehensive, relevant, and valuable exchange programs available. Jacki is a mother, grandmother and has "mothered" over a dozen youth from overseas through the CIEE program. Today Jacki joins Maia for a Mother's Day conversation on motherhood in all its forms. www.ciee.org

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     Dr. Laura Sunn is a board certified psychiatrist, who is also board certified in Integrative Holistic Medicine by the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine. She acts as a consulting psychiatrist for Cancer Treatment Centers of America-Zion, consultant for Kenosha Human Development Services and continues to maintain a private practice she founded in 1990. Dr. Sunn is a member of numerous organizations, including the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, the American Psychiatric Association, the Wisconsin State Medical Society, the National Association for the Dually Diagnosed and the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, through which she recently received the designation of Certified Humor Professional. An impassioned HeartMath provider and Brennan School of Healing certified practitioner, Dr. Sunn is committed to integrating and expanding psychodynamic psychotherapy with solid science and energy healing for patients and caregivers whom she recognizes as the most important part of the healthcare team. For Dr. Sunn, the doctor-patient relationship is a privilege that plays a central role in the process of healing mind, body and spirit and one that has led her to honor that her job is not simply to treat a condition, but as with her preferred pastime of gardening, to plant and nurture the seeds of hope.  

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., C.H.P., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     Judith Henry is a writer, speaker and author of The Dutiful Daughter’s Guide to Caregiving, a part how-to, part humours account born of her own personal experience of caring for her elderly parents. In addition to article writing, Judith offers consultations, talks, and workshops on caring for older adults; dealing with grief and loss; the benefits of expressive writing. www.judithdhenry.com        

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca        Lori Shandle-Fox, author of Laughing Is Conceivable...one woman's extremely funny peek into the extremely unfunny world of infertility, is an essayist, humorist and columnist. Her work has been seen in The Washington Post, Newsday (New York), The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and her humor commentaries featured on National Public Radio. Lori's stand up has been performed in hundreds of comedy clubs accross the U.S. Today Lori joins Maia for a conversation about how humor can be a lifeline in the journey of coping with infertility. ?      

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca This week's guest is Barbara Miller D.Ed, founder and curriculum director of Educational Explorations™. Having provided professional development for school districts nationwide and drawing on her experiential and research knowledge, Barbara joins Maia for a conversation about strength-based education and neurodiversity.   www.educationalexplorations.org  

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca             Michael Fischette has been performing in various capacities for many years. He began his career in broadcasting where he worked as a news reporter and disk jockey. Following his career in broadcasing...he joined a company called Aniforms in New York and became a writer and voice for live animation video cartoon characters and puppets appearing at corporate events. He has performed at meetings, trade shows and employee events hosted by such companies as: Compaq Computer Corporation, BMW of North America, Nestle Food Company, Johnson & Johnson and many other Fortune 500 companies. Michael’s voice has also been heard on national radio and television commercials and public service announcements as well as Public Television and EPCOT at Disney World. He has performed with such celebrities as David Letterman, Willard Scott, Joe Gibbs, Walter Payton, Jim Hartz and John Ratzenberger. http://www.funnybusinessproductions.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca             Deb Gauldin spent over 20 years as an obstetric nurse and educator before starting a professional speaking business specializing in healthcare morale, women’s well-being, and the art and science of humor.  She has delivered hundreds of programs across the United States and around the globe and has delighted hundreds of audiences from Fargo to New Zealand.  Deb’s signature story is part of an anthology called The Princess Principle: Women Helping Women Discover Their Royal Spirit. She is also a contributing author to the book, Humor Us: America’s Funniest Humorists on the Power of Laughter. Her recordings of “Hormone Affirming Music and Humor” are enjoyed and used in educational settings in at least six countries, and were featured on the National Public Radio.  In today's show, Deb shares a conversation with Maia about how humor can open healthy discussion about body image and, create some laughs along the way.  www.debgauldin.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca                     Barbara Grapstein is the founder and CEO of Healing Headbands Project Inc. As a Global Laughter Ambassador, Certified Laughter Leader and Laughter Yoga Instructor, Barbara's passion is her never ending devotion to helping others through philanthropy complemented by her entrepreneurial spirit. Barbara is actively involved with several organizations including the Association of Applied Therapeutic Humor(AATH), Steve Wilson's World Laughter Tour and Comedy Cures. Barbara is a featured guest on WCWP 88.1 N-Joy show and is well traveled. Barbara has had the privilege of engaging with many influencers and leaders in the field including the "Guru of India", Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of Laughter Yoga. Barbara is a corporate consultant for holistic health, stress management and serves to help children and families living with cancer. The program currently runs in child life centers, universities and hospitals in the North East. www.healingheadbands.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca             Sheva Carr, doctor of Oriental Medicine and licensed HeartMath speaks internationally on how to receive the benefits of the heart's impact on consciousness, health, performance and creativity. She is the executive director of the Fyera Foundation and director and founder of HeartMath's HeartMastery Program and a director for Pathways to Peace which has led her to be a representative to the UN Commission on The Status of Women. Today Sheva joins Maia for a conversation about human trafficking and the role humor can play in inspiring and empowering the collective to make social change. www.heartmastery.com www.crowdrise.com/operationbigsister Bonus Offering from Sheva- The Heart Gets To, The Mind Has To Audio Chapter: https://www.dropbox.com/s/7g7u73ktqa5f22d/Audio%2021.%20The%20Heart%20Gets%20To%2C%20The%20Mind%20Has%20To.mp3?dl=0 From www.beingthesourceoflove.com 

