The Laughter Yogini

 

Laughter Yoga, eh? What is this Laughter Yoga?

Laughter Is The Best Medicine.

Humans were designed to laugh. Laughter is nature’s stressbuster. It lifts our spirits with a happy high that makes us feel good and improves our behavior towards others.

Just a few generations ago happy healthy humans spent 20 minutes a day or more in laughter. Now adult daily laughtime is down to 5 minutes or less in many countries. This is one of the worst aspects of ‘modern life’.

Laugh Yourself Healthy.

We all know that laughter makes us feel good. A regular 20-minute laughter session can have a profound impact on our health and wellbeing. Laughter is gentle exercise. It fill your lungs and body with oxygen, deep-clears your breathing passages and exercises your lungs. This is really important for people who don’t get regular aerobic exercise.

When we laugh our bodies release a cocktail of hormones and chemicals that have startling positive effects on our system. Stress is reduced, blood pressure drops, depression is lifted, your immune system is boosted & more. Western science is just starting to discover the great effects of laughter.

How Does It Work?

Laughter helps us keep healthy by enriching the blood with plenty of oxygen, vital to good health. Laughter helps to remove the negative effects of STRESS by releasing stress-reducing hormones into your body. Laughter alleviates pain and gives a sense of well being by releasing endorphins, the body’s painkiller hormones. It also tackles depression and anxiety by boosting the production of serotonin, a natural anti-depressant.

Do I Receive Benefits When I’m Not Laughing?

Yes! The physical and psychological benefits of regular laughter increase with time. It can perk up your mood, improve communication with others and clear your mind for greater creativity and enjoyment in all aspects of your life.

Are There Any Contraindications?

Too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. You cannot laugh too little, but you can laugh too much and cause stress. Regular or extended laughter may not be suitable for everyone. It is not recommended for people suffering from diseases that are in a severe and uncontrolled stage such as, but not limited to:

  • Any kind of hernia
  • Any persistent cough
  • Epilepsy
  • Heart disease
  • High blood pressure
  • Incontinence
  • Major psychiatric disorders
  • Severe backache

If in doubt, please consult with your physician.

Why Laughter Yoga?

Eleven years ago, Dr Madan Kataria, an Indian doctor and student of yoga, was writing a paper for a medical journal titled “Laughter is the Best Medicine”. Convinced of the medical benefits of laughter and yogic breathing exercises, Dr. Kataria was searching for a way to bring these benefits to modern man. Aha! You can “prescribe” 20 minutes of laughter a day, and for best effect a range of different types of laughter should be combined.

In a flash of inspiration, Laughter Yoga was born. Thanks to Dr. Kataria, countless people all over the world today enjoy the benefits of a daily dose of laughter practicing Laughter Yoga at laughter clubs or at their workplace.

Anyone Can Laugh Without Reason.

Laughter Yoga combines laughter exercises and yoga breathing (pranayama) to give you the health benefits of hearty laughter.

Laughter exercises almost always lead to real laughter, especially when practiced in a group.

Laughter Yoga is practiced around the world at laughter clubs, yoga and martial arts studios, in the workplace and in many more specialized venues including schools, corporations, government, military and police, hospitals and hospices, and more. There are more than 5,000 laughter clubs and studios in more than 50 countries with new venues opening daily.

Laughter Yoga has been featured on major networks around the world including CNN. ABC, and the BBC, as well as in print publications including Time Magazine, National Geographic, New York Times, London Times, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, and many more.

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More Information.

Check out some of the multimedia info on Laughter Yoga below…

  • Audio:  Is Laughter the Best Medicine?
    Dr. Andrew Weil reveals all the good a guffaw can do for your health, mood and immune system.


    (length: 2 min. 22 sec.)

    source

 


The Laughter Yogini - at least so far   | back to top |

The Laughter Yogini All!

We’ve all been trained and certified as Laughter Yoga Leaders by our wonderful teacher, Sue Ansari, of the Dr. Kataria School of Laughter Yoga (that’s a mouthful!).

You know all about me already and how to get in touch with me. Let me tell you a bit about the other Yoginiz.

Angela Edwards-Mason, Lanham, MD (website):

My professional concept of healthy nutrition began with my own personal struggle with obesity, depression and low self-esteem. My personal life as I knew it collapsed in front of me, in one year I became unemployed twice, was coping with feelings of rejection and abandonment, was at the doctor’s office just about every month, only for him to say there’s nothing wrong or that he could not find anything after running tests after tests, he always suggested I need to loose some weight. At my lowest, I made bad choices and questionable decisions, had poor eating habits and a negative attitude. Something had to be done! At age 56 I was losing control of my normal life and pleasant personality.

Over the years, I have been on diets and have shed and gained a few pounds here and there and if I had an ache or pain would take something for the phantom pain just to get relief. It was now time to reclaim my life, and learn to be vibrant, healthy, happy and beautiful. I never thought eating well and understanding food would be the transformation I needed to make these life changes and make a life long difference.

I graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), affiliated with Columbia University Teachers College in New York City and board-certified by the American Association for Drugless Practitioners (AADP) in June 2007 as a Certified Health Counselor. I am skillfully trained to counsel others around food and making healthier lifestyle choices. I am also certified in Laughter Yoga (LY) as a leader. The benefits of LY: it is an exercise that promotes peace and harmony, reduces stress and increases energy levels.

This is personal! I am passionate and concerned about educating and empowering the community about healthier nutritional choices, making lifestyle changes to their daily lives, have healthier relationships, reduce stress, increase physical activity and to nourish their spirituality through understanding nutrition and what it does to your body.

  • See Angela tell her inspiring story in an interview on YouTube!

Susan Tindall, Eugene, OR (website):

My story starts in June of 2004 when my son, then 18 and a junior in high school, told me that he had joined the Marines and would be going in right after graduation. At that point, fear set in on many levels — his safety, and then, how was I going to manage without him.

Reality set in. Here I was, a 52-year-old single mom, a self-employed dog groomer, 314 pounds, health very questionable. How was I going to manage living and dealing with even simple physical tasks like changing the light bulbs and mowing the lawn?

I had one year to prepare for this event. The first thing I had to do was change my attitude about myself. I had to be at the top of the ladder, a place many of us moms don’t put ourselves. I searched out the best information on nutrition, burning fat, building muscle, and anything else that related to improving my health and losing weight. I found an exercise program that I liked and excelled towards my goal.

My journey was ground-breaking for me. Never had I been so focused, so determined, and so completely supported by family, friends, clients and my trainers, Brandon, Dustin, and especially George, who taught me balance and the possibilities of what I could achieve.

As a graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York, a metabolic typing advisor, a laughter yoga leader, and a board-certified Holistic Health Counselor with the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, supporting and guiding others to their optimum health and happiness is my passion.

PS: My son the Marine is very proud of his mom. And I can change my own light bulbs.

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