Laughter Yoga

Laughter is the best medicine. You may recognize this famous quote. I discovered how true this is in my own life. While working and presenting a video about different stress management skills to my cardiac rehabilitation patients, they mentioned laughter yoga. To say I was intrigued was a mild statement. In my life, I knew that I often used laughter to help myself cope… but I had no idea there was truly a practice!

I embarked on the best journey of my life: learning the practice of laughter. It has so many benefits to assist our bodies and minds. Actually, it is two-fold in helping both our bodies and our minds. Laughter Yoga was started by Dr. Madan Kataria and his wife Madhuri in 1995 in a park with a few friends; it is now practiced in over 100 countries around the world. It is a practice that involves a slow warm-up to our bodies, including movement and clapping. Directly following, we incorporate laughter, play, and deep breathing practices. All three of these components bring benefits to our bodies individually but done in the right combination, you reap the best benefits.

There is no age or physical limitation to prevent someone from partaking in Laughter Yoga. I have given classes to people from one- to one hundred and one years old. Babies' first reaction is to laugh or smile. We all know their laughter is contagious! Have you ever been in your car stopped at a red light with your windows rolled up, then, you look over and the person in the car next to you is laughing? You may know what they are laughing about, but you probably smile at the possibilities.

Laughter Yoga has been an unexpected, interesting piece in my life. Looking back, I’ve always used laughter to lighten my mood, not even realizing what I was using it for. Stress is a big part of our lives. Even babies have stress! They need to find a way to get their diaper changed and get food and make sure their overall needs are taken care of.

relate to stress. However, in the past few years, most people have had an added element with the Covid Virus.

Stress is noted to affect people physically, mentally, socially, and overall wellbeing. Working in cardiac rehabilitation, and having a family history of heart disease, I decided to start taking action. I needed to aid and slow down the risk for myself and my family. Through my research, I discovered that stress was a risk factor for heart disease itself.

Stress can even start doing damage at a young age. If you had a traumatic childhood, plaque can build up on the side of your vessels. Even the thought of stress can raise your blood pressure. When stressed, do quick shallow breaths which in turn they don't get as much oxygen in as possible. These are only a few examples of how stress can play a part in heart disease.

Then, we have to take a look at the mental effects of stress. From mental concentration to anger and frustration, stress takes a toll. Socially, it can increase family disharmony and absenteeism from social activities.

Decreased self-esteem and anxiety are other ways a person’s well-being can be involved. These side effects are not pleasant to deal with, and often overlooked as we survey our long-term health. Over time, this wears us down, and we struggle to be our best selves.

When I first learned about laughter yoga, I was amazed that it hits all the points of helping stress in a person over all. Laughter can aid in physical symptoms by the activity of laughing with the physical activity releasing endorphins. They are known to decrease blood pressure and even provide pain control. In addition, laugher releases oxytocin – the love hormone—making us feel more well and harmonious.

Serotonin—the mood stabilizer—assists with our mental health. Every time we laugh, we release these hormones in a rush to our body, instantly helping us to feel happier.

Last but not least, Laughter releases Dopamine, aiding in concentration and motivation. These four chemicals create the perfect chemical cocktail to ensure that we feel happy, healthy, and whole as we laugh.

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Stress is essentially anything real or perceived that is an interruption to our normal pattern or activity. All of us can