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Laughter is the best medicine. How true indeed! What’s more, laughter is free, anyone can do it and the more you do, the better you will feel. Have you noticed how freely children laugh? Statistically, children laugh between 300 and 400 times a day, as compared with adults who laugh 15 – 17 times a day.
There are now over 6,000 laughter yoga clubs around the world in over 60 countries. Laughter has never been more important than it is now. Free laughter clubs aside, Laughter Yoga Therapy sessions are being conducted in an enormous number of settings, including corporate, schools, retirement villages, community groups, you name it and laughter yoga is being widely used as people learn about it. Laughter is the best medicine, especially when used to uplift oneself, connecting the body, mind, emotions and spirit.
As we grow older, we become serious, losing the beneficial habit of frequently laughing. Laughter gives an immediate release of tension and uplifts the spirits.
Also with regular laughter comes the ability to renew one’s sense of humour, get back in touch with the inner child and increase feelings of joy. Children have fun and we need to give ourselves permission to be silly and through that, we release inhibitions and learn to laugh again.
Laughter yoga benefits cover a wide range, as they include many things, which is in part the reason for being called a form of yoga. It is an aerobic exercise, 100 laughs equal 10 minutes of rowing and it gives our internal organs a massage. Deeper breathing oxygenates the blood. Laughter strengthens the immune system, releases feel good endorphins, lowers blood pressure and it also brings people together. Laughter helps to open our hearts and feel connected, firstly with each other, then with ourself, which includes the basic bodily functions of body, mind and emotions as well as on a deeper level with our spirit.
Our subconscious mind does not recognise the difference between fake laughter and that of real belly laughter. To that end, it can be developed and used as a practical daily exercise in order to improve our health and well-being.
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Here are some suggestions of Laughter Yoga Exercises which will assist you to benefit using laughter as a form of medicine. Firstly, smiling has a similar effect on the subconscious mind and body, so when you see yourself in a mirror, smile and wave. You can break into a laugh and give yourself positive affirmations or compliments, which also increases positive feelings of self love and self esteem.
A simple one when driving and you miss the traffic lights, point your finger at them and laugh wholeheartedly until they turn to green. Yet another, consciously laugh for one full minute whilst doing an activity such as making the bed or walking. To do this several times a day is equal to 20 minutes rowing, when done as a full belly laugh.
Dr Madan Kataria is the Indian medical doctor who started the Laughter Yoga movement 15 years ago. He developed a laugh which you can do in public when you feel like a good laugh and don’t want to be seen laughing alone. Simply pretend to be talking to someone on a mobile phone, laughing as if you are listening to something hilarious. Another exercise is to cover your mouth with your hand and do the silent laughter exercise, laughing silently into your hand.
Choose to ground more laughter into your daily life. Make it a habit, which if repeated for 28 days becomes a set, beneficial one. Besides the fabulous experience when you come together and share laughter with friends, why not consciously laugh more with yourself each day? The idea of laughter is to provide health and healing benefits to your body, as well as develop relationships through community and team building opportunities.
It can also be simply to have fun by focusing on ordinary things to laugh at. Our children can assist us in this endeavour and as they in turn become older, we can turn the tables and help to keep up their laughter habit rather losing this natural ability. What a precious and valuable gift to each other, as we treasure laughter being the best medicine.
