Benefits: The Physiology And Psychology Of Laughter Yoga

Posted On April 6, 2010 In Category About Laughter Yoga, Start Here

Hearty and sustained unconditional laughter has profound short and long term effects on our body, mind and spirit.

Health Benefits Of Laughter Yoga

“For the most part, when you go and get medical treatment, a clinician is not necessarily going to tell you to take two aspirins and watch Laurel and Hardy, but the reality is that’s where we are and it’s more real than ever. There’s a real science to this. And it’s as real as taking a drug.” Dr Lee Berk, Professor Of Medicine, Loma Linda University

The secret of laughter yoga is that our bodies are hardwired with some surprisingly powerful natural reactions to extended hearty laughter. Some of these side effects include:

"For the most part, when you go and get medical treatment, a clinician is not necessarily going to tell you to take two aspirins and watch Laurel and Hardy, but the reality is that's where we are and it's more real than ever. There's a real science to this. And it's as real as taking a drug."

Feel-good hormones. Laughing leads to the release of endorphins, a self-manufactured natural opiate that has been scientifically shown to carry messages of attachment and bonding (the scientific terms for love), and to stimulate feelings of caring and forgiveness in addition to acting as a natural painkiller. Endorphins create a positive state of mind and boost optimism, self-confidence and feelings of self-worth.
Blood & all major organs are fully oxygenated leaving us bursting with energy. Lloyd (Journal of General Psychology, 1983) showed that laughter is a combination of deep inhalation and full exhalation, inspiring excellent ventilation, wonderful rest and profound release. Increased circulation helps flush the organs of waste products, helping us to operate at peak performance.
Our lymphatic system is massaged and our immune systems boosted. Laughter causes an “internal jogging” that massages the internal organs and promotes circulation to the digestive and lymphatic systems.
Strengthens the immune system. Laughter deepens the breath, which is shown to increase lymphatic flow, which in turn is already thoroughly documented and proven to boost the immune system with fast increases in levels of anti-viral and anti-infection cells (including the so-called “natural-killer” cells which help fight cancer). Laughter also increases the levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA), the first line of defense protecting us against viral infections such as coughs and colds. Immune, digestive & sexual systems that are switched off by stress are switched on
Promotes cardio-vascular health. Blood pressure drops and pulse rate drops after you have laughed.
Depression is lifted, even chronic depression is often cured (watch the video testimonial for Laughter Yoga of a leading American Psychiatrist).
Anti-aging formula. Many older Laughter Yoga practitioners claim that the facial exercise of laughter reduces wrinkles and sagging by firming and toning facial muscles, making them look (and if anything else “feel”) younger. Overall exercise is known to slow down the aging process and Laughter Yoga is a fun and easy exercise for all age groups.
Catharsis. By enhancing the free flow of emotions, laughter can help dislodge blocked emotions stored in the body. Suppressed or blocked emotions can cause ongoing physical, mental and emotional problems. Their release can be life-changing. Laughter provides an excellent non-violent method for emotional release and catharsis (word of cautions: laughter therapy to release emotional trauma truly really works. We strongly advise you to contact a trained laughter therapist if you need professional help. Note that aren’t many around at this point in time).

After just one laughter yoga session many people feel the difference. After some Laughter Yoga meditation sessions people describe surging feelings of joy and happiness.

With regular sessions people’s entire mental and physical state changes for the better. Laughter accelerates healing and many small health problems disappear. The frequency of colds & flu’s reduces. You feel happy, healthy and well. No other fitness training regime or style of yoga has these benefits.

A recent study at Stanford University concludes that laughter stimulates the parts of our brain that use the “feel good” chemical messenger dopamine. This puts laughter into the “necessary” category of activities that are pleasurably addictive, and more so in the myriads of health benefits that accrue.

Laughter releases endorphins, giving us the ‘feel good factor’
Acts as aerobic exercise and is like ‘internal jogging’
Unleashes inhibitions, breaks down barriers
Great team building tool encourages better communication
Helps boost our immune system which helps us resist disease
Tones muscles, improves respiration and circulation
Encourages positive thinking and creativity
Relaxes the whole body by reducing stress and tension

Don’t take our words for truth (you should not believe everything you read online). We have an entire section of this website dedicated to academic research on Laughter and Laughter Yoga. Click here to read more.

Importance Of Oxygen

"Deep breathing techniques which increase oxygen to the cell are the most important factors in living a disease free and energetic life... Remember. Where cells get enough oxygen, cancer will not, cannot occur." --Dr. Otto Warburg, President, Institute of Cell Physiology, Nobel Prize Winner (Dr. Warburg is the only person to ever win the Nobel Prize twice in medicine and he was nominated for a third.)

