As Mike said on the cover, laughter brings so much joy and levity into life. For that reason, it’s often said that laughter is the best medicine, and it turns out that human physiology supports this claim. When we laugh, our body releases a flood of feel-good chemicals and neurotransmitters. Our blood flow increases, and our production of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress, decreases. Oh, and laughing also burns calories! Even better, you don’t need a comedy special to access all the positive benefits of laughter. Laughter yoga, a practice developed by Dr. Madan Kataria, helps participants get laughing through facilitated breathing, stretching, and laughter exercises. Kataria developed the initial idea for laughter yoga after coming across research into the benefits of laughter on overall health and well-being. He began to put the research into practice by telling jokes to his patients, and after seeing the positive effects, he took his material to a local park. Parkgoers, who were initially skeptical, joined in on the practice, and the first laughter yoga club was born. The laughter meetup had everyone in high spirits — until the group ran out of jokes. Unsure of what to do
next, Kataria found another medical book suggesting the group didn’t need jokes to laugh. Fake laughter is just as beneficial as the real thing because the body can’t tell the difference between the two. Collaborating with this wife, Madhuri, Kataria combined common yoga warmups and breathing techniques with facilitated laughter to create the form of laughter yoga that is practiced worldwide today. If you’re interested in trying laughter yoga for yourself, there are laughter yoga clubs all over the world. You can find videos of it on YouTube, and Gary Ware of Breakthrough Play and Amy Angelilli of The Adventure Project host virtual laughter yoga workshops. Find out more at BreakthroughPlay.com and Adventure-Project.com. Of course, you cannot laugh everything away. If you’re experiencing pain or have an injury, physical therapy will be your best bet for feeling better. At Kinetic PT
Specialists, we offer experienced, caring, one-on-one care to get you back to the activities you love. Give us a call to schedule your next appointment (we may even throw in a joke or two).
Sudoku
The Best Grilled Summer Vegetables
Inspired by DinnerAtTheZoo.com
INGREDIENTS • 1 tsp salt • 1/4 tsp pepper • 1 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning • 1 1/2 tsp garlic, minced • 2 lbs assorted vegetables, trimmed and halved (asparagus, mushrooms,
red onion, red bell peppers, baby carrots, and yellow squash are great on the grill) • 5 tbsp olive oil • 2 tbsp lemon juice • 1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped
DIRECTIONS 1. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic. 2. Brush vegetables with olive oil and place in a large bowl. Top with lemon juice and seasoning mixture. Toss to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes but no longer than 2 hours. 3. Prepare the grill at medium-high heat. 4. Grill vegetables in batches, cooking 3–5 minutes on each side until browned and tender. (Carrots will cook longer, 6–9 minutes per side.) 5. Remove from the grill, sprinkle with parsley, and serve hot.
www.KineticPTS.com | 3
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog