Why Laughter Yoga?
What is laughter? Laughter is a form of stress releaser of bad and distressful emotions that cause harmful chemical effects on the body (Berk & Tan 1996). While it is normally only considered cliché that "laughter is the best medicine," specific medical theories attribute improved health and well-being to laughter. Stress related hormones decrease during episodes of laughter, which provides support for the claim that humor can relieve stress. Writer Norman Cousins wrote about his experience with laughter in helping him recover from a serious illness in 1979's Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient. In 1989, the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article, wherein the author wrote that "a humor therapy program can increase the quality of life for patients with chronic problems and that laughter has an immediate symptomrelieving effect for these patients, an effect that is potentiated when laughter is induced regularly over a period"

There is well documented and ongoing research in this field of study (www.laughteryoga.org). This has led to new and beneficial therapies practiced by doctors, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals using humor and laughter to help patients cope or treat a variety of physical, mental, and spiritual issues. The various therapies are not specific to health care professionals or clinicians. Some of the therapies can be practiced individually or in a group setting to aid in a person's well-being. There seems to be something to the old saying "laughter is the best medicine".

Dr. Madam Kataria in Bombay, India started the first of the International Laughing Clubs in March of 1995. A year later eighty clubs had spread throughout India, and now we have over 5000 clubs in 40 countries. Laughter Yoga (Hasya Yoga) is a physically oriented technique that uses a blend of playful, empowering and otherwise "tension-releasing" simple laughter exercises. With gentle yoga-breathing and -stretching exercises, rhythmic clapping and chanting of Ho Ho Ha Ha Ha in unison a simulated laughter turns into real laughter. Laughter Yoga is done as a way to improve health, increase well-being and promote peace in the world through personal transformation. It is non-religious, non-sectarian, and non-political. Members of the laughing clubs say they feel better, some say they have even lost weight, others say they are not depressed, and still others say it has helped them to get out of the house, and meet people. Whether or not it is the laughter exercise, the physical exercise, or just being with other people, we all know that when we laugh we simply feel better (Roach 1996).

Laughter is like an exercise; that is why your stomach sometimes feels sore after a good belly laugh. Just as in exercise, there are two stages of laughter: the arousal phase--when the heart rate increases--and the resolution phase--when the heart rests. A person's heart can reach up to 120 beats per minute (bpm) when laughing.

Laughing can lower your blood pressure, increase vascular flow, and boost the immune system. It gives the diaphragm, abdominal, intercostals, respiratory accessory, and facial muscles a complete workout. Some people, depending on how they laugh, may even use their arm, leg, and back muscles when laughing. Laughter also releases endorphins in the brain; these are our bodies' natural pain killers (Wooten 1995). Endorphins are neurotransmitters that attach to the same receptors in our brains as the opiates. Opiate drugs not only cause us to lose touch with reality, but they also numb pain. When we laugh, it releases the endorphins in our brain; thus, laughing is like taking opium or morphine without the adverse side effects.

The most important element which forms a part of many enzyme systems of metabolism is oxygen. The principle organs of respiration are the lungs. For effective supply of oxygen, so that the full breathing capacity of lungs may be utilized, the respiratory passages should be clear and muscles of respiration should be strong. (Dr. Kataria)

Yoga lays more emphasis on breathing exercises because they help to improve oxygen supply for optimal function. The life force energy prana enters our body through breathing. Therefore, breathing is the most important part of health building at the physical level, as it supplies oxygen. At the mental level it helps to calm down the mind and at the spiritual level the life force energy can be upgraded through various types of breathing exercise. I deliberately incorporate deep breathing exercises to provide a break in between two kinds of laughter. In our laughter yoga club, participants become use to deep breathing as it is done at least 10-15 times during each laughter session. Regular deep breathing, as practiced in laughter yoga clubs, keeps the lungs at their full breathing capacity and also helps in emotional calming down. In our laughter sessions, participants are advised to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth by making pursuing gestures to prolong the expiration, so that the residual volume is replaced by fresh air, which contains more oxygen. After 30-45 seconds of laughter, the laughter group is asked to relax and take two long deep breaths. This increases the net supply of oxygen to the body. Various breathing exercises, along with Lion Laughter, help to keep their respiratory passages more healthy.

Yoga instructors have indicated that the response of yoga participants was great and our laughter yoga was a great complement to what they were presently doing. A physician also mentioned he offered the session to his staff and the response was also hilarious. He is now in the process of adapting these sessions to his patients.

The fact that laughter is good for one's health should be quite evident. So why not laugh? When one laughs, it is like taking a drug, yet there is no such thing as an overdose or, "laughter toxicity," as Kataria says. Maybe we can now say "A laugh a day keeps the doctor away."

Namaste

Rene Robichaud
Certified Laughter Yoga Facilitator
renerobichaud [at] ns [dot] sympatico [dot] ca
www.laughteryoga.org
902-434-3802