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca             Liliana De Leo is founder and president of Fitness Firm and Living Laughter™. Liliana has a strong background in the fitness and health field having worked as Fitness Program Director for the YMCA. She became a Laughter Yoga Leader in 2006, and due to a growing demand for her services, she established Living Laughter™ in 2008.  Living Laughter™ is a new form of healthy living that offers valid, sustainable and reliable tools to unlock the many healing benefits of laughter.  It can exponentially improve cooperation, creativity and overall wellbeing in body, mind and spirit.  She strongly encourages prevention before medical intervention.  Liliana, an accredited Laughter Yoga Teacher (Dr. Kataria’s International School of Laughter Yoga), has gone on to train hundreds of students.  Furthermore, her workshops have inspired many to adopt the “Living Laughter™” way of living. All her classes and workshops incorporate her E2 formula- Educational and Entertaining.  www.lilianadeleo.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     Former principal, Sue Stephenson, writes and speaks on the topics of trust and teamwork, mental health and happiness for educational, community and corporate clients. Author of four books, including Kidding Around; Connecting Kids to Happiness, Laughter and Humour, Sue is the founder of The Happiness-School-Project, a program that uses stand-up comedy skills to promote well-being through mental health literacy, positive psychology and laughter.  Today Sue joins Maia for a conversation about how comedy can be a curriculum tool to teach kids how to move from problems to punchlines. www.SueStephenson.ca

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     Kelly Epperson and Jim Simmons found their soul mate in each other, and they believe such love is available for everyone. Kelly, an author, speaker, and coach, and Jim, an artist, poet and writer, inspire others to believe, receive and achieve their dream life. They know love and laughter, joy and romance, dancing in the kitchen, and the power of deep communication. Finding true love is a “skill” that anyone can learn! www.kellyepperson.com   Featuring the spoken word of award-winning poets, Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye. www.kaysarahsera.com www.philkaye.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     Coach Gunn, a former collegiate track coach who trained 136 All Americans and eight NJCAA national championship teams,and has coached hundreds of chronologically enhanced adults to succeed with completing a  marathon. In addition to running the Extreme Sports program at Southwestern Michigan College, through Cairn Stone Adventure Tours, Coach Gunn organizes adventure tours in which he trains people from all walks of life to reach their best physical potential and then accompanies them through some of the most interesting and wonderful experiences of a lifetime.    www.cairnstoneadventuretours.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca                             Jeffrey Briar, or Swami Hasya Ananda, is a Master Trainer for The Dr. Kataria School of Laughter Yoga and Director of The Laughter Yoga Institute. He is probably the most experienced Laughter Exercise Leader in the world outside Asia. Jeffrey's work has been widely featured in international media from CNN, to The Megan Mullaly Show to Geraldo at Large and Oprah. His laughter yoga mastery was even credited as bringing a stiff Harry Hamlin out of his shell to quick step his way through Dancing With the Stars. Today Jeffrey joins Maia for a conversation about the spiritual underpinnings of the laughter yoga movement. www.LYInstitute.org

