Heart HealthLaughter Yoga Makes You Happy and Healthy
Laughter Yoga that started 2 decades ago in Mumbai by Dr. Madan Kataria is now famous all around the world. Today there are 10,000 laughter clubs in 76 countries working to spread laughter everywhere. In 2015, laughter yoga turned 20 and thousands of people participated in the celebrations.
Whether you’re faking a laugh or really laughing, the mental and physiological effects are the same. This is the principle on which the laughter yoga works.
- There are no jokes to make the participants laugh. They are only asked to connect with their inner happiness.
- There are some joyful laughing practices and yogic breathing.
- The participants wake their inner child and have fun with one another.
- Laughter Yoga is medically and scientifically approved.
- Big companies practice laughter therapy to keep their workers healthy both mentally and physically.
How Laughter Yoga Works?
- Improves our respiratory system – When we laugh, more oxygen enters our lungs, which in return, revitalizes them.
- Better Immunity – According to research done at Linda Loma Medical Centre, Indiana State University, and the National Cancer Centre in California, laughing can improve our immune system up to 40%.
- Happy Heart – Scientists at the University of Maryland in Baltimore checked how laughter affected the heart. They showed funny videos to the subjects. The statistics before and after the experiment were amazingly different. They found that laughing results in expansion of the blood vessels, which means better circulation and a happy heart!
- Healthier muscles and organs – A good laugh helps burn fat on the belly and improves metabolism.
- More endorphins – Endorphins are the happy hormones aka the Self-made Morphine. When you laugh, endorphins are released generously, which work as a natural painkiller.
- Better Pain Tolerance – Professor Robin Dunbar, an English evolutionary biologist at the Oxford University tested two groups of people by showing one group funny videos and the other, nature videos. The group that watched the funny videos came out with an improved pain tolerance as they had laughed watching the comedy.
- Controlled Blood Pressure – Laughing increases the blood pressure, but after the laugh, the BP drops to a healthier rate.
Combating Stress in a Corporation:
75% of illness is a result of stress. The more the stress on the staff, the more is the absenteeism. Organizations can save on recruitment and training of new staff by taking care of their current staff members. They can introduce laughter yoga practices to keep their staff happy, healthy and working regularly. Taking just 5 to 10 minutes for a simple laughter therapy after tedious meetings and conferences can result in more vigilant and active staff at work.
Practice makes a man perfect!
The more you practice laughter yoga, the more perfect will be your immune system. Have you heard of this telephone laughter club? It’s amazing. Start your day with having a good laugh over the phone and the results will speak for themselves!
Let’s join Dr. Kataria in making the world a healthier and stress-free place by not only practicing laughter yoga ourselves, but spreading the word around too!
The article is taken from Impact International, who focuses on organizational development solutions, to aid people work more successfully collectively.
Image courtesy of photostock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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