Health Benefits Of Laughter Yoga

Laughter yoga has profound effects on our mental and physical state of being.

"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," says Dr. Lee Berk. "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."

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

• Blood & all major organs are fully oxygenated leaving us bursting with energy
• Blood pressure drops, circulation improves and pulse rate drops
• Depression is lifted, even chronic depression is often cured
• High endorphin levels put us in a great mood and reduce any aches & pains
• Immune, digestive & sexual systems that are switched off by stress are switched on
• Self confidence is boosted, communication skills and creativity are boosted
• Our lymphatic system is massaged and our immune systems boosted
• Stress levels reduce by 75% or more and we become more stress resistant

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

Importance Of Oxygen

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

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