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     Sue Z. Hart was born on a small farm in Vail, Washington. At the age of three her family home burnt to the ground. Her family moved into the logging camp, where her father worked. For six years they lived in a two bedroom camp house while her family built a new home, with the help of many family friends. Sue believes the experiences of her childhood played a big part in her belief that we all need to help our neighbors and be actively engage in our community. Passionately involved in her community, Sue served two consecutive terms as President, NAWIC (National Association of Women in Construction) Puget Sound Chapter 60 and remains active on the Board. She is a member of the Master Builders Association of King & Snohomish Counties and serves on many Advisory Boards. She is active in her Church and Community. Sue is the founder of Building Beyond the Walls, an inclusive basic construction training program for those who want to volunteer on construction sites that teaches participants self-awareness and empowerment. Today Sue joins Maia for a conversation about connecting and engaging people to build stronger communities. www.buildingbeyondthewalls.org

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     David Granirer is a counselor, stand-up comic, mental health keynote speaker and author of the Happy Neurotic, How Fear and Angst Can Lead To Happiness and Success. He performs, maintains a counseling practice and teaches Stand-Up Comedy Clinic at Langara College in Vancouver, where he takes people from all walks of life who have had a secret desire to do stand-up comedy and after eight weeks has them on stage performing at a comedy club. Many of his students have gone on to become professional comics, performing at festivals such as Just For Laughs, and on TV shows like Jay Leno and Craig Ferguson. David founded Stand Up For Mental Health, a program teaching stand-up comedy to people with mental illness as a way of building self-esteem and fighting public stigma. Stand Up For Mental Health has groups across Canada and the U.S. Today David joins Maia for a conversation about the link between Comedy, Mental Health and Healing. www.standupformentalhealth.com  

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     Debra Joy Hart, RN is a Nationally Certified Bereavement Facilitator who has experience in home care, alcohol/drug rehabilitation, hospice, and public health. Deb, AKA “Daisy the Clown”, is part of a team working with FCAN to bring therapeutic, fun-filled programming to the families affected and infected with HIV/ AIDS. Deb also gives workshops for the adults on how to welcome and include more humor and joy in their lives. Her programs include: Parenting, Grief and Loss, Disease Stress Management, Spirituality and Faith. This morning Deb joins Maia for a conversation about the role humor can play in bereavement. www.debrajoyhart.com  

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     Krista Nicole Thompson was born and raised in Kingston, Ontario and epitomizes intricate mosaic of the millennial generation. A preschool teacher by day with aspirations of international development, Krista takes a pause from adventurous world travels and the urban social scene to share a conversation with Maia about seizing the Why of Generation Y Not.

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     Currently, the Senior Pastor of the historic Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York City,Susan is also a professional comedian. She tours nationally with Rabbi Bob Alper and Muslim Comedian Azhar Usman in the Laugh in Peace Tour and has been featured in O Magazine, the New York Times, on CBS, CNN and ABC.  A blogger for Good Morning America, Huffington Post, Psychology Today and Day 1, Susan's book, Laugh Your Way to Grace: Reclaiming the Spiritual Power of Humor was named one of the best spiritual books of 2010. Today, in recognition of the new year, Susan joins Maia for a conversation about fresh starts and new beginnings. www.susansparks.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests for a series of conversations on life, love and laughter.. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     Jason Kotecki is the co-creator of Escape Adulthood, a company he founded with his wife, Kim, to help people rediscover the secrets of childhood in order to build better lives, businesses, and teams. He is an artist, professional speaker and author of several books including his most recent Penguins Can’t Fly: + 39 Other Rules That Don’t Exist.  Today Jason joins Maia to share a conversation about how to break rules that don't exist in order to beat burnout, find balance, and become more innovative. www.escapeadulthood.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca     Mike Cyra spent twenty-years working in Emergency Medicine and Surgery as a Surgical Technologist; an Emergency Medical Technician on ambulances; a Chief Medical Officer on a ship sailing Alaska's Bering Sea and an Instructor of Maritime Emergency Medicine and Basic Life Support. He is the author of two #1 Bestselling medical humor eBooks: "Emergency Laughter: It Wasn't Funny When It Happened, But it is Now!” and his second hilarious book, "Emergency Laughter: Stories of Humor Inside Ambulances and Operating Rooms."  In today’s conversation Mike reminds us that laughter helps the mind, heals the body and is a critical survival tool for all who deal with death, dying and disaster up close.  http://home.earthlink.net/~medicalhumor/mikecyra/id12.html

