Laughter Yoga

1. Laughter yoga lifts your mood within minutes through release of endorphins which can last all day
2. Lowers blood pressure & blood sugar levels
3. Reduces inflammation – a natural pain killer
4. Lowers cholesterol and cortisol levels
5. Increases lung capacity – is a cardio workout
6. Improves oxygen levels in the body and brain, increasing alertness, focus and motivation
7. Provides emotional release and is relaxing
8. Develops playfulness & confidence
9. Increases creativity & connection with others
10. Changes our perspective – helps us cope more resourcefully with life’s ups and downs.

Normal social laughter only lasts 2-3 seconds -  too brief to get all the benefits - so practise laughter for 10-15 minutes per time to make a real difference to your health and well-being.
Commit to laughing as a choice and daily practice!

•  Scientific evidence shows that the brain and body can’t differentiate between real and simulated laughter – you get the same release of mood and health boosting chemicals into the brain and body as you do with real, spontaneous laughter.
• Simulated laughter naturally turns into real laughter as it is so contagious!
• It’s called Laughter Yoga because it includes a few simple breathing exercises. These increase relaxation, oxygenate the body and brain, tone the vagus nerve and build lung capacity.
• When we laugh unconditionally in this way, we tap into our child-like sense of playfulness and fun, which has a very refreshing, relaxing, uplifting and energising effect on the body, mind and spirit.

Background: 

• It was started by a medical doctor in India, Dr Madan Kataria, in 1995, in a Mumbai Park, with just five people.
• There are now many thousands of Laughter Clubs in more than 100 countries worldwide.
• At first, Dr Kataria found that regular laughter helped the health of his patients, but they soon ran out of jokes, so Dr Kataria invented the practice of laughing for no reason, with the help of playful exercises.

WHY practice laughter intentionally?

• In life, there are often very few reasons to laugh naturally. At most, we might laugh for just a few seconds at a time. But in order to gain the scientifically proven health benefits of laughter, laughter needs to be sustained – we need to laugh for at least 10-15 mins.
• Laughter needs to be done regularly, on purpose, and out of a commitment to our health and well-being – in just the same way as we all know that taking a daily walk is good for us, and therefore we try to do it.
• It’s a chance for people to laugh for no reason at all, without relying on any humour, jokes or comedy.

Therapeutic Laughter has changed my life – here’s how: 

I feel like a different person these days! I’ve become much more resilient to life’s challenges, and I laugh much more often, and easily than I used to. I’m also much more playful, light-hearted and silly, much more of the time, which is a lot more fun than being as serious a person as I used to be! This has very positively affected my family and friends, and I feel my children are now much happier too, and laugh more than they used to. I’m so grateful I found this wonderful practice, which is so simple that I can do it anywhere and almost anytime (it’s very portable, and can also be done silently!)

Become happier, more resilient, joyful and light-hearted!

Regular laughing – for no reason other than that it is good for us – has been scientifically proven in many medical studies, to boost physical, mental and emotional health. And when these are boosted, the vision is also helped…because being relaxed and happy can have a very positive effect on the vision! 

Intentional, sustained laughter relaxes the facial muscles, and changes our mental outlook, often releasing stuck or suppressed emotions which may be stopping us from seeing the world around us clearly. This all combines to have a positive effect on visual acuity, and we also then see colours more vividly.

In fact, a good laugh clears not just the eyes but the ears and nose, too, and can improve your sense of smell, according to this article: Laughter in Hello Magazine

Here are other articles on the psychological and physical benefits of laughter:
Laughing is good for mind and body – here’s the research;
 Psychology Today – How-self-initiated-laughter makes you feel better;
Health.Mil. News -Laughter-the-best-medicine-says-Air-Force-nurse

Following the release of laughter research by Professor Robin Dunbar and his team at Oxford University in September 2011, a few news channels picked up the news…

• BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14889165
• The Independent http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/laughter-a-serious-business-2353605.html
• New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/science/14laughter.html?_r=2&smid=fb-share

Recommended books on the healing effect of regular Laughter: 

• ‘The Endorphin Effect’ by William Bloom
• ‘Laughter, Tears, Silence’ by Pragito Dove
• ‘How your mind can heal your body’ by Dr David Hamilton
• ‘Happiness Now’ by Robert Holden
• ‘The Healing Power of Humour’ by Allen Kleine
• ‘Love, Medicine and Miracles’, by Dr Bernie Siegel

The body and mind don’t know the difference between and real and fake laughter– so when we laugh intentionally, that is, fake it, we still get the same health benefits as we do from natural, spontaneous laughter. Within minutes, relaxing and uplifting brain chemicals are released into the brain and body, blood circulation is increased, oxygen levels in the blood are increased, the parasympathetic system is activated and, with regular practise, lung capacity is improved, the immune system is strengthened, physical and emotional resilience are improved – and we also get a real and felt increased sense of social connection. With regular practise of Laughter Yoga, we feel much more energetic, healthy, and more easily able to laugh, more of the time.

Dr Bernie Siegel wrote in his book “Love, Medicine and Miracles”: “We must learn to give fun a high priority in life…not only does play make you feel good; it’s a disinhibitor that opens the door to creativity, an essential element of…. inner change.”… He writes that laughter is like “internal jogging”…or a “deep massage”…and releases brain chemicals which reduce inflammation, boost the immune system, reduce pain and increase the production of endorphins, the body’s natural relaxing hormones.

People suffering from chronic pain and illness have found that practising intentional Laughter  has benefitted them hugely. It’s now used in businesses, hospitals, schools, prisons, with the disabled, in the military, and even in kindergartens – and its benefits are becoming more and more widely recognised, accompanied by much scientific evidence from extensive medical research to back it up.

Therapeutic Laughter practice shows us how to laugh through challenges and laugh off difficulties – it’s a wonderful coping mechanism to learn for getting through life more easily. It can change your mood within minutes – and even release old, stuck emotions, freeing us up to experience more joy, peacefulness and appreciation on a daily basis. With regular practise, laughter starts to flow from us more of the time, naturally. We become happier people. It’s changed my life – let it change yours.