h e a l t h n e w s
THE HEALTH NEWS YOU NEED TO STAY WELL
YOGAHAHAHA
If you’re looking for a way to
lower stress and inject joy into
your life, let out a great guffaw.
That’s the premise behind
laughter yoga, a routine that
combines yogic breathing and
movements with laughter. It’s the
brainchild of Madan Kataria, a
physician in Mumbai, India,
and his wife, Madhuri, a yoga
instructor. The worldwide
phenomenon began with a
small group of people in a
Mumbai park in 1995. Now
there are more than 6,000
laughter clubs in 60 countries.
“Laughter yoga is more
emotional than other forms of
yoga, which tend to be more
physical and precise,” says
Beth Shaw, a licensed yoga
instructor and founder and
president of YogaFit Training
Systems. A typical hour-long
class consists of periods of
laughter, followed by breaks to
practice yoga. What often
starts as forced hahaha’s soon
turns into contagious laughter.
Find a laughter club near
you at
Lau g h te rY o g a .o rg .
{ b y the n u m b e rs }
2
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The percentage
of people in the
U.S. who suffer
winter blues.
W in te r d epression, o r blues,
is a mild fo rm o f seasonal
affective d isord er (S A D ) but
is debilitating nonetheless.
H ere’s h o w to send th e blues
aw ay, says Dr. Rallie
M cAllister, a fam ily physician
in Lexington, Kentucky.
1. Soak up th e sun, safely.
“ Keep curtains and blinds
open to let in th e light, and
sit in a sunbeam w h en ever
yo u can,” says M cAllister.
2. C h oo se co m fo rtin g carbs.
C arbohydrate-laden fo o d s can
positively im pact y o u r m ood.
Pick “ g o od ” carbs such as
w h o le fruits, vegetables, and
w h o le grains to avoid packing
on th e pounds.
g o t a j u i c e g u z z le r ?
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, your teen
shouldn’t get more than two 6-ounce servings of juice a day.
That’s because the high levels of sugar in many juices can play
a role in obesity. Always aim for 100 percent fruit juice fortified
with calcium, vitamin D, or other vitamins and minerals, and
you’ll be enhancing good health, says Dr. Ann G. Kulze, founder
of a wellness consulting firm and author of
Dr. A n n ’s 10 -S tep
D ie t
. It’s best to choose “cloudy” juices like orange juice,
blueberry juice, and pomegranate juice, which have more
antioxidants. “Nutritionally, there’s really not a better choice
than fortified 100 percent orange juice,” she says.
2 0 0 FEBRUARY 2010 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
PHOTOS: VEER