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca Allen Klein (aka "Mr. Jollytologist") shows audiences worldwide how to find and use humor in their changes, challenges and not-so-funny stuff.Allen is an award-winning professional speaker and author of 20 books including The Healing Power of Humor, The Courage to Laugh, Change Your Life!, Inspiration for a Lifetime, and Learning to Laugh When You Feel Like Crying. In addition to holding the exclusive National Speakers' Association designation of Certified Speaking Professional, Allen has won the Doug Fletcher Lifetime Achievement Award from The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (2009) and was inducted into the Hunter College Hall of Fame in 2007. Today Allen joins Maia to talk about how we can takes steps to ensure nothing ruins our day no matter what curve balls life might throw at us. www.allenklein.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca Dr. Penny Wilmering is the Director of Rehabilitation Science at Arkansas Tech University. She serves on the CORE Commission on Undergraduate Standards and Accreditation, on the Arkansas Board of Examiners in Counseling and is a fellow in the National Rehabilitation Counseling Association. Dr. Jennipher Wiebold is a lecturer in the Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies at Western Michigan University whose research and teaching explores the significance of humor in the lives of people with disabilities, friends, family members, and care providers. . Today they join Maia for a conversation on humor and disability.

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca Dr. Melissa Baartman Mork, Chair of the Department of Psychology at University of Northwestern- St. Paul shares a personal conversation with Maia about parental loss.  The loss of our parents marks us, no matter when or how the moment comes, and shapes who we become as adults and parents ourselves.  Featuring the beautiful songwriting of Danielle Ate the Sandwich www.danielleatethesandwich.com    

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca Allison Brown is an elementary school teacher and mother of 2 school-aged children. Her sister, Andrea Brown, is a hospital social worker and mother of 4 young daughters. Between them they have half a lacrosse team and a whole lot of parenting experience. This week the Brown sisters join Maia to dish the real dirt about motherhood.  This is not the organic purees and sports strollers' fitness classes of motherhood. This is motherhood uncensored. Hair loss, hemorrhoids and hilarious hooligans. What you weren't Expecting because no one told you what to really Expect. This is motherhood unplugged.  

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca Carla Ulbrich is an award-winning comical singer-songwriter and guitarist who in 2002, while on tour, fell very ill with kidney failure and a stroke. As part of her recovery, she wrote a bunch of humorous medical songs lampooning her frustrating experience with the US health care system, resulting in the CD "Sick Humor”, one of 6 CDs she has released. Her songs, keynotes, and book entitled "How Can You NOT Laugh at a Time Like This?" which was awarded the Lupus Foundation of America's Seal of Approval, are all based on her humorous take of the life of a patient with several chronic and sometimes catastrophic illnesses. She now performs and speaks at conventions and other gatherings of patients, caregivers, nurses, and other medical professionals. She has been featured on AOL News, Sirius XM radio, Dr. Demento and ABC and describes how she learned the value of work/ life balance, joy, and self-care the hard way- by having none of those, and getting incredibly sick. And then finding them again in the journey to reclaiming her health.  www.carlau.com www.thesingingpatient.com  

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca Sporty King is an 18 year Wall Street Journal veteran; a Cadre Speaker for the US military’s Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, and a Gold member of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. This Toastmasters International Hall of Fame Speaker regularly talks to groups as varied as youth groups, business leaders, military veterans, and senior (or as he would say, seasoned) citizens. Sporty is a gifted orator, whose ability to play with words centres, soothes and inspires. He is a man who truly understands the Power of Words, or as he might say What Others Remember and Digest Strengthens Spirits.   www.sportyking.com www.heyugly.org    

