February 8 is Laugh and Get Rich Day. Even though the world can seem very dark at times, finding a little time to laugh each day can make things a little brighter. There’s even Laughter Yoga!

Benefits of Laughter

Laughter does a number of wonderful things for us.

From webmd.com, laughter:

• helps reduce stress hormones;
• boosts the immune system;
• benefits the circulatory system by boosting heart rate, regulating blood pressure, and improving blood flow; and
• lessens stress and depression.

How to Practice Laughter Yoga

I usually close my Gentle Yoga for Cancer Patients and Survivors with a round of laughter yoga, a tradition passed down to me from the previous teacher. It’s really easy and we’re all usually generally laughing by the time we’re done.

1. Sit comfortably with a long spine and bring your hands to your heart center in anjali mudra.
2. Take a deep breath in and lift your heart center skyward (remember to breath as often as you need to).
3. As you exhale, bow slightly and briefly say “ha” eight times as if you’re laughing. Deeply inhale and repeat twice more.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3, replacing “ha” with “ho”.
5. Repeat again, replacing “ho” with “he”.
6. Close with “namaste”.

Yours in love and laughter,

Debra