Benefits and applications of Laughter Yoga

Laughter Yoga, a “wellbeing workout” designed by Dr. Madan Kataria, has gained popularity throughout the world for its purported benefits to heal both physical and mental ailments. Practitioners describe the practice as a life-changing process that has freed them from depression, spiritual listlessness, and chronic pain. Highly regarded doctor of integrative medicine Andrew Weil has even stated that Laughter Yoga can be a “powerful intervention” against illness and could help lower health-care costs in America.

Laughter Yoga Benefits

According to Dr. Kataria, laughter can deliver nearly endless benefits, including reduced stress and depression; relief from pain and symptoms associated with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s disease, and multiple sclerosis; relief from asthma symptoms; improved immune system function; and improved chance of survival in cancer patients.

Scientific Evidence

Scientific evidence on the healing power of laughter is limited. Early research on the benefits of laughter focused on how laughter affects breathing, muscle tone, and internal organs, reports a recent New Yorker article. To that end, sustained laughter may help reduce stress by teaching diaphragmatic breathing and stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for calming and relaxing the body.

In 1979, Norman Cousins, editor of the Saturday Review, wrote a book about the healing power of laughter titled Anatomy of an Illness, as Perceived by the Patient. Cousins posed the question of whether positive emotions, such as love, hope, faith, laughter, confidence, and the will to live could have a therapeutic effect. Cousins, who suffered from a degenerative joint disease, found that ten minutes of laughter had an anesthetic effect and could provide him with two hours of pain-free sleep. In 1988, scientists at Loma Linda University and Stanford conducted a series of experiments in which laughter was found to reduce levels of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress and decreased immun e system function.

Laughter Yoga Applications

In addition to leading Laughter Yoga sessions at clubs throughout the world, teachers and advocates of Laughter Yoga have used the practice to promote healing in a variety of settings. Laughter Yoga is used increasingly in medical facilities and schools to promote both mental and physical fitness, decrease stress, and help individuals meet the demands of school or work.

The following are just some examples of how Laughter Yoga can be applied:

Senior care centers. Laughter Yoga can benefit seniors by helping to enhance the immune system, reducing the risk factors for certain diseases, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and alleviating feelings of depression and loneliness.

Business settings. Laughter in the workplace can help alleviate work-related stress, increase morale and motivation, reduce absenteeism, build a stronger team spirit, and increase performance and efficiency.

Schools. Students of all ages, from grade school to college, can benefit from Laughter Yoga’s ability to improve concentration, promote emotional bonding and coping skills, increase energy, and build confidence.

Medical centers. Laughter Yoga may help improve the quality of life for cancer patients and others suffering from advanced disease by promoting a positive outlook, alleviating pain, countering stress and fear, and delivering more oxygen to the body.

Gyms. Some fitness centers are beginning to offer Laughter Yoga sessions as a means of oxygenating the body, teach diaphragmatic breathing, increasing energy, and boosting the immune system.

Dr. Kataria’s official Laughter Yoga website also reports on the emerging use of Laughter Yoga in prisons, schools for homeless children, and schools for the blind.

Next week, learn more about the specific exercises involved in Laughter Yoga, where to practice, and how to laugh alone.