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca Julie Ann Sullivan MBA, is a professional speaker, trainer and leadership coach. As the founder of Learning Never Ends, Julie teaches execs innovative approaches to engagement and employee culture. Author of A Little Bit of GRATITUDE Goes A Long Way, Julie believes when people are given a new way of thinking they have a better attitude towards work and life. This week Julie joins Maia for a conversation about the practical steps to building a happier workplace.  www.julieannsullivan.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca Carolyn Flower is a career PR, Promotion & Brand architect, Huffington Post columnist and owner of Carolyn Flower Enterprises & Associates since 1992. She is the international best-selling author of Gravitate 2 Gratitude ~ Journal Your  Journey and believes a commitment to a practice of daily gratitude is not only foundational, but a life skill that can be learned and shared. Gratitude is the memory of the heart. Gratitude is contagious. Ms. Flower is a passionate first person advocate for the collaborative divorce philosophy and in 2016 will publish two books: Family Ever After (Collaborate Life After Divorce – Embrace A New Normal)© and Mommy’s House | Daddy’s House – A Tale of Three Children (co-written with her own young adult children). Visit her at www.carolynflower.com and at www.familyeverafter.ca.  

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca Jason Goldsmith is an industrial designer and communication artist who founded the company The Big Blue Hug in 2006 to share his story of fatherhood to autism advocate. Having developed the creative communication methodology, Picture Talking, as a means of unlocking his relationship with his son, Jason now gives regular trainings on language stimulation in schools, developmental centres and universities and is considered a leading autism advocate whose work has received national and local media attention through interviews with CBC (Montrealer of the week), CJAD (Tommy Schnurmacher), and CTV.  Jason Goldsmith received an award for his contribution to the Montreal autism community from the Montreal Autism Awareness Gala 2011 and The Big Blue Hug has been awarded Le Concours québécois en entrepreneuriat 2007, Montreal West. Today Jason joins Maia to share a conversation about his own journey to autism advocacy and how art can at once connect and inspire. www.thebigbluehug.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca Dr. Heidi Hanna Phd has been featured at many national and global conferences, including the Fortune Magazine Most Powerful Women in Business Summit, ESPN Women’s Leadership Summit, and the Million Dollar Round Table. Heidi is CEO and founder of SYNERGY, an integrative neuroscience partnership that provides brain-based training for individuals and organizations. She is also a frequent lecturer at Canyon Ranch Resort and Spa in Tucson, Arizona. Heidi’s publications include the NY Times best seller The SHARP Solution: A Brain-Based Approach for Optimal Performance, and the follow-up releases Stressaholic: 5 Steps to Transform Your Relationship With Stress and Recharge: Investment Strategies for Your Most Valuable Resource (March, 2015).  www.synergyprograms.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca Jae Pierce-Baba, OTR, Humorologist, is CEO of her own seminar company, LipShtick Productions and a nationally recognized professional speaker, writer and comedienne. As an Occupational Therapist, Jae has more than 20 years of experience in a variety of settings with patients ranging in age from newborns to the elderly.Her mission in life is to spread the word of the power of therapeutic humor in both our professional and private lives. She has combined her experiences in the health care industry with her talents as a speaker and professional storyteller to entertain and educate a wide variety of audiences from the health care industry to the US Army. Today Jae joins Maia for a conversation on the strength of silliness and how having fun with our kids can make parenting FUNtastic. www.jaepierce-baba.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca Steve Wilson M.A., C.S.P. is an award-winning psychologist and internationally reknowned expert in the field of therapeutic humor who in 1998 founded The World Laughter Tour Inc., an organization whose mission is to create and disseminate an adjunctive therapeutic modality called “laughter therapy”, by applying laughter theories and practices into multi-generational, multi-cultural, systematic health and happiness programs. Certified Laughter Leaders trained through The World Laughter Tour now lead hundreds of laughter clubs around the world. Steve is the Director of National Humor Month and the author of numerous books including Good Hearted Living and Toilet Paper, Toothpaste and Tuna-Noodle Casserole; Observations and Advice on Love, Marriage and Authentic Intimacy. In 1994 he received the highly exclusive Certified Speaking Professional designation by the National Speakers' Association, in 2007 the Golden Laughter Award from L'Ecole Francaise du Rire et Bien-Etre and in 2010 the Doug Fletcher Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. www.worldlaughtertour.com

