If you want to laugh all day long, with all the benefits that laughter brings, practice laughter yoga. Laughter is healthy – restoring laughter will help you regain the happiness that is all too easily suppressed in our serious, gloomy and fast-paced modern world. It can only be a good thing to reverse this trend towards laughing more often. Here’s how to get started with laughter yoga.
Health benefits and steps of laughter yoga
- the cardiovascular system and lowering blood pressure; Studies have indeed shown that people suffer from heart disease
are 40 percent less likely to laugh in many situations compared to people without heart disease. Laughter even speeds up healing. - Stress relief: Laughter is a means of reducing anxiety and stress and promoting a positive attitude and sense of relaxation luck. Within minutes of laughing, stress levels drop.
- It is an aerobic workout. Laughter yoga training is good for your heart, diaphragm, bellyintercostal, respiratory and facial muscles. As part of the ‘workout’, endorphins are released, giving you a feeling of well-being.
- It recovers playfulness
in your life. Children laugh up to 300 to 400 times a day during their formative years, and this drops to 10 to 15 times a day as adults. And it helps reduce wrinkles
so you look and feel younger! - Laughter can make you more attractive to others, improving your communication, relationships, and maybe even your dating life! Laughter Yoga was started in 1995 by Dr. Madan Kataria. It combines gentle yoga breathing (Pranayama), stretchand unconditionally simulated laughter.]When laughter is practiced in a group setting, the laughter quickly becomes genuine.
Accept that you don’t need a reason to laugh – just start laughing.
Perform the laughter yoga exercises. The following steps explain the laughter yoga exercises that make up each class or session. Your teacher or group may develop their own variations, but these basics are standard and once you know them you can practice at home or within the group.
Steps
Clap your hands in front of the heart
chakra.
- Focus on your stomach
and laugh “Whoa, whoa.” - Concentrate on your chest and laugh “Ha ha.”
- Continually alternate between your stomach and your chest up and down, shouting, “Ho ho, ha ha, ho ho!”
Do the welcome laughter.
Within a group, maintain eye contact and smile until all people in the group are happy. Look in the mirror at home and welcome yourself. When you look in the mirror, there is always something to smile about.
Stretch out your hands to heaven.
Concentrate on your chest and laugh “Ha ha ha” for a minute.
Remember the mantra:
“May all beings be happy. Let there be a world of laughter.” See all the people in the world and see ourselves as laughing Buddhas, laughing gods, or laughing saints.
At the end of your laughter yoga, chant the mantra ‘Om’ for one minute. Sing it with your own melody. Feel in which part of your body the Om resonates best. Sing it Om until you are calm. Then go through your daily life with optimism.
“Laughter yoga can help children cope with stress and can also replace some of the play and laughter time they lose due to formalized education systems and lifestyle changes.” ~ Jagat Singh Bisht – Laughter Yoga Teacher
“The body heals through play, the mind heals through laughter and the mind heals through joy – All are connected within. For me, laughter, that simple, God-given gift we are all born with, was the key that not only banished my depression, but also unleashed the spontaneous joy that allowed my mind, body, and soul to heal. ~ Sue Carter – Laughter Yoga Teacher
“…Because I laugh heartily and breathe fully every day, my body is oxygenated and strengthened, which gives me energy in abundance!” ~ Lynda Andrews – Laughter Yoga Teacher
For more information and lots of resources I recommend visiting:
Laughter Yoga – Global movement for health, happiness and peace