Laughter helps us keep healthy by enriching the blood with ample supplies of oxygen, the lifeline of our system. According to the science of yoga, life energy (prana) flows through the breath. Through controlled and deep breathing we can enhance our own well-being. With the 20-30 minute package offered by the Laughter Club, participants take home the healthy habit of deep breathing at least 10-20 times a day. This helps to increase the lung capacity, thus enhancing oxygen supply to the body.

Check out what the experts are saying on the importance of oxygen:

“Deep breathing techniques which increase oxygen to the cell are the most important factors in living a disease free and energetic life… Remember. Where cells get enough oxygen, cancer will not, cannot occur.” –Dr. Otto Warburg, President, Institute of Cell Physiology, Nobel Prize Winner (Dr. Warburg is the only person to ever win the Nobel Prize twice in medicine and he was nominated for a third.)
“Breathing correctly is the key to better fitness, muscle strength, stamina, and athletic endurance.” –Dr. Michael Yessis, Phd., President Sports Training Institute, Fitness Writer – Muscle and Fitness Magazine
“Oxygenation through deep breathing boosts the immune system and can rid the body of chronic illnesses.” –Dr. Sheldon Hendler, MD, Medical Researcher Cell Oxygenation, Author “The Oxygen Breakthrough”
“All body functions are breathing related. Proper oxygen delivery to all parts of your body is crucial to health and well-being. Aerobic exercise increases the body’s available oxygen and therefore promotes wellness. Delivering oxygen to the body is the responsibility of the respiratory system. Breathing is the process by which air enters the bloodstream, via the lungs. Thus, proper breathing, and correcting common breathing disorders, is the ultimate form of aerobics.” –Dr. Robert Fried, Breath Connection, Insight Books, 1990, p. 52
“Oxygen tension in tissues enhances the action of some antibiotics — notably amino-glycosides — and the immune system, and stimulates cellular metabolism.” –Linda Collison, Hyperbarics: when pressuring patients helps, Health Index
“Deep diaphragmatic breathing stimulates the cleansing of the lymph system by creating a vacuum effect which pulls the lymph through the bloodstream. This increases the rate of toxic elimination by as much as 15 times the normal rate.” –Dr. J.W. Shields, MD, Lymph, lymph glands, and homeostasis. Lymphology, v25, n4, Dec. 1992, p. 147
“Oxygen plays a pivotal role in the proper functioning of the immune system. We can look at oxygen deficiency as the single greatest cause of all diseases.” –Stephen Levine, a respected molecular biologist and geneticist, and Dr. Paris M. Kidd, Ph.D., Antioxidant Adaptation
“Carbon dioxide is the most abundant of all the end-products of metabolism.” –Arthur C. Guyton, M.D., Textbook of Medical Physiology, W.B. Saunders Company, p. 4

Laughter And Stress

Laughter is the number one enemy of health today. An estimated 80% of all doctors’ visits and medication prescribed today are for stress-related illnesses.

According to the Mayo Clinic, typical stress symptoms include:

a negative state of mind with a cynical, sarcastic and critical outlook;
lack of motivation;
irritability and lack of patience;
lack of energy;
lack of satisfaction with one’s own life and personal achievements;
disillusionment;
the feeling of facing insurmountable barriers;
lack of productivity and efficiency;
self-medication using food, alcohol and drugs to feel better or to not feel;
changes in sleep and appetite habits;
headaches, neck and lower back pain;
loss of the ability to experience joy.

Laughter is nature’s counter to stress ─ they are physiological opposites.

A clue to this may be found in the body’s typical actions after extreme stress of the fight or fight kind: deep panting and using laughter make light of events that provoked fear.

The predominance of one (deeper breathing and laughter) tends to prevent the other (fear).

In short:

Laughter quickly reduces the levels of stress chemicals and hormones in our body. Significant reductions can occur in minutes and last for days;
Laughter switches on and boosts physiological systems that stress switches off, including the circulatory, digestive, sexual and immune systems;
Stress, worry, fear and emotional problems stifle learning ability, creativity, teamwork, productivity, efficiency and motivation while laughter boosts and strengthens these attributes;
Stress promotes illness, depression and anguish. Laughter promotes health, wellness, emotional balance and joyfulness;
Laughter can not only help reduce stress levels, it can also effectively protect our systems from the effect of further stress.

