Roy SkillenLaughter yoga (LINK)
May 9th 2008 02:35
Its long been said that laughter is the language of the soul. The feeling you get from a really big belly laugh can take away the blues and calm any anger. Even when we’re sick, just the thought of lying in bed with a bowl of soup and our favourite funny video can instantly lift our spirits. But why is this so?
Every ticklish person in the world can confirm that laughter in its self is a form of exercise. It works your diaphragm, abdominal, respiratory and facial muscles and depending on how you laugh, your arms, legs and back may also get a bit of a work out.
But it was American journalist Norman Cousins who in 1969 found that laughter had other medicinal values. It was in hospital, during his own battle with a debilitating disease, that Cousins decide his treatment with excessive amounts of painkillers wasn’t working. He hired a nurse to look after him and headed home. But it was only when his nurse began telling him funny stories and anecdotes, on top of making him watch Marx Brothers movies, did Cousins realise that just 10 minuets of good laughter guaranteed him at least two hours of pain free sleep. He was soon off all medication and on his way to good health.
Cousins explained his findings in a subsequent article stating that while laughter was not the only reason he recovered it certainly helped him manage the extreme pain. The article was widely criticised by all in the medical community, and it wasn’t until 1978 that Cousins findings were finally vindicated.
Research by Carl Simonton M.D. described that laughter’s ability to be a pain killer and to fight tumorous cells was “outstanding” adding that “if people would start reducing their stress through laughter, there might be a reduction in the number of cancer patients altogether”
Further experiments have shown that laugher even the anticipation of laughter produces a chemical reaction with in the brain creating endorphins (the bodies’ natural painkillers). The resultant feeling is similar to that of taking morphine (only with out the side effects) giving you a warm glowing feeling easing pain lowering your stress levels and building your immune system.
“The human race has only one effective weapon, and that’s laughter. The moment it arises, all are hardness’s yield, all our irritations and resentments slip away, and a sunny spirit takes their place” Mark Twain
But it was in 1995 after doing some research for one of his medical journals that Dr Madan Kataria, from Bombay India, decided that the obvious health benefits of laughter should be prescribed to patients and people who need it.
So on the morning of 13th of March Dr Kataria managed to persuade 5 people in a local park to join him in telling jokes and laughing the morning away. They met every day for two weeks but once the jokes became rude and offensive a new method was needed. Dr Kataria went on to devise a routine blending yogic stretching and breathing with a child like playfulness. He quickly found that even forced laughter would spread through the group leaving them fully energised; Hasya Yoga or Laughter Yoga was born. “Its an exercise regime like no other” says Dr Kataria “anyone can participate. There is no special equipment or training and often benefits can be seen after just one session”. It didn’t take long for the laughter to spread to almost 3000 clubs worldwide an eventually here to Australia which now boasts more than 5000 participants.
Cris Popp is one of Australia’s leading teachers in laughter yoga and says he took up the practice for “very personal reasons” and after seeing the results it had on his life he couldn’t wait to share his experiences with others. He trained with Dr Kataria and now takes classes at corporate events, well being programs, in rainy parks, and government offices he even does them as after dinner energisers.
One of Cris s happy participants said “In a group I hardly new – all of a sudden we had bonded by laughing together. With Cris s guidance we had cleared our heads and decreased our social and mental barriers” others have reported drops in blood pressure, increased self-confidence, increased sexual libido and loss of weight. Some of his corporate clients have even reported that the drops in office stress levels have subsequently increased profits. Cris is adamant that a customised laughter session is the best way to enjoy “the medicine of laughter”
What is involved in a laughter class?
“The laughter practice moves progressively from ho ho, ha ha to other types of simulated laughter. Its what I call my ‘laughter cocktail’” explains Kataria. The ‘cocktail’ includes hearty laughter, open mouthed silent laughter, humming laughter, lion laughter (which is an adaptation of the lion pose) and swinging laughter (laughter with movement). Each laugh lasts for up to a minuet and is broken up with simple breathing and stretching exercises. The programme is designed to progress smoothly from one giggle to another, but the laughter often becomes very contagious and can take over a class “Laughter in laughter clubs is the purest of all because it is not directed at others but we learn to laugh at our selves,” says Dr Kataria.
