Have you ever considered how many times you laugh in a day? Do you ever go days without laughing? Laughter is incredibly powerful. It is a full-body experience. Children know laughter quite well–at least this is what I have observed with my son Noah. He will laugh for seemingly no reason at all. He’ll laugh simply because he is happy. Although, some may laugh because they are happy, laughter also has the potential to create happiness. When we laugh it releases endorphins, or neurotransmitters that result in a feeling of euphoria.
When you have days where you feel low energy, depressed, stressed, anxious, or sick–even if you have to fake it, practice laughing. With practice, the laughter becomes more authentic and more frequent each day.
Laughter is also said to be contagious, so surround yourself with more people that laugh–kids especially have infectious laughter. Below is a video of my son Noah laughing to get you started. Laugh away friends!
Anna Ferguson is the co-creator of World Peace Yoga, a style of yoga that inspires peace in action, developing intuition, deepening empathy, and expanding compassion. You may connect with Anna via Facebook.