Everyone can
benefit from appreciating a little humor. It has been proven to be therapeutic as
it lowers blood pressure, improves circulation, stimulates our nervous system
while boosting that all-important immune system. Yes, just twenty minutes of laughter
has value.
Humor can be
especially helpful during the last three months of the year when the pressure
of the upcoming holidays cause stress for a whole lot of us. We are adding more
and more into our already busy schedules and may have trouble mentally and
emotionally assimilating year after year. The holiday blues could use a little
laughter to help us get through them.
For those of
us with seasonal affective disorder due to the winter blues, laughing (along
with light therapy, eating well, increasing activity) can help as we wait for
the increased natural light of spring to come back into our lives and make us
whole again.
The real
world has become an increasingly scary place every day. Sometimes we need a
little respite. Turn off the television news or stop reading it on your phone, and
turn on a comedian that you enjoy.
What about
our jobs? Increased pressures, not knowing what’s coming next, worry about
finding the time to do everything, too many emails and thinking about what our
future holds. Oh my! I’m stressed just thinking about those stressors!
There is a
class called “laughter yoga.” For real. Laughter yoga involves prolonged,
voluntary laughter along with some stretching and body movement. Breathing
exercises prepare the lungs for the laughter activity. Forcing oneself to laugh
turns into real and contagious laughter. Studies have shown that this yoga
raises mood and may have some cardiovascular benefits similar to exercise. It may
also help people who live with chronic pain.
Let’s start
right now and celebrate laughter for all its beneficial purposes. Put a little
laughter into your life. Let it improve your morale, well-being and enrich the
quality of your life. If you’re lucky, it will have the added benefits of
reducing anxiety, stress and depression. Laugh as often as possible and let laughter
put you back in control. As is always said, laughter is the best medicine, so I’ll
take a boatload. It’s no joke! So laugh it up and see what it will do for you. Haha,
hoho, hehe! Okay, I got it. Let’s lift our ailing spirits by splitting a gut.
It’s better than any drug.
x
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