“My Entire Body is Laughing"

The physical health benefits of laughter are as follows:

• Boosts immunity
• Lowers stress hormones
• Decreases pain
• Relaxes your muscles
• Prevents heart disease

Norman Cousins, author of Anatomy of an Illness, found there was no pain reliever better than clips of the Marx Brothers. For years, Cousins suffered from inflammatory arthritis, and he found that 10 minutes of laughing at the hilarity of the Marx Brothers bought him two hours of pain-free sleep. "Amusement’s ability to counteract physical agony is well documented, and as Cousins’ experience suggests, laughter’s analgesic effect lasts long after the smile has faded."

In the words of one of my cancer caregivers at the end of a Laughter Yoga Sessions, when I asked the group participants how did they feel, she exclaimed, “My entire body is laughing!”

So take that.

Lighten your load and remember a good laugh with others is more than fun, it's beneficial to your psyche and can significantly improve your overall well-being.

So, laugh it up!

Gets your entire body laughing!

- Stephen Findley, M.Div, BCC, CLYT