There is nothing like a good chuckle, it’s the body’s own natural defence against the worlds biggest killer, stress. But while most drugs affect everyone differently laughter is always the same. You can never overdose on it because as Dr Kataria says “there is no such thing as laughter toxicity. So maybe we should all now say “A laugh a day keeps the doctor away”.
Every ticklish person in the world can confirm that laughter in its self is a form of exercise. It works your diaphragm, abdominal, respiratory and facial muscles and depending on how you laugh, your arms, legs and back may also get a bit of a work out.
But it was American journalist Norman Cousins who in 1969 found that laughter had other medicinal values. It was in hospital, during his own battle with a debilitating disease, that Cousins decide his treatment with excessive amounts of painkillers wasn’t working. He hired a nurse to look after him and headed home. But it was only when his nurse began telling him funny stories and anecdotes, on top of making him watch Marx Brothers movies, did Cousins realise that just 10 minuets of good laughter guaranteed him at least two hours of pain free sleep. He was soon off all medication and on his way to good health.
Cousins explained his findings in a subsequent article stating that while laughter was not the only reason he recovered it certainly helped him manage the extreme pain. The article was widely criticised by all in the medical community, and it wasn’t until 1978 that Cousins findings were finally vindicated.
Research by Carl Simonton M.D. described that laughter’s ability to be a pain killer and to fight tumorous cells was “outstanding” adding that “if people would start reducing their stress through laughter, there might be a reduction in the number of cancer patients altogether”
Further experiments have shown that laugher even the anticipation of laughter produces a chemical reaction with in the brain creating endorphins (the bodies’ natural painkillers). The resultant feeling is similar to that of taking morphine (only with out the side effects) giving you a warm glowing feeling easing pain lowering your stress levels and building your immune system.
“The human race has only one effective weapon, and that’s laughter. The moment it arises, all are hardness’s yield, all our irritations and resentments slip away, and a sunny spirit takes their place” Mark Twain
But it was in 1995 after doing some research for one of his medical journals that Dr Madan Kataria, from Bombay India, decided that the obvious health benefits of laughter should be prescribed to patients and people who need it.
So on the morning of 13th of March Dr Kataria managed to persuade 5 people in a local park to join him in telling jokes and laughing the morning away. They met every day for two weeks but once the jokes became rude and offensive a new method was needed. Dr Kataria went on to devise a routine blending yogic stretching and breathing with a child like playfulness. He quickly found that even forced laughter would spread through the group leaving them fully energised; Hasya Yoga or Laughter Yoga was born. “Its an exercise regime like no other” says Dr Kataria “anyone can participate. There is no special equipment or training and often benefits can be seen after just one session”. It didn’t take long for the laughter to spread to almost 3000 clubs worldwide an eventually here to Australia which now boasts more than 5000 participants.
Cris Popp is one of Australia’s leading teachers in laughter yoga and says he took up the practice for “very personal reasons” and after seeing the results it had on his life he couldn’t wait to share his experiences with others. He trained with Dr Kataria and now takes classes at corporate events, well being programs, in rainy parks, and government offices he even does them as after dinner energisers.
One of Cris s happy participants said “In a group I hardly new – all of a sudden we had bonded by laughing together. With Cris s guidance we had cleared our heads and decreased our social and mental barriers” others have reported drops in blood pressure, increased self-confidence, increased sexual libido and loss of weight. Some of his corporate clients have even reported that the drops in office stress levels have subsequently increased profits. Cris is adamant that a customised laughter session is the best way to enjoy “the medicine of laughter”
What is involved in a laughter class?
“The laughter practice moves progressively from ho ho, ha ha to other types of simulated laughter. Its what I call my ‘laughter cocktail’” explains Kataria. The ‘cocktail’ includes hearty laughter, open mouthed silent laughter, humming laughter, lion laughter (which is an adaptation of the lion pose) and swinging laughter (laughter with movement). Each laugh lasts for up to a minuet and is broken up with simple breathing and stretching exercises. The programme is designed to progress smoothly from one giggle to another, but the laughter often becomes very contagious and can take over a class “Laughter in laughter clubs is the purest of all because it is not directed at others but we learn to laugh at our selves,” says Dr Kataria.
There is nothing like a good chuckle, it’s the body’s own natural defence against the worlds biggest killer, stress. But while most drugs affect everyone differently laughter is always the same. You can never overdose on it because as Dr Kataria says “there is no such thing as laughter toxicity. So maybe we should all now say “A laugh a day keeps the doctor away”.
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