What Is Laughter Yoga?
Laughter yoga, also called laughter meditation, is a healthy way of reducing stress and tension and increasing feelings of happiness. It is suitable for people of all ages and fitness levels.
Madan Kataria, the founder of Laughter Yoga, believes that laughter originates from two separate places in the body. He says that adults laugh from their minds, which is a rational response to specific situations.
On the other hand, children tend to laugh from their bodies. The goal of laughter yoga is to allow adults to sink into child-like energy.
Laughter yoga sessions consist of laughter exercises interspersed with deep breathing. The exercises are designed to produce a lot of physical laughter, which gives a wonderful feeling of freedom and well-being. This can be done in groups or individually (in private), although it is most effective when done in groups.
Laughter yoga can also help boost performance by increasing diaphragmatic breathing, a surefire win for employers looking to better engage their teams.
What Are the Health Benefits of Laughter Yoga?
People of all ages, fitness levels, and abilities can enjoy a wonderful physical and mental with laughter yoga. The practice brings together the best of yoga’s physical benefits with the healing powers of laughter.
Here are the four most common health benefits you might experience when you try laughter yoga.
Decreases Depression
People who practice laughter yoga have reported feeling happier and more positive about life, having better relationships, and being less stressed. They also find it easier to cope with difficult situations in their lives.
Release Endorphins
Laughter yoga is designed to improve overall health and well-being while helping people cope with stress. The science behind this form of exercise is simple: Laughter helps the body release endorphins, which act on the nervous system to produce positive feelings.
Lowers Blood Pressure
Endorphins also cause physical changes in the body, including increased heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration. Since blood pressure rises quite easily, especially during the workday, laughter yoga is a way to quickly improve rates during the session. It has been shown to increase energy and lower stress levels.
Increases Lung Capacity
Essentially, laughter yoga is just a simple breathing exercise that helps you become aware of your breath and how it feels going in and out of your body. Since laughter yoga is based on diaphragmatic breathing, establishing a regular practice can help increase lung capacity.
The exercises may seem strange at first, but they are easy to do and effective in releasing the tensions which cause so many of us to have headaches and pain in our bodies.
