The Best Medicine
- by Christina Richardson
Check in with yourself. How are you feeling right this moment? Are you stressed, tired, not feeling well, have a cold, or something else that keeps you from being yourself?
Think about this for a moment or two and then watch this video. |
Mind, Body, Spirit
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One we still snort about is the first Seahorse parade when I reached around to get more throws from the back of our golf cart and tumbled right out, onto the street. What a klutz!
Laughter can keep you in touch with yourself and with friends. Often, laughter is a shared moment that bonds people together.
It can also be a part of regaining health during and after an illness. Author, journalist and humanitarian Norman Cousins battled a number of illnesses during his life. He wrote a collection of best-selling non-fiction books on illness and healing. He called laughter "inner yoga" and said that two minutes of good belly laughter gave him two hours of pain-free sleep.
The work Cousins did opened the door on laughter as medicine research. Today there is Laughter Yoga and even a Laughter University!
The seven great benefits of laughter are:
1. Laughter lowers blood pressure and reduces the chance of stroke and heart attacks.
2. Laughter reduces stress hormones – think how you felt after looking at that dog video.
3. Laughter is good for your muscles. Did you ever laugh till it hurts? That’s a workout!
4. Laughter is a calorie burner and can actually help you lose weight.
5. Laughter increases t-Cells (which are immunity system cells) helping you fight off illness.
6. Laughter releases those endorphins which are the body’s pain killers.
Last, but not the least,
7. Laughter produces a general sense of well- being – people who have a positive attitude fight diseases better so laugh, smile and live longer.