IGNITE YOUR LIFE: “Enjoy life.” by Sarah Gish
“Enjoy life” is the twelfth way to ignite your life in my “IGNITE YOUR LIFE!” art project and community campaign (www.IgniteYourOwnLife.com) and the word associated with this concept is “LAUGH.”
You’ve heard the adage “Laughter is the best medicine.” It turns out that is scientifically true: tickling your funny bones decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease. Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural feel-good chemicals that promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain. This is good stuff and less expensive than doctor’s visits, so I encourage you to make laughter a regular part of your diet.
To make things easy for you, here’s my list of seven ways to bring laughter into your life. Try one each day of the week! It’s my little holiday gift for you.
ONE: This one is obvious, but I’m going to tell you anyway: watch a funny movie or television show.
TWO: Take laughter yoga. Seriously, this is super fun! Lainie Diamond teaches it – visit www.houstonlaughteryoga.com/live/ for her full schedule of classes.
THREE: Dance like nobody’s looking. Do silly dances running around your house. Play loud music and bebop to it.
FOUR: Do a labyrinth walk (or any kind of walk) laughing the entire time. It sounds odd, but a group of us did a laughter labyrinth walk and felt very peaceful and relaxed afterwards.
FIVE: Listen to some good jokes. Watch a comedian live or on television. Or see if your friends know some good ones.
SIX: Hang out with toddlers. I swear they will make you laugh!
SEVEN: Make faces at yourself in the mirror. This one is a ton of fun, but I recommend you do it at home and not the office!
“Enjoy life.” is one of my twelve ways to ignite your life daily – ways that, if followed, will stave off addiction, depression, anxiety, and isolation. Being ignited for your life does that!
Sarah Gish is an igniter, a connector, an artist, a mother – and much more! See her work at www.GishCreative.com and contact her at [email protected] and 713.492.1173. She produces a weekly blog highlighting unique cultural activities for adults and kids in Houston, which is at www.GishPicks.com. For her IGNITE YOUR LIFE! art project and the complete list of her “12 Ways to Ignite Your Life Daily” visit www.IgniteYourOwnLife.com; Bracelets with words from the project are sold at Lucia’s Garden and the Unity of Houston bookstore. Sarah also does private intuitive guidance sessions on Mondays at Body Mind & Soul; to schedule one, please call the store at 713.993.0550.