Learn to laugh for no reason
- play and have fun
- boost your “feel-good” hormones
- decrease depression, anxiety and mood swings
- ignite your creativity and spontaneity
- express yourself fearlessly
- enjoy a positive outlook
- master your life challenges
- release addictions and eating disorders
- decrease stress
About Laughter Yoga & Happiness Therapy
Laughter Yoga is a new mind-body exercise that increase the supply of oxygen to the brain as well as initiating other powerful positive changes. Developed by an Indian Medical doctor, Dr. Kataria in 1995 with just 5 people, there are now 6,000 yoga clubs in 60 countries. Dr. Kataria discovered that the body can’t tell the difference between fake and real laughter. Incorporating laughter (fake or real) as part of an individual’s wellness routine has enormous physical, mental and emotional benefits including decreased symptoms of depression and anxiety while boosting an individual’s capacity to effectively manage their own moods, deal with uncomfortable feelings and generally strengthen the ability to cope with life.
What are Some of the Benefits of Laughter?
Because laughter is incorporated with deep breathing exercises, the level of oxygen to the body is greatly enhanced resulting in many physiological as well as emotional and mental benefits including lowering of stress and stress-related symptoms, strengthening of the immune system and increasing the feel-good hormones—endorphins and serotonin. For a more complete list of the types of benefits possible with laughter yoga or laughter therapy see below.
How does Happiness Therapy Work?
Happiness Therapy brings together the best of the latest research on happiness creation and combines it with proven mind-body techniques, laughter and other energy therapies and the emerging field of heart-based thinking to open the body to its full experience of joy.
Laughter in Group Work Laughter is woven into a tapestry with other scientifically proven techniques for boosting happiness and decreasing issues connected with eating disorders, feelings of shame, guilt and fear; powerlessness; depression and anxiety; and trauma.
Individual Laughter Sessions Laughter is used as part of a customized program for individual clients. Laughter exercises are incorporated into a daily homework wellness regime.
For more information, or to learn more about Laughter Yoga and Happiness Therapy and how it might help you, call for an initial chat.
Here are Just a Few of the Many Clinically Proven Benefits of Laughter
Mental/Emotional Benefits of Laughter
- Easier to cope with life’s challenges
- Puts us in the “now”
- Increases unconditional joy
- Helps us cope with conflict
- Shrinks hurt so that issues feel less painful and even inconsequential
- Reduces stress and tension
- Acts as a cathartic emotional release of blocked feelings held in the body
- Diffuses painful feelings like fear, anger and boredom
- Increases our ability to enjoy other people
- Creates a positive energy and vibe
- Eliminates negative emotions and thoughts
- Creates an unconditional state of joy, compassion and love amongst groups of people
- Builds a sense of safety and self-confidence
- Helps us feel comfortable in any situation
- Reduces self-consciousness, embarrassment and shame
- Allows us to be more open with others
- Creativity is enhanced
- Enhances our sociability as we become more open and fun to be with. We become more likeable
- Fosters states of feeling “in-love” with life and others.
Physiological Benefits of Laughter
- Decreases the levels of toxic concentrations of stress hormones that attack the body and result in diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease and heart attacks; arthritis; asthma and other allergic conditions; diabetes; cancer; chronic fatigue; anxiety attacks; mood swings; psychological distress; depression; sleep problems; eating disorders; peptic ulcers; poor immune function; chronic pain; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; colds; flu and viruses; headaches and migraines; alcoholism and drug abuse and more.
- Laughter quickly reduces the levels of stress chemicals in the body. Significant reductions can occur in minutes and last for days.
- While stress turns down or “off” certain physiological systems such as the circulatory, digestive, sexual and immune systems, laughter boosts these same systems.
For more information, or to learn more about Laughter Yoga or Happiness Therapy and how it might help you, call for an initial chat.