Before we get into anything else, watch this video. We promise it’ll make your day.
That, my friends, is not a guy who’s high on drugs. In fact, he’s just found the secret to happiness and health – laughter yoga. Everyone knows that a good bag of laughter does wonders to their well-being, but did you know that your body can’t distinguish between real and fake laughter? The body reaps the same benefits from fake laughing, as it does from real peals of laughter, and that is the basis of laughter yoga.
Laughter yoga is a form of exercise where your combine laughter and deep yoga breathing. Each laughter yoga session usually begins with some warm up laughter exercises by faking it first. This obviously spurs people to burst into genuine laughter.
Before you brush this off as yet another fad, laughter yoga, as offbeat as it seems, actually brings about some serious benefits to your life.
Why Laughter Yoga?
1. It’s great for your health
- Laughter yoga is a single exercise routine which reduces physical, mental and emotional stress simultaneously and brings an emotional balance. People can feel the benefits from the very first session.
- Laughter yoga works for both the sick who wants to get their health back, and those who aren’t sick and want to stay healthy. It strengthens the immune system so you won’t fall sick as easily.
- Just 10 minutes of hearty laughter is equal to 30 minutes on the rowing machine, this means you’re burning calories by laughing.
- It increases blood circulation and relaxes the muscles.
- It helps de-stress you, making it a powerful antidote for depression. Stress today is the number one killer and more than 70-80% of visits to the doctor is thanks to stress.
- It helps to reduce blood pressure, lower blood sugar levels, reduce symptoms of allergies, asthma, arthritis and aid in chronic illnesses like cancer.
2. It keeps you positive
Ever heard the saying that “it’s all in your head”? Your mood determines the quality of your life. When you’re in a bad mood, everything is irritating like running your fingernails across a chalkboard. Laughter yoga can help to change your mood within minutes by releasing endorphins (the happy chemicals). Laughter yoga also helps you develop a sense of humour so you’ll laugh more in real life. You’ll always be smiling, and have a positive outlook towards life with very few negative thoughts.
3. It helps you stay energised at work
Work is a word often associated with stress. And while there are multiple ways to reduce the stress level, laughter yoga is the most economical, least time-consuming stress buster of all. Plus point? It’s all backed by science. Our brains typically need 25% more oxygen than other organs to perform optimally. Laughter yoga helps increase the supply of oxygen which boosts your performance. You’ll feel energised and fresh throughout the day and can work more without getting tired.
Laughing in a group can also help create a happy and motivated workforce with a strong team spirit.
Working in marketing and sales? Laughter yoga works to enhance your self-confidence and communication skills. It’s been used by several companies in HR trainings to increase attention span during prolonged sessions. Also, laughing and playing more helps you stay in touch with your creative side, which can help entrepreneurs and businesses.
4. It strengthens your relationships
Often, what matters in life have little to do with how much money or power you have. Most of the time, how great life is depends on how many good friends you can share your life with. And laughter is a powerful tool which can connect people easily. By joining a laughter club, you’ll get to join an awesome social network of people who actually care about one another. This helps to give you some emotional security, while casting away stress and depression.
5. It helps you face up to life’s challenges
Life is not easy. Sometimes it’ll throw you bad cards which might make you feel like curling up into a ball and hiding in the closet. Through embracing the essence of laughter yoga, you can learn to handle any situation with positivity. With a positive mentality, you’ll have the upper hand when dealing with negative situations and difficult people.
We’ll leave you with this video of people laughing. (PS: laughter is contagious)
Sounds too good to be true? See it for yourself at Malaysia’s celebration of World Laughter Day, happening at Publika, Solaris Dutamas on May 4th, 2014. There’ll be comedians, musicians, clowns, and laughter exercises to ensure you get a good laugh. You’ll also get to meet Certified Laughter Yoga Trainers Kitti Chang and Chandana Denz, as well as celebrity hosts Phng Li Kim and Dennis Lau.
Learn more about the event and get your FREE tickets here.
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