The temperature hung around 29 degrees but the sunshine and laughter made it feel much warmer when the Connell Park Walking Club gathered on the last Saturday in November. 

Jannine Luby’s businesses, Laugh to Live, a Scranton-based business, collaborated with Valley in Motion’s Connell Park Walking Club to provide stress-lowering laughter yoga before the Club’s weekly walk around the park. With a lot of breathing in and out, clapping and chants of ho ho ho, ha ha ha and hee hee hee, it didn’t take long for the group to connect, smile and experience the many researched benefits of laughter.  Some of the benefits are: healthier blood flow, lower cortisol (stress hormone), boosted endorphins (hormone that helps to manage pain and improve mood), lower blood glucose and more. 

Gus Fahey, president of Valley in Motion that supports the walking club project said, “The laughter yoga on Saturday was great. It was awesome the way Jeannine kept up the enthusiasm on a cold morning!” 

Luby was happy to see share laughter yoga with the small group who gathered so they could understand how valuable laughter can be as a resource for self-care and overall well-being, especially at this time of year when we tend to set high expectations and busy schedules. “It’s important that we hit the pause button on our running around and on all of the noise that is out there on social media. It can feel overwhelming. Sometimes we can help ourselves by simply taking a few deep breaths. Add belly laughs and you’re helping yourself recharge to face those long to-do lists.” 

If you’re interested in healthy activities to lower your stress and anxiety and to boost overall wellness, follow the Connell Park Walking Club on Facebook for their walk schedule and follow Laugh to Live on Facebook for live daily morning laughter yoga throughout the month of December.