Laugh in the New Year    

                          Great new article in January 2010 Healthy Living

   I am so excited to contribute to Living Naturally. I think that is what we all want: to live a long and productive life naturally. Laughter should be a big part of that prescription.

   While I don't mean you have to go to the Comedy Club every night that can be a good idea. Socializing and laughing are excellent tools for keeping us young and healthy.

   What I am suggesting is you learn to call upon your own natural laughter anytime you choose. It will stimulate your circulation, immune system and all those feel-good chemicals in your brain. Laughter also increases your heart rate, lowers your blood pressure, reduces depression and stress and immediately improves your attitude and outlook. And it doesn’t require any special clothing or equipment. In fact, you can even do it in your car on your way to work each morning.

    I am proposing laughter without humor. Is that a bit hard to wrap your brain around? Stop and think about a time when you were a small child and laughed so hard you were rolling around on the floor. Makes you smile just to think about it, doesn't it? I’m not suggesting you roll around on the floor of your car, or anywhere else for that matter, unless you are at home with plenty of privacy. But I am asking you to step out of your comfort zone and think outside the box.

   Think about the fact that laughter is actually a learned physical act. We are not born laughing. Most babies I know arrived in this world screaming. Doctors tell us it takes an infant 10 to 14 weeks to learn the physical act of laughter. Fortunately for us they learn to smile much earlier.

   How can deep, robust belly laughter help your heart? According to Dr. William F. Fry of Stanford University, laughing 100 times (count each ha-ha and you will reach 100 quickly) is the equivalent of riding a stationary bike for 15 minutes or using a rowing machine for 10 minutes. I think I'll take the laughter, thank you.

   Dr. Michael Miller, a cardiologist and researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, believes that 15 to 20 minutes of daily aerobic laughter can prevent – yes, he said prevent – heart disease. And, according to television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz, the No. 1 killer in this country is preventable.

   Start your daily habit of deep, robust laughter today. It naturally massages your heart and increases your oxygen levels, which cleanses your liver. Laughter is a natural way to achieve better health for your mind, body and spirit.

Wishing you lots of laughter and much happiness in the coming year!

Judy                            

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Laughter is good for the soul and good for business too!