What’s So Funny!?
Laughing Yoga is something you should very seriously consider partaking in for the benefit it will have on your physical and mental well-being. Known as Hasya Yoga in Sanskrit, this yoga offshoot is popping up in more and more places around the world as the gleeful word, cracked all up as it travels; spreads and people check it out and become satisfied with what it delivers, or more precisely, what it brings about inside of them.
Laughing yoga is a unique and innovative exercise program that was started by Dr. Madan Kataria in a park in Mumbai in 1995. The program has literally rolled over the world and now there are upwards of 6000 social laughter clubs in 60 countries. But if you can't find a club near you, the site I link you to at the bottom of this article will teach you how to start your own. It’s one of the best ways of coping with stress.
Dr. Kataria simply combined laughter with Yogic breathing. Another name for the visual and auditory display of amusement in a human is known technically as deep diaphragmatic breathing and this kind of lung work is very good for you. Essentially, the instructor makes you do some minor bending or hand raising all while the lot of you engage in child-like shenanigans and make eye contact with each other. And it works, just by watching video footage you'll get all caught up chuckling at the tomfoolery and forget to take yourself seriously.
The Scientific Angle of Relief
But the best part is that you don't even have to be really meaning it while you're laughing because the human body can't actually distinguish between the real deal and imitation. Therefore, you can fake it until you make it, but receive the physiological benefits from the very start. Studies have shown in so many instances that laughing really is the best medicine at relieving stress and boosting the immune system, not to mention the amazing results it can have with respiratory illnesses. Hearty laughter, the kind not directed toward hurting someone, really is the spice of life. Think about it.
Take a gander at this report from London on YouTube. Once here, it’s also worth it to look at the John Cleese footage. He gained legendary comic standing in his work with Monty Python and countless roles since, but here he did some work as a sort of ambassador to Laughing Yoga by reporting on its affect on people in India. Like most yoga disciplines, this one originated in India and in some instances the invaluable stress relieving effects of Laughing Yoga were brought into prisons, providing a new world of relief for both prisoners and inmates alike.
A cutting edge VA center in Arizona is trying to work Laughing Yoga into its program assisting returning vets coming home as an effective part of PTSD treatment. That is perhaps where the benefit of fake laughter comes into play best because after coming home from an experience like that, nothing seems funny. There is certainly a lot wrong with this world so maybe fighting back with some organized laughter is really a sound solution. After all, you’re only on this planet for a blip in relation to all that has come before and will go on after; what a joke.
Sources:
http://www.laughteryoga.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=15&Itemid=265