Laughing - the only medicine you'll ever need

"Time spent laughing is time spent with the Gods."
-Japanese Proverb

Laughing is in my opinion, the biggest pleasure in life. I just love that feeling of laughing, it's those moments when every thought is out of your mind and you get this carefree feeling. Laughter is the best remedy for stress and frustration, anger and so on. 

Apparently we are not the only ones that enjoy laughter. The first hoots of laughter from an ancient ancestor of humans rippled across the land at least 10 million years ago, according to a study of giggling primates.


Researchers used recordings of apes and babies being tickled to trace the origins of laughter back to the last common ancestor that humans shared with the modern great apes, which include chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans.

The finding challenges the view that laughter is a uniquely human trait, suggesting instead that it emerged long before humans split from the evolutionary path that led to our primate cousins, between 10m and 16m years ago.

Laughter is a great example of how the best things in life are free.  Besides the great feelings you experience during "a laughing session", laughter comes with more good news. Laughing is really healthy for your whole body. 

In 2005 researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center were the  first to report  a link between laughter and healthy function of blood vessels. They stated  that laughter causes the dilatation of the inner lining of blood vessels, the endothelium, and increases blood flow.

Some of the other benefits include:

• reduction of inflammation and decreased platelet aggregation.
• reductions in stress hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine.
• When laughing the brain also releases endorphins that can relieve some physical pain.
• Laughter also helps your immune system by boosting the number of antibody-producing cells and enhancing the effectiveness of T-cells

Laughing 100 times is equal to 10 minutes of rowing or 15 minutes of bike riding so just keep that in mind. It's a really fun way to burn calories and keep your body and mind healthy.

Wishing you the best,
Rachel

7 effective ways to relieve stress and anger

You know those days when you wake up and everything seems to be going the wrong way. You woke up too late, or woke up too early and cannot go back to sleep. Woke up with an awful headache or someone calls you and wakes you up when it's your day off. 

After that, everything falls apart. You spill toothpaste on your blouse, you get late to work, everybody seems to step on your nerve and your day becomes a roller coaster of stressful events. By evening you feel completely depleted and crave for sleep earlier than usual. That's kind of disappointing because you end up having absolute no control over the situation, and yes it might have been just one bad day but one bad day and turn into one bad week, month and eventually years.


If you feel brave enough to take control over emotions, whether they are good or bad, I suggest you try various methods to switch your mood until you find one that really fits you. 
Here are some of the things I've been using and really helped me out:

1. Deep breathing
Our body reacts to the way we feel. When we are angry or anxious, there is an increase in heart rate, blood pressure and levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline. Our breathing becomes superficial and our muscles tense.

So, next time you get angry take a couple of deep breaths. Five, up to ten usually work for me but feel free to take as many deep breaths as you need. You can also visualize your worries as gray clouds being pushed away by your gentle exhale. Inhale and visualize all the good things coming your way. Count your blessings and don't forget "Every cloud has a silver lining."


2. Take a walk / Run
Take a walk in a park or in nature. The fresh air and those bird chirps should help you relax. Or, you can always choose running. It will help you consume your energy and forget about worries. Plus at the end of the day you'll feel proud for doing something healthy and burning some calories.

3. Singing / Listening to music 
Try listening to your favorite song and sing along to it if you feel like. You can also go all out and start singing karaoke versions of your favorite songs. That should light up your mood. It's not necessary you start off with the happiest song if you don't feel like it. 

If you are really mad or sad, sing the song that describes your mood, sing it real loud. Be one with it, let all of your emotions come out and let them go when the song ends. After that sad song try something more happy and go on until you feel happy again. 

4.  Try aromatherapy 

I have to admit, i didn't give aromatherapy enough credit as it deserves. I kept on hearing about it and always thought it was overrated. But being an extremely curious person i went out one day and bought myself a ceramic oil burner and lavender essential oil. It was more of a game to me, i placed water and a couple of lavender oil drips and I just let it burn while minding my own business at the computer. 

In a matter or minutes I was a new person, the sweet scent of lavender really picked up my mood. I couldn't stop smelling the air around the ceramic oil burner, it was such a nice perfume, not too strong but not too weak. Sweet yet natural. Just. Perfect! After that i started experiencing with other essential oils and it's a unique adventure for your senses with each scent. 

Essential oils are also great ingredients to massage oils. I prepare myself massage oils by mixing 2-3 spoons of carrier oil (Olive oil, Jojoba oil, Avocado oil, Sunflower oil and so on) with 4 - 5 drops of essential oil. 

5. Laugh

Remember those good old times when everything was fun and nothing was impossible? Yes, i am talking about when you were a kid. Kids pout when they get upset, but they forget all about it in a couple of minutes, because there's always something great waiting around the corner. And they know that. I believe kids are wise and we could really learn something from them. So, laugh! Laugh more often, laugh with all of your heart. Even if someone really upset you or you are in a stressful situation, try to see the funny part of it all. I'm quite sure there's one. There's always a funny part.  

6. Be wise 

Try to reconsider things. Yes, maybe someone really stepped on your nerves but did they really mean it? Because most of the times people don't mean to upset you or get on your nerves. Just think about the fact that they might have had a bad day too and didn't find any way to deal with that anger so they just let it all out when they had the chance.  

I'm quite sure there are some people who really plan on getting on your nerves too! Just screw them! They probably must be having some issues to want to prove there's something wrong with you, and they cannot deal with their own problems so they project it on everyone around them. Just forget all about these people. Every time you see their attempts of brining you down, smile and remember that you are wiser. They cannot hurt you because they don't have a problem with you, they have a problem with their own self, you are just the mirror in their face.

7. Yoga

Yoga is also a great way to get all that stress out of you. It works with your mind and body which  is great. Don't try complicated poses if you are a starter, that will only get you more angry. And if you aren't comfortable in a pose, just switch until you find one that suits you.  

I believe yoga is there to help you find balance not stress you out. That's why I don't waste time forcing my body to keep a pose. If it doesn't feel right to you, it must not be right for you! Just do what feels good! (that doesn't mean don't hold poses that stretch out your muscles a bit, or bother you slightly. Just don't do what really hurts your body).