Is Laughter the Best Medicine?

Life can get serious and stressful at times. Sometimes we need to turn that frown upside down and laugh!

We are in the midst of the Holiday Season. A time that can be a filled with feelings of pressure and stress mixed with joy and connection with others.

Laughter can make us feel good. It is fun to play. Laughter can melt away stress and worry. It helps us detach from negative emotions and feelings. Biochemical changes occur within and around our bodies, and then we feel relaxed and uplifted.

Laughter help us to feel good, AND it has can help us recover from an illness or maintain health.

Norman Cousins, who wrote ‘Anatomy of an Illness’ and suffered with a debilitating form of arthritis, found that 10 minutes of laughter lowered the levels of inflammation in his body, and alleviated his pain so he could then have two hours of replenishing sleep. To induce his laughter, he would watch old Candid Camera episodes and Marx Brothers films. Along with this regimen and large doses of vitamin C (to help rebuild the collagen tissue in his joints), Cousins was able to recover to a functional level, despite the physicians telling him he had a 1 in 500 chance of doing so. He believed part of his recovery was also due to his positive outlook regarding his illness, and his confidence in his partnership with his physician and within himself.

May you experience laughter and joy that raise you to high peaks for a healthy mind, body & spirit.

There’s even a Yoga practice for laughter. Check out http://www.laughteryoga.org/