Ever wake up in the morning on the grumpy side of the bed, or not relishing the idea of facing a new day?
The best way to urge yourself gently into a sitting position, that is after throwing the covers off is to say ten times out loud with much enthusiasm, “Every day in every way life is getting better, and better and better”!
Now stand up smiling and do some bend overs while continuing to smile for five minutes and watch how the happiness factor increases over the weeks. Throughout the day laugh for ten minutes, both for its health benefits, and to develop the habit of “laughing for no reason,” bringing more joy into your life and the whole world.
In 1979, Norman Cousins published a book “Anatomy of an Illness” in which he described a potentially fatal disease he contracted in 1964 and his discovery of the benefits of humour and other positive emotions, in battling it. He found, for example, that ten minutes of mirthful laughter gave him two hours of pain-free sleep. His story baffled the scientific community and inspired a number of research projects.
It has been said that if one repeats a new behavior for 21 days in a row, it will become a permanently established habit. Even if you miss a day from time to time, you will benefit from having a goal.
A kitchen timer is a handy tool. Set it for ten minutes, and be amazed at how quickly the minutes pass as you do your “laughter work out.” Remember that you are not alone! Somewhere in this world, other Laughter Yoga practitioners are laughing with you. Imagine them, and imagine friends and family as you “take your Laughter Medicine” for the day.
Start by doing the laughter cheer, HOHO HAHAHA for one minute, followed by the Aloha exercise where you breathe in through your nose while stretching your arms above your head and breathe out laughing Alo……hahahahahaha, as you lower your arms. Then choose five laughter exercises, interspersing them with more breathing/ stretching ones. Congratulate yourself after each one with the Laughter Yoga cheer – “Very good, very good, Yeaaaaah!”
One of my favourite laughter exercises is the Tarzan Yell and Laugh. 
Remember The Carol Burnett Show, where she faithfully does the Tarzan yell at the end of her show.
Start by tapping your chest like a gorilla, do the Tarzan Yell , spread your arms out as far as you can, then laugh. It’s great for boosting the immune system, helps to clear your respiratory system, expands your lungs, massages your throat and helps with temporomandibular disorder or TMD
Another one I like to do is Laugh for NO Reason, real easy, just laugh.
Try Cell Phone Laughter, pretend to hold an imaginary cell phone to your ear and listen to the funniest joke you have ever heard. Great for when you’re driving and you are experiencing road roge. Helps to calm you down and you remain in good spirits when you reach your destination.
To do Milkshake Laughter, raise two imaginary glasses in front of you and move your right hand over your left hand, pretending to mix the ingredients in each glass together three times. While doing this back and forth, left to right and right to left, say ho, ho, ho and then tilt your glass to your mouth and drink with laughter to hahaha!
Remember to do this three times!
Positive Self Messaging (“I’m great, I’m wonderful, I’m fantastic, I’m beautiful, I’m funny”) These exercises help
dump stress, depression, pain and anxiety, among a million more. Raise your thumbs up, like the expression “EH”, point them at yourself and repeat the affirmations above. Try to go through the alphabet.
Remember to include deep breathing (from the belly like Santa) in-between your laughter exercises.
One of the creative ways of helping the seniors breathe properly is to pluck an imaginary flower, take a long inhaling breath in and a long ‘haaaa’ exhale. Pick eight colours: red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, indigo, and white. After you have picked all the imaginary flowers throw them in the air and laugh.
By developing a habit of laughing everyday you’ll find you are more prone to frequent outbursts and episodes of overwhelming ecstasy, joy and appreciation for people and life.
Click here to “Laugh Along with Kathryn Kimmins” to get your daily dose of laughter!
Have an amazingly happy filled laughter day, so far!
Kathryn