1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 Beyond just feeling good, laughter releases dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins, and also works on our heart, our lungs, our muscles, our thoughts, our behaviors. In short: laughter actually is good medicine. And here’s a funny thing: whether we laugh in response to something, or we create a situation that gets laughter going, the body will still release the same endorphins. Try this quick, goofy yoga exercise to discover a foolproof way to induce laughter. It is based on the Hawaiian word “Aloha,” a nice vowel-y word that opens the mouth and throat just by saying it. Elaine Smookler has been a mindful practitioner for over 20 years and is on the faculty at The Centre for Mindfulness Studies in Toronto. She is a Registered Psychotherapist and teaches mindfulness to corporate clients through eMindful. She’s also a comedic writer and performer and is the singing host of Mindful Martinis, a cabaret/mindfulness class mash up. The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week.&amp;nbsp; Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app.&amp;nbsp; Show Notes Find more from Elaine Smookler here. Go Deeper We tend to see play, joy, and levity as nice-to-haves, something we experience when things are going well. In reality they are all an essential part of building resilience and well-being, even when things aren’t going well. To explore more ways to intentionally incorporate the lighter side, even in darker seasons, check out these resources from Mindful.org:&amp;nbsp; The Power of Play&amp;nbsp; Play, SoulPancake, and Building Your Anti-Depressant Brain&amp;nbsp; Join the Nanalympics! 6 Ways to Get Playful with Mindful Movement&amp;nbsp; The Science of Wonder&amp;nbsp; Find Your Way to Embodied Joy&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; For more practice noticing the good (even when things don’t go according to plan), try:&amp;nbsp; A 12-Minute Meditation to Rewire Your Brain for Optimism&amp;nbsp; And more from Mindful here: More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing yourwords@mindful.org. 12 Minute Meditation http://www.mindful.org <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/42029605/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/item/42029605