Giggle, chuckle, tee hee, lol, crack up, ROTF, yuk, even LMFAO. Regardless of what you call it, do it. April 14 marks International Moment of Laughter Day and we’re here to say, LAUGH!

Is laughter actually good for you? Yup! Just think about how good it feels when you’ve had a good chuckle with your friend. Your belly hurts, you tear up, and you just have an overall sense of happiness. If that alone doesn’t tell you it’s good for you, then you’re probably doing it wrong.

When we laugh, our body changes from a physiological standpoint. Think about it, your muscles in your face (and body) start to stretch, your pulse increases and your blood pressure also goes up. You start to breathe faster which sends more oxygen to your tissues. This is a very similar reaction than exercise has on the body (but don’t replace exercise with laughing). But if you need actual physiological reasons, we’ve got ‘em too.

1. Endorphins. Laughing releases endorphins which is your body’s natural “feel-good” chemical. Endorphins promote temporarily relieve pain, and provide a sense of well-being, and well, happiness. And if you don’t believe us, take it from Elle Woods from Legally Blonde.

2. Natural immune boost. Laughing also decreases your stress hormones and increases your body’s infection-fighting antibodies. This translates to your body being a little more resistant to diseases.

3. Relaxation. Think about how incredibly relaxed you feel after you’ve shared a good, long, hard laugh with someone. After your stomach stops hurting. After you’ve wiped away those tears of laughter. Laughing has been proven to relieve physical tension as well as stress, and leaving you relaxed for up to 45 minutes.

4. Heart-healthy laughs. Because a good, hearty laugh increases blood flow and improves your blood vessels’ functionality, this can ultimately help keep your heart healthy by protecting against heart attacks and other cardiovascular issues.

5. Good for the mind. Not only is laughing good for the body, it’s great for your mental health as well. Laughing helps improve your mood, it relieves stress, helps ease anxiety and fear and it’s just simply, fun.

The moral of the story? Stop taking things so seriously and take a moment to enjoy a little laugh today and every day. Make it part of your daily routine. Tell someone a joke, watch a funny movie, or watch dogs play at the park. Regardless of what makes you laugh, make sure you enjoy every second of it.

Namaste!

February is a time for love. Of course, because Valentine’s Day is on the 14^th, but also the non-romantic kind since in Canada most provinces celebrate Family Day. In Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario celebrate it on February 15 and British Columbians celebrate it on February 8^.

So what is there to do during these times that would show your family or someone you care about that you, well, care? The answer is LOTS!

For starters, this year (regardless of what province you’re in), you’re in luck because these holidays fall on the weekend. For BC, that’s two weekends of back-to-back love fest. For the others, that’s one love-filled long weekend. Either way it’s a win-win.

Here are some ideas to get your started.

1. A long weekend getaway. Take them someone special. A cabin in the woods, a quick weekend jaunt to the carribean (or Florida), or a spa. The idea is to get away from the everyday and treat yourself to something a little special that weekend.

2. Have a dress-up dinner party at home. Cook up his or her favourite meal, put on your fancy slacks and your prettiest pearls, get your hair did and celebrate the love… chez soi (at home). It’s probably a little less expensive than a fancy dinner out, but equally fun. Make it black tie, or just wear your favourite little black dress. Either way, it’s your party.

3. Couples yoga anyone? Meditating together and joining your chakras could be a spiritual experience you’ll both learn to love. It’s a great way to start the weekend and relax before you get into anything else.

4. Bring the family together and take a trip down memory lane. Bring out all the old family albums and share in the love through the years. Whether it’s a decade or generations, recalling old family stories will make this a special weekend for everyone.

5. You know what they say, the family that volunteers together… Wait, what? Regardless, why not spend an afternoon volunteering together wherever your passions lie. Whether it’s the local animal shelter walking the puppies, preparing sandwiches at the soup kitchen, sorting clothes at the donation sites, or… Bonding while helping others is a magical experience. You can even turn it into an annual family tradition.

6. Leave love notes around the house for your special someone(s) to find. Turn it into a scavenger hunt with clues, or just leave them where you know they’ll eventually look. Finding little tokens when reaching for your hairbrush or socks is always a fun and heart-warming surprise anyone would love.

Make sure to share your plans with us for this year’s Family and Valentine’s Days. We’d love to hear how you celebrate those you love.

Fifty per cent of us make New Year’s resolutions. So rest assured you’re not alone. And you’re certainly not alone when it comes to dropping your resolutions or not achieving them. Sure the first few weeks of January we’re all “Ra. Ra. Ra.” But then February rolls around and we start to slip. Whether your resolution is to lose weight, settle your debt or quit smoking, it’s likely not going to happen overnight.

The thing is, resolutions are essentially goals we set for ourselves. Goals that require us to change our behavior. Behaviour that has become habit year-over-year. These bad habits, as they were (bad, because if they were good we wouldn’t be changing them), aren’t easy to get rid of. And that’s why our failure rate, year-over-year, is so high.