Other Benefits Of Laughter

Laughter Yoga is a pathway to unconditional love. Loving with the mind is a two way street (I love / I hate and everything in between). Loving with the heart is only a one way street: I love, I love, I love.

Laughter makes it easier to cope with life and its challenges.

Laughter puts us intensely in the moment. The ability to fully live and experience the “now” is of utmost importance because it is the only moment where we can experience happiness.
People who laugh don’t worry as much as people who don’t laugh, and as such enjoy life more. Laughter makes their circumstances seem less serious and therefore tolerable. A playful approach to everyday things is a key factor in keeping healthy. Daily chores are less burdensome when we laugh while doing them. We aren’t always having fun, but we do have a lot more fun with laughter than without.
Improved emotional intelligence. In children social play is critical to the development of social skills and emotional intelligence. Restricted play results in deficient social skills which can lead to life-long physical, mental, emotional and social problems. Laughter promotes childlike playful behavior. New research shows that playful adults continue to learn social skills and improve their emotional intelligence.
Laughter makes us feel good because it defuses three of the most painful emotions (fear, anger and boredom) by releasing them. That release, in turn, prevents or stops conflicts, eases tension, and helps people to see one another’s point of view better.
Laughter lifts us up and makes life worth living. You experience that elusive state of being called relaxation. It makes us stress less and enjoy the company of other people more.
Laughter Yoga aims to develop joyfulness, not happiness. In contrast to “happiness”, “joyfulness” is the unconditional commitment to have fun despite all of the possible problems that we are faced with in life. Joyfulness is primarily a physical phenomenon. “You fake it until you get it”. The decision may come from the brain, but the process is physical. Because the body and the mind are so closely inter-connected, when you “do good” you “feel good”. “Motion Creates Emotion”. Being joyful / “doing good” actually changes the body chemistry and fosters a healthier state of being.

Laughter builds self-confidence

Laughter puts us in control of our own emotions. It helps us cope with challenge and conflict better because it gives us a better perspective. It shrinks the hurts of everyday life to a smaller, if not inconsequential size. It allows us to stand above an issue, acknowledge it, and treat it lightly in the awareness that we are touched by the issue but not contained by it. If we are able to laugh about serious things, they simply can’t be that huge.
Any form of laughter is successful, yours included. The only requisite for you to succeed in Laughter Yoga is to decide to laugh no matter what. You are doing it for yourself, not to impress others. You laugh with them, not at them.
Laughter makes us feel safer and eases much of our awkwardness.
Laughter puts anxiety on a back burner for everyone. We can’t laugh and worry at the same time. When we release anxiety (a product of the mind) through laughter, our love (the nature of our heart) surges to the surface and we are able to fully experience and enjoy it.
When we laugh with others, we ourselves are fun, and we provide good company. Regular doses of laughter and play also take the work out of staying in love for a lifetime.
Laughing for no reason makes us more likeable because it minimizes our need to gain self-confidence by analyzing and judging other people.
When we laugh with others, criticism seems to collapse. We are able to let them be themselves and enjoy them even more for that.

Laughter is an important social skill that keeps communications fun

Laughter interrupts the power struggle. It is really hard to lock down in conflict with someone when you are laughing. When people enter a power struggle and let playfulness drop by the wayside, they lose touch with their laughter, their trust in life and others.
Laughter allows people to be more open with each other because it creates safety, and issues don’t seem as awesome.
Laughter breaks down the instinctive barriers between people and allows them to trust each other. The fears most of us have about other people are rooted in the past. We lose them when we laugh and fully experience the present.
Laughter Yoga is a pathway to unconditional love. Loving with the mind is a two way street (I love / I hate and everything in between). Loving with the heart is only a one way street: I love, I love, I love. Also, the bonding qualities of laughter allow us to feel such emotional closeness that we want to be physically and spiritually close as well. It is something deeper than just biology. It is a part of the mystery of laughter that we have yet to solve.

In summary

Laughter Yoga changes “who we are” for the better. Humans are creatures of habit. Most of what we consider our identity or “who we are” is really a series of learned behaviors or “what we do”. Regular practice of Laughter Yoga helps reprogram negative responses into positive ones (e.g. we argue laughing; we laugh at an imaginary high credit card bill.) Nothing is taken away from the importance of the event except our reaction to it. People who saw themselves as “shy” discover themselves assertive public speakers; short-tempered individuals learn to control their moods and defuse their anger by “laughing it out”, etc. Laughter Yoga does not change your life. It changes you.