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca Andrée Ulrich is a trainer, professional coach and author of Comment Gérer Les Plaintes de ma Clientèle (How to Handle My Customers' Complaints). A LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator and coactive coach trained by CTI (Coaches Training Institute), she uses visual graphics and yes, America's favorite construction toy, to creatively facilitate team trainings and personal transformation. This week Andrée joins Maia for a conversation about how visualizing our objectives and obstacles can help us reach our goals and how we all unknowingly already possess the solutions to the problems we face. www.andreeulrich.com      

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ This week, laughter coach and author of Awakening the Laughing Buddha Within, Joe Hoare, joins Maia all the way from the U.K. for a conversation about the mind-body connection and how to get out of your own way to renew your Zest for Life and Be More Dophin. Joe reminds us that all of us always know what our next step needs to be. We just need to stop obscuring it and allow ourselves to live IN the moment, not FOR the moment. Feeling discomfort in our lives is an invitation to change. It's "bonkers" not to accept this invitation and switch our default setting to Joyfulness. http://www.joehoare.co.uk/

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. http://www.withloveandlaughter.ca/ Theodora Brinckman, entrepreneur and executive director of the MAB-Mackay Foundation, is a leadership professional who champions kind business practices and living a life of philanthropy. This week, Theodora joins Maia for a conversation on the universal value of giving, human connection and the role we all have in making our world a better place. http://fondation.mabmackay.ca  "Not only must we be good but we must be good for something."-Henry David Thoreau

Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L., writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca This week's guest is Barbara Miller D.Ed, founder and curriculum director of Educational Explorations™. Having provided professional development for school districts nationwide and drawing on her experiential and research knowledge, Barbara joins Maia for a conversation about strength-based education and neurodiversity.   www.educationalexplorations.org  

Maia Aziz P.S.W., social worker and certified laughter yoga leader, writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who live their lives with love and laughter and work to help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.ca Nick Mosca holds a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard University where he won The Billings Preaching Prize Competition for his work at the intersection of humor and theology. He is an avid speaker and writer about this and other inspirational topics through WABC Radio, The HealthCare Chaplaincy Network, The Milken Scholars Program, The Madison Avenue Baptist Church, Judson Memorial Church, and Toastmasters International. Moreover, Nick served as a co-host for WABC’s longest-running program, “Religion on the Line,” and was featured on The Religion News Service website. This week, Nick joins Maia on Morning Moments to talk about the place of humor in faith, the place of religion in comedy and how finding the hilarity in the holy might just be the key to world peace. www.nickmosca.com

Maia Aziz, social worker and certified laughter yoga leader, writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests whose mission is to improve the lives of others. www.withloveandlaughter.ca Brenda Elsagher is an international speaker, comic and author of 4 books including If The Battle Is Over Why Am I Still In Uniform-Humor as a Survival Tactic to Combat Cancer and  It's In The Bag And Under The Covers-Stories of Dating, Intimacy, Sex and Caregiving About People With Ostomies. This week Brenda joins Maia to talk candidly about her own experience of having being diagnosed with colorectal cancer and how humor can promote resilience in a health crisis. When your body fails, sometimes your funny bone is fine. www.livingandlaughing.com

Maia Aziz, social worker and certified laughter yoga leader, writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an eclectic lineup of guests who push the positive and help others do the same. www.withloveandlaughter.c This week, American Laughing Champion and improv coach, Julie Ostrow, joins Maia for a conversation on humor and bullying. When is "making fun" not "making funny"? Julie, a regular guest on TMJ4 tv's The Morning Blend, explains how self-depricating humor can sometimes mask feelings not so funny at all and how building healthy communication and social interaction in pre-teens can lead to confidence and compassion in adulthood. www.gofindthefunny.com "All of us have ways in which we mask and cover our pain."- Iyanla Vanzant

