www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday September 8, 2006 - 23 BUSINESS PROFILE 35 year old man makes big money investing in real estate without touching a hammer Rob Minton, Broker REAL ESTATE AUTHOR SABRINA BYRNES / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER CLASS CLOWN: Certified laughing yoga instructor, and class clown, Marja Pirie, demonstrates laughing yoga techniques at the Oakville-Burlington Laughter Club that meets Tuesdays at the Burlington Sailing & Boating Club. Laughter yoga is good medicine By Melanie Cummings SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Thirty five year old Joe Mercadante stumbled across a Free Real Estate Investing Report that has helped him create enough monthly income in 12 months to quit his high paying corporate job. According to Joe, "I started investing in properties using the strategy outlined in this free report in April of 2004. I have accumulated 20 homes that combined are paying me $4,363 of cash flow each and every month. Plus I have locked in $580,442 of profit. I plan on quitting my 9 to 5 job next month and will be able to live off of the income from my properties!" Joe was amazed at the profits that could be obtained using this simple investing strategy. He said that he never wanted to invest in real estate because he didn't want to spend his evenings and weekends fixing up homes. Joe isn't very handy and he didn't enjoy installing toilets, laying tile and painting. Luckily, Joe read a real estate investing report entitled, "How to Make $112,284 Each & Every Year Investing in Real Estate without Touching a Screwdriver" and learned a simple strategy for profiting from investing in nice homes in nice areas. Joe stated that the majority of homes he had invested in were in move in condition. In a few cases, his homes were so nice that he had rented his properties before he even got his keys at the closing. Joe liked this approach because it didn't require him to have the financial risk of having to pay the mortgage, taxes and insurance costs for a property during a rehab project. Joe said that this approach eliminated the majority of the risk and, best of all; he could invest in his spare time. The approach seems to be working because Joe will be retiring from his $120,000 a year corporate job at the age of 35. To get a copy of the same FREE report Joe used to begin his real estate investing, call the real estate information center at 1-800-626-4153 and enter ID 102. Leave a message with your mailing address. This FREE report is only available while supplies last. Advertorial Go ahead. Make your day. Laugh. Nothing funny to chuckle about? It doesn't matter. Real or fake, laughing is reported to be good for your mind and body. And that's why more than a dozen people pile into the Burlington Sailing & Boating Club, 841 LaSalle Park Rd., every Tuesday night for their 40-minute weekly dose of laughter. Class clown Marja Pirie leads members of the Oakville-Burlington Laughter Club into a succession of silliness. It's an ironic role for the retired math teacher from Burlington's M.M. Robinson High School. She learned the crazy craft from laughter yoga guru Dr. Madan Kataria. It's his belief that the muscles put into action when a person laughs are the same used while doing traditional yoga. And the health impacts on the body are no different whether the laughter is sincere or phony. By practicing with hearty, Santa style ho-ho-hos and ha-ha-has, abdominal muscles tighten, the lungs open up drawing in oxygen for the blood and mood-lifting endorphins are released. "You can laugh as easily as putting one foot in front of the other," said Pirie. Studies also suggest that 20 seconds of mirthful laughter produce the same aerobic effects as three minutes of rowing and one minute of laughter rids the body of the negative impacts of stress for one hour. Further research also states that laughter boosts the immune system and reduces blood pressure. Pirie has felt these impacts firsthand. "I've always been a person who took life pretty seriously." The beauty of laughter yoga is that a sense of humour, light-hearted attitude, or resident comedian isn't necessary for a workout. Stressed after teaching 30 years and strained by the death of her mom, she turned to laughter yoga in October 2004. With her teaching credentials in hand, she started the club and travelled into homes, board rooms and conducted workshops encouraging people to let go of their inhibitions and just laugh. Some of the exercises she teaches include putting your hands up over your head and taking in a deep breath. Bend down slowly exhaling with a succession of ho-ho-hos and ha-ha-has. The lion laugh encourages participants to wave their hands at each side of their head, open their eyes wide and stick out their tongue while laughing. It is because laughter is infectious that, in short order, members in the meeting room quickly engage in silly antics and each one unleashes their own brand of uproarious glee. "We sound crazy, I know," said club member Joe Graci. "But it's fun and certainly changes your outlook." Burlington acupuncturists Cindy Zhang and Lifu Song regularly attend the local meetings and recommend the club to their patients. "It's very healing to laugh -- it lets go of the stresses of the day," said Zhang. Song is also her husband and in attending these exercise sessions together, it has brought more joy into their relationship, she added. In the 11 years since Dr. Kataria introduced his quirky exercises, 5,000 laughter clubs have been formed in 40 countries. The Oakville-Burlington Laughter Club is open to anyone interested in dropping in to learn, observe and give the exercises a try, said Pirie. There are no fees to attend or preregistration required, although a nominal donation to help cover the cost of room rental is appreciated. Meetings run from 7 - 8:30 p.m. For more information log on to www.laughteryoga.org. This report courtesy of Nick Karadza, Sales Representative, Keller Williams Our Town Realty Ltd. Not intended to solicit properties currently under contract.