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Research has shown that laughter has both preventive and
therapeutic values.
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. By
controlled and deep breathing we can enhance our own
well-being. With the 15-30 minute package offered by the
Laughter Club, participant carry 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.
Laughter helps to remove the negative
effects of STRESS, which is the number one killer today.
More than 70% of illnesses like high blood pressure, heart
disease, anxiety, depression, frequent coughs and colds,
peptic ulcers, insomnia, allergies, asthma, menstrual
difficulties, tension headaches, stomach upsets and even
cancer, have some connection to stress.
Laughter
helps to boost the IMMUNE SYSTEM, which is the master key
for maintaining good health.
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Reduce
Blood Pressure:
Helps control high blood
pressure and heart disease. While there are many factors for
these like heredity, obesity, smoking and excessive intake
of saturated fats, stress is one of the major factors.
Laughter definitely helps to control blood pressure by
reducing the release of stress-related hormones and bringing
relaxation.
Increasing stamina through increased
oxygen supply
Alleviates pain and gives a sense of
well being by releasing endorphins, the body’s painkiller
hormones.
Effective antidote for depression, anxiety
and psychosomatic disorders: laughter boosts the production
of serotonin, a natural anti-depressant.
Gives an
excellent internal massage to the digestive tract and
enhances blood supply to important internal organs like the
liver, spleen, pancreas, kidneys and adrenal glands.
Ensures good sleep and reduces snoring because laughter is
very good for the muscles of the soft palate and throat
Brings a happy glow to your face and makes your eyes
shine with a thin film of tears which are squeezed from the
lachrymal sacs during the act of laughter.
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Contra-Indications
Too much
of a good thing can become a bad thing. You cannot laugh too
little, but you can laugh too much and put your body into
distress. Laughing is a powerful form of exercise that gives
you more of a cardiovascular workout than many "regular"
aerobic activities. A typical Laughter Yoga session lasts
about 20 to 30 minutes. Anything beyond 30 minutes is in the
red zone and may adversely affect a lot of people,
especially seniors. Use your common sense: no strain, no new
pains. Please take time to familiarize yourself with our
contra-indications and legal disclaimers.
Mental,
Emotional and Spiritual Benefits
Experts On The
Importance Of Oxygen
Mental, Emotional and Spiritual
Benefits Of Laughter Yoga
Laughter Yoga is a new
navigation program to help you navigate through life and
stay “on top”.
Laughter makes it easier to cope with
life and its challenges
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Fun and Laughter
Laughter puts us intensely in the moment. The ability to
fully live and experience the “now” is of utmost importance
because it is the only moment where we can experience
happiness.
People who laugh don't worry as much as
people who don't laugh, and as such enjoy life more.
Laughter makes their circumstances seem less serious and
therefore tolerable. A playful approach to everyday things
is a key factor in keeping healthy. Daily chores are less
burdensome when we laugh while doing them. We aren't always
having fun, but we do have a lot more fun with laughter than
without.
Laughter helps us cope with challenge and
conflict better because it gives us