Elanso

Filed under: Emotional Health, Fitness, General Health, Stress Reduction

How do you feel after a deep, long belly laugh? You know, the kind of laugh that has you rolling around on the floor, banging your arms Tickle Me Elmo-style. I don't know about you, but I feel relaxed and relieved.

According to certified laughter yoga leader Barb Fisher, we adults need to be laughing more often. We're only laughing 15 times a day compared to kids who laugh around 400 times daily. Not fair! Does the fun end with the right to vote? We may be laughing less, but maybe you'll plug into humor more often when you realize a good laugh is equivalent to three minutes on the rowing machine. We need some cardio machines telling jokes during the cool down -- or maybe comedy should be the main feature in fitness TV programming and cardio theatres.

Fisher is clear to stress laughter yoga cannot replace aerobic and weight-bearing fitness, however laughing games and exercises offer many health benefits such as:

• Stress reduction
• Immune boost
• Improved circulation, oxygenation, muscle tone and digestion