I believe that laughter is the best medicine. Why? Because it feels so good! The act of laughing causes an instantaneous production of hormones such as endorphins, serotonin and other hormones in the body that are associated with feelings of contentment and happiness.

Laughter shakes up your body and uses muscles that you don’t use otherwise. Laughter can even help you lose weight! Laughing changes a bad mood to good instantly because of the increase of serotonin levels in the body. Laughter spreads fast, moving quickly to those around you. Next time you are in a group, watch people’s reactions as funny things are said.  Notice how seeing and hearing someone laugh causes a laugh response, like a ripple in a pond, to the next person and the next, who then continue the passing of the laughter, to the others in the group. For this reason, laughter is extremely important to your emotional and physical health.

Get a bunch of funny books and videos that can make you laugh. Or look at funny pictures or comics. Then laugh as often as you can. I recommend  laughing for at least 30 minutes per day! It’s so important to your health.

I recently found out that there is something called “Laugh Yoga” which is spreading like wildfire in India and now in the U.S. Go to www.laughteryoga.org  to find out more.

©Christina Florence – September 2010