Daily laughter exercises are a critical part of your Fibromyalgia wellness plan.

This at first requires conscious effort. It may seem contrived, somewhat phoney. And it probably is. You hurt. Laughing doesn’t seem to go hand in hand with that. But as you begin to laugh and continue to laugh, you will appreciate the relief it provides you from the constant nagging thoughts about the pain you live with.

The following are a few ways that you can bring laughter into your life.

Pick one or two to do on a regular basis, until laughter becomes, once again, a more natural part of your life. Or rotate from one laughter exercise to another, day to day.

However you decide to create laughter in your life, find a way to laugh each and every day.

Progressive Laughter Exercise

Think of the three bears. Begin with the baby bear. Laugh out loud like the baby bear might - heeheeheeheeheeeeeeee. Then laugh like mama bear - teeheeteeheeteehee. And finally, finish off with a hearty belly laugh, as a papa bear might laugh - HAHAHAHAHAAAAA! Do it again, this time in reverse order.

Good Morning! Laughter

Start your day off with a laugh. If you live alone, sit up on the side of the bed, upon waking. After giving yourself a couple of minutes to come to life, start to smile. Then begin a quiet giggle, increase to a chuckle and finish off with a good belly laugh. If you feel good afterwards, get started with your day. If not, repeat the exercise again.

If you live with others, this can be a great way to start the day as a group. Do the above laugh with those you live with. Make it a daily routine. It just may start everyone’s day out with a smile.

Group Belly Laughter

This can be done with your family or a group of friends. Have everyone lay on the floor. Each person lays on their back and rests their head on the belly of another person in the group. One person starts the exercise by beginning to laugh out loud. (This exercise proves that laughter is contagious.) Once the first person starts to laugh, the person with their head on the belly will naturally start to do the same and so the chain of laughter begins. Continue until the laughter subsides.

At the end of any group laughter exercise, thank the others for participating.

What a fun way to start the day and bring a smile to everyone’s face.

Laughter exercises are only one means to stress reduction. Click here to find out more.