Maia Aziz, social worker and certified laughter yoga leader, writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by a unique lineup of guests who embody positive living and inspire others to do the same. This week 4X Tedx speaker, international author and social media guru, Bobby Umar, joins Maia to talk about authentic connection,leading from the heart and the hidden strength that lies in our own vulnerability. Website: www.raeallan.com Networking Mastery: www.raeallan.com/networkingmastery DYPB - Discover Your Personal Brand conference: www.dypb.ca "Leadership is much more an art, a belief, a condition of the heart, than a set of things to do." - Max DePree

Maia Aziz, social worker and certified laughter yoga leader, writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by an inspiring lineup of guests who embody positive living and help others do the same. This week, levity specialist and adjunct professor of creative problem-solving, Beth Slazak, joins Maia for a conversation on purposeful creativity, and how to turn challenges into questions. Drawing on her experiences as a corporate team dynamics coach and a college lecturer, Beth shares how applied improv techniques can lead to scholastic success and the creation of hope. "It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one."- Alex Faickney Osborn  

Maia Aziz, social worker and certified laughter yoga leader, writes and speaks on living a life of love and laughter. President-Elect of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Maia is joined each week on Morning Moments With Maia...Conversations of Love and Laughter by a fascinating lineup of guests who embody positive living and help others do the same.  This week award-winning visual artist, professional speaker and humanitarian clown, Guy Giard, joins Maia for a conversation on his journey to  "love clowning" with Patch Adams and his mission to help others build a personal roadmap to achieve their goals. Inspired by his world travels and personal life experience, Guy Giard shares his 7 steps on how to reboot and launch a life of outstanding happiness. "If my ship sails from sight, it doesn't mean my journey ends. It simply means the river bends." -Enoch Powell

Meet Chip Lutz &Maia Aziz AATH LCDR Chip Lutz, USN(Ret), MSEd, CLL, is the President and and founder of Unconventional Leader, LLC and has 27 years leadership experience. A retired Navy Officer, he has had two command tours, served as he Director of Security for Naval District Washington, DC during September 11th 2001 where he was responsible for the safety and security of 25,000 people on 9 different Naval Installations in the National Capital Region during one of our Nations most trying times. “If you want others to follow…GO FIRST!”  -Chip Lutz Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L     Over the last two decades, Maia Aziz has worked as a social worker and administrator in a variety of health and social service establishments.  A current pediatric Program Manager at the MAB-Mackay Rehabilitation Centre in Montreal, Maia, a Certified Laughter Yoga Leader and member of the Board of Directors of the AATH (Association of Applied and Therapeutic Humor), writes and speaks about how to cope with the inevitable rollercoaster of emotions and daily challenges of being a caregiver, how to collaborate effectively with healthcare professionals and how to never lose sight of what really matters.   Maia founded the blog With Love and Laughter to share her everyday wisdoms to joyful gigglers everywhere.  Read more at www.withloveandlaughter.ca

Meet Chip Lutz &Maia Aziz AATH LCDR Chip Lutz, USN(Ret), MSEd, CLL, is the President and and founder of Unconventional Leader, LLC and has 27 years leadership experience. A retired Navy Officer, he has had two command tours, served as he Director of Security for Naval District Washington, DC during September 11th 2001 where he was responsible for the safety and security of 25,000 people on 9 different Naval Installations in the National Capital Region during one of our Nations most trying times. “If you want others to follow…GO FIRST!”  -Chip Lutz Maia Aziz P.S.W., C.L.Y.L     Over the last two decades, Maia Aziz has worked as a social worker and administrator in a variety of health and social service establishments.  A current pediatric Program Manager at the MAB-Mackay Rehabilitation Centre in Montreal, Maia, a Certified Laughter Yoga Leader and member of the Board of Directors of the AATH (Association of Applied and Therapeutic Humor), writes and speaks about how to cope with the inevitable rollercoaster of emotions and daily challenges of being a caregiver, how to collaborate effectively with healthcare professionals and how to never lose sight of what really matters.   Maia founded the blog With Love and Laughter to share her everyday wisdoms to joyful gigglers everywhere.  Read more at www.withloveandlaughter.ca