“Unconditional laughter connects people from different countries and cultures – no matter what language they speak. The goal of Laughter Yoga is to connect people at a heart level without judgement.” – Dr Kataria
Laughter Yoga combines laughter exercises with deep (yogic) breathing. Sessions include songs, games, laughter exercises, deep breathing and a laughter meditation often followed by a guided visualisation. Laughter Yoga is based on the premise that the body cannot distinguish between pretend and genuine laughter (this draws on Neuro Linguistic Programming) and both produce the same physiological response. Not to mention that doing laughter exercises with others in a group will usually also produce plenty of heartfelt or genuine laughter, since laughter is so contagious!
Sounds silly? It is! Take you out of your comfort zone? It just might… However, when we laugh, we breathe deeply and we release endorphins and it seems to be a magic combination that both energises and relaxes, uplifts and calms and fundamentally helps us to connect to one another and to a more playful and fun-loving aspect of ourselves.
Laughter Yoga was originally created by an Indian doctor called Dr Madan Kataria in 1995. He was so impressed with the documented benefits of laughter whilst researching for an article on the topic that he decided to find a way to share the benefits with others. Laughter Yoga is now a global movement with thousands of laughter clubs all over the world.
BENEFITS OF LAUGHTER
- Increases playfulness and creativity
- Enhances relationships and connection
- Stress-busting
- Boosts immunity
- Energizes and relaxes
- Cathartic – good for releasing and letting go
- Reduces blood pressure
- Increases cellular oxygen levels
SOME SCIENCE
DR NORMAN COUSENS
The benefits of laughter have long been recognised and one famous case study involved Dr Norman Cousens. He was diagnosed with an extreme form of arthritis in the 1960’s. He was in a lot of pain, bed-ridden and told that he had little chance of surviving. Being a doctor, he devised a program for himself incorporating large doses of intravenous Vitamin C, a positive attitude, and regular laughter induced by watching Marx Brothers films.
“I made the joyous discovery that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anaesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep.” His incredible story is told in the book and film – Anatomy of an Illness.
SOME BIOCHEMISTRY
The biochemistry of laughter is pretty much the opposite of the biochemistry of stress. Namely, laughter boosts endorphin levels and reduces adrenalin and cortisol levels. Endorphins produce pain relief and feelings of well-being. Adrenalin is linked to our sensation of fear, and cortisol increases blood sugar and supresses the immune system. Laughing also boosts the number of antibody producing cells and enhances the effectiveness of T-cells, thus boosting the immune system.
FURTHER READING
- The Molecules of Emotion by Candace Pert – this is a lovely book which reads more like a detective novel than a science book. It looks at the history of the search for endorphin receptors (endorphins are one of the key molecules produced when we laugh).
Brighton Cheerful 