Did you know that you can release weight through laughter? Really, that’ not a joke. A really good belly laugh, a howl, for fifteen minutes daily will burn up to four extra pounds in a year. Is that enough to win The Biggest Loser? No, but hey, every pound counts. Besides, what better way to help clear out that old stinking thinking!

Children laugh easily and often. It has been said up to 400 times a day. How wonderful is the sound of a child laughing? Yet, as we age, we become serious. Deadly serious. We are lucky to laugh ten times in a day. Funny thing is laughter has so many positive side effects, an actual mind body connection. Our circulation improves as our heart rate quickens, just as in an aerobic workout. Therefore, muscles are worked. Our blood pressure will rise with laughter and then drop below baseline when we finish. Our lungs expand with oxygen and the immune system is boosted. Endorphins (the body’s feel good chemical) are released.

Each morning before my youngest son leaves the house for school, I remind him to find a reason to smile and laugh. When I pick him up after school, he reports to me a funny event of the day. This has taught him to laugh at himself, see the humor in a situation and keep his mind on the positive. It is humbling for me, on the days that I allow life to become too serious. We have great times laughing together, because laughter is contagious.

Laughter is a major tool in our family life. My husband loves to dance with shopping carts in the grocery store, I must admit it has made shopping a whole lot more fun. My oldest will text me through out his day with funny events that happen on campus. I wrote previously about a fun hypnosis experiment I conducted on 97X FM radio. We work daily to keep our positive attitude alive and well.

Imagine burning those extra pounds, improving your health and having fun doing it. Why not start a daily list of reasons to laugh. Begin to record the events that occur through out your day that tickle your funny bone. I wonder how fast that list will grow? How much more you’ll notice the fun in life? Use your imagination during stressful situations to see the event as if it were a comedy or a cartoon. Your boss is yelling, can you see the steam rise out of his collar? Traffic is bad, you can imagine you are riding in the Clampett’s old truck.

Post a reason you have laughed lately. Share with me please, more reasons to laugh. Perhaps it is time for a hypnotic audio on laughter. I better go get started!