The Next 21 Days

They say (the Internet) that it takes about 21 days of continuous repetition to change or to form a habit. But really, if you think about it, how long did it take for you to acquire this habit? Probably more than 21 days. In fact, probably more like years, even decades to get to where you are now. So why expect something is going to change in three weeks? A more realistic timeframe is 60 days. Let’s go with that and tell us how you’re doing by March 1.

Baby Steps

The other thing to consider is how realistic your resolution truly is. Are you expecting to quit smoking overnight? Maybe lose 50 lbs in 2 months? Possible? Perhaps. Likely (or healthy)? Not really. If it were, you probably would have done it already. Am I right? So instead, how about breaking down your resolution into something more realistic, more achievable. Go from five cigarettes a day to four or three. Get a piggy bank and put $10 in it every week (but don’t take it out!). And in February, put $15 or $20 every week. Keep saving your pennies.

Celebrate the Wins

Remember how we mentioned it’s “Eat Chocolate Cake Day” on January 27? Well, why not create a time for you to celebrate all your small victories. When you’ve managed to lose a few pounds and keep them off, do something to mark that achievement. Because after all, it’s an achievement. If you’ve broken down your resolution into smaller, more manageable goals, you’ll be constantly #winning, and looking forward to the next party. This works for practically any resolution you can think of, not just the big ones. Planning a trip to a far off place takes a lot of planning and saving your pennies (or nickels now that we don’t have pennies anymore). Spending more time with your parents or grandparents means less time with your friends or less time at work, so make it fun. Volunteering is an achievement in it of itself, so I’m not even gonna go there. If you don’t feel good after that, you’re an awful person (lols of course).

The bottom line is, paying off all your credit cards isn’t unrealistic, but expecting to do it after winning the lottery on January 8 is. Pay off small amounts at a time, and you’ll feel better about it, and you can celebrate that milestone.

Share with us your resolutions (or why you don’t have any) and what you’re doing to make them more achievable and realistic.

Yoga lovers! It’s 2016. Can you believe it? Like most people, we’ve sat down and put some serious thought behind what we vow to do differently, something new we want to add to our daily routine, or even, perish the thought, something we want to stop doing altogether.

Instead of going for the typical resolutions, why not commit to something genuine, something realistic, something… Awesome? Here’s a list of realistic, simple and achievable resolutions you can add to your list this year, without worrying you’ll fail before January 2.

1. Say hello to a stranger. OK sure, this might seem hoaky, but it’s not. There are plenty of do-gooder movements across Canada and the World that are inspiring people to be kind to others. A group of Vancouverites started #SayHiToAStranger movement. Check out their video and take a chance. “A stranger is a friend you haven’t met yet.” http://www.sayhitoastranger.com/

2. Help. Donate. Volunteer. Be. Not everyone can afford to donate money to causes. And there are a lot of great causes out there. But what we can all do is help or volunteer. Whether it’s helping a senior struggling across the street, or whether it’s taking one hour a week to walk the dogs at your neighbourhood shelter, we can all afford to spend 30 minutes or an hour of our time. Think about what’s important to you, and make an effort to be present and help them out.

3. Eat cake. As Marie Antoinette famously never said (she actually never said this exactly), but “Let them eat cake.” Who doesn’t like love cake? And did you know that January 27 is “Eat Chocolate Cake Day?” And who cares that you pigged out during the holidays. Who cares that you’re supposed to be on a fast-track healthy lifestyle kick. Eating cake is important. It’s what life is all about. Cake in this instance is synonymous with whatever you enjoy so much it makes you weak in the knees. Once in a while, it’s ok to indulge; just make sure it was the best dang cake you ever had!

4. Very few of us are actually responsible for saving lives. (So if you do, actually save lives, please ignore this point.) But for the rest of us, our jobs are mostly inconsequential – enough that we shouldn’t stress over it to the point of illness or exhaustion. As long as you’ve put in your best effort (and sometimes beyond), and as long as you know, in your heart-of-hearts, that you made every effort to make things great, that’s really all anyone can ask of us. Learn to let go. Learn to not take things personally. It’s not healthy. So let’s let it go, shall we?

5. Take time away from social media. Put the phone down and experience life through your eyes, not through the lens of your smartphone. Pin later, hold the tweet, later-gram. ‘Like’ the moment you’re in for the sheer sake of being ‘in’ the moment, and not because you HAVE to share it with everyone and their @dog. #LiveForYourself

6. Lastly. Be. This one’s pretty simple, methinks. Just be yourself, who cares what others think. Just be present (see #5 above) for the sake of those around you. Just be in love without overthinking or overanalyzing. Just be.

Do you have anything to add to this list? What inspirational things will you promise to start doing this year? Share. We love hearing from you!