Thursday 15 December 2011

Stressed? What a joke!

Its Christmas time and no one really wants to read about what exercise they should be doing when all they want to do is crash out on the sofa and watch Deal or No Deal Christmas special! Or, what organic, locally farmed, grass fed produce they should be consuming on Christmas day – it’s that time of year when everything goes out of the window!


We WILL all over eat, we WILL have a few too many Bailey’s and we WILL do very little in the way of movement and it’s OK to do this, you need to listen to your body, give in and let it rest up from time to time.

PLUS – guilt is a wonderful thing for getting the studio’s busy in January!!

We all get caught up in the busy-ness of life, our work schedules become almost unmanageable, the stress of family and home life can get a bit too much, we realise how expensive this time of year can easily become and we forget about actually having some fun.

I was talking to one of my client’s this week about his work Christmas party and he told me he is hosting a laughter workshop!

Now, I’m open to a lot of weird and wonderful ideas, but this sounded a bit “out there” to me! Then the more I thought about it, the more I realised what an amazing idea it was. Laughter really is the best medicine...

GOOD FOR HEALTH
Laughter has been proven to relieve pain and enhance the immune system.
It reduces stress hormones like cortisol and dopamine and increase endorphins, the feel good chemicals.

GOOD FOR THE MIND
Laughter brings focus away from negative emotions like anger, guilt and stress and brings a positive outlook on things.

GOOD FOR A SIX PACK?!
A good belly laugh exercises the diaphragm, it contracts the abdominals and even provides a good cardio workout!

Simply put it provides a fantastic stress management tool, I’m sure we all enjoy sitting down to watch Only Fools and Horses on Christmas day to relieve the stress of the inevitable Christmas day family arguments?!!


It allows you to be in the moment, feel good, give you a different perspective on life and create a positive re-framing of your current situation.

The simple fact is that this year has been a tough time for a lot of us. However, with a New Year approaching I think we need to re-assess our priorities and make a conscious effort to laugh more and have fun in every aspect of our lives. This should be a priority of anyone who wants to live a more healthier life. So cheer up! It’s Christmas!!

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