In the New Year, many people make resolutions regarding their health and fitness. Now is the time to treat wellness as a priority. Take steps toward a healthier, balanced lifestyle. In our feature, you’ll find articles and advice about ways to improve your health, your body, and your overall state of being. Let 2018 be the year that you become your very best you.
Laughter is the Best Medicine
Everyone knows the old adage “laughter is the best medicine,” and, as it turns out, there’s some science to support its truth. Dr. Gulshan Sethi, head of cardiothoracic surgery at the Tuscon Medical Center and a faculty member of University of Arizona’s Center for Integrative Medicine, explained, “Laughter activates the body’s natural relaxation response. It’s like internal jogging, providing a good massage to all internal organs while also toning abdominal muscles.” The constriction of muscles that occurs when you laugh increases blood flow and oxygenation, thus stimulating the heart and lungs, triggering the release of potent endorphins. These feel-good chemicals created by our bodies make us feel both physically and emotionally relaxed, and induce euphoria.
Science has proven that laughter reduces stress, aids healing, fosters closer interpersonal bonds, and promotes a general feeling of well-being. Knowing that, we prescribe a visit to the Saint Simons Storytelling Festival at Epworth by the Sea in February to receive a healthy dose of hilarity. Storytellers have a penchant for humor, and this year’s featured speakers are no strangers to making audiences laugh.
Kevin Kling has been dubbed a “lightning struck, freight train hopping, hilarious fellow” and anyone who has ever seen Andy Offut Irwin knows that “equal parts mischievous school boy and the Marx Brothers, peppered with a touch of the Southern balladeer” is an apt description indeed. What does Irwin say about Kim Wietkamp, a new speaker at the festival this year? “When she begins, you’ll laugh at her. Then, you’ll laugh at her characters. Then you’ll turn around and care about her characters and root for them. And then she’ll sing, and you’ll say, ‘where did that come from?’ That milk and honey voice.” Donald Davis, the “Dean of Storytelling,” who returns again this year to round out the festival lineup, has been praised by the New York Times: “His stories often left listeners limp with laughter at the same time they struggled with a lump in their throat.” And the Wilson Library Bulletin called him “absolutely hilarious and unpredictable as well as emotionally reviving.” Between these four creative individuals, they have been featured on NPR, received recognition and numerous awards both in storytelling and in the arts, recorded albums, written books, and made appearances worldwide. When it comes to the medicine of laughter, they aren’t just doctors, they are specialists!
These incredibly talented tale spinners and humorists will provide hours of entertainment in group and individual sessions on Saturday and Sunday, February 17-18 at the beautiful Gascoigne Bluff setting of Epworth by the Sea. Visit epworthbythesea.org for more information and to register online.
