70-year-old Linda LeVier credits laughter yoga with her survival: three years ago, on April Fool’s Day, she had a heart transplant. LeVier believes laughter, especially the deep kind that starts in the belly, helped her recover with no complications and no signs of organ rejection.
My mother took her own life when I was 8 years young. This was very traumatic. I don’t remember laughing much as a child and later made decisions in my teenage years that were not always in my best interest.
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The practice of using unconditional laughter to prepare for stressful events is known as “laughter boosting” and is gaining popularity with speakers, actors and other performers to prepare themselves for presentations to audiences of all sizes.
The most common cause of cancer is stress. Extreme physical, mental and emotional stress weakens our immune system, and a weak immune system is a major causative factor in the development of cancer. Scientific studies have proved that hearty laughter has a powerful and immediate strengthening effect on our immune system. Laughter quickly increases immunoglobulin levels that help fight infection and increases the number of Natural Killer Cells (NK cells) in the blood (NK cells play a key role in cancer prevention). Cancer patients find it very easy to laugh with Laughter Yoga as it provides a laughter delivery system that does not require medical clowns, joke books, funny videos or a sense of humor. It is widely accepted that laughter speeds healing and improves mental outlook in patients.
As surprising as it may seem, there is both a need and a demand for Laughter Yoga in Churches throughout America (they just don’t know it yet). In the words of American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr “Humor is a prelude to faith and laughter is the beginning of prayer.” St. Thomas Aquinas himself said “It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes.” Consider the example of Laura Gentry, an ordained Lutheran Minister from Lansing, Iowa, and a strong advocate of Laughter Yoga. Her congregation actually chose to rename themselves “the laughing Lutherans” (see www.laughinglutherans.com).
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Any disability can be experienced as a huge challenge and be hard to live and deal with. Impacted people have to (re)discover themselves and find different ways to fulfill their dreams without slipping into the realms of depression and frustration. It is easy when faced with intense adversity to let oneself experience more intense negative feelings and emotions, yet these undermine one’s rationality and give rise to confusing mindsets regarding one’s own image and capabilities. What usually follows is an all time low and sensations of self pity and loss of worthless set in. Laughter Yoga is a powerful tool that can help manage physical pain and emotional distress. It has the ability to elevate the mood state by releasing endorphins, a ‘feel good’ hormone that alleviates pain and provides a feeling of comfort and safety.
Laughter Yoga is a beneficial activity in drug & alcohol rehabilitation centers. It improves health, boosts self-confidence, fosters and strengthens positive social connections.
Fitness encompasses both mental as well as physical health. ‘Being fit’ is now a major campaign worldwide as people realize the importance of a complete well being which helps to accomplish success and peak performance in every field of work. Modern lifestyle, daily stressors and lack of time has rendered life more sedentary. It includes less of exercising, unhealthy food and damaging habits such as drinking, smoking and the use of drugs. This harmful existence exposes people to major lifestyle diseases like hypertension, heart diseases, diabetes, obesity and more. Laughter Yoga is a simple and very relevant fitness routine. Laughter Yoga is a series of movement and breathing exercises designed to stimulate laughter and cultivate an inner spirit of joy. No flexibility required. At the end of class you will feel relaxed, peaceful, happy and energized. Wear comfortable clothing and bring your smile.
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Laughter Yoga is extremely relevant and useful in the field of mental health because laughter breaks the cycle of psychological negativity that we tend to fall into at times. Individuals who laugh easily and frequently have better self-esteem and a much more positive outlook on life in general. In the bigger picture laughter is a survival skill that relieves tension, keeping us fluid and flexible instead of allowing us to become rigid and breakable in the face of change.
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With the increase in crime all over the world, the prisons/correctional facilities are overburdened with prisoners, many of which harbor negative emotions and thoughts. Laughter Yoga is a great method of dissipating these feelings of anger and frustration. Dr Kataria (founder of Laughter Yoga) reports that many prisons in India have found Laughter Yoga an effective tool to release their negative emotions. Some prisons in the USA and other countries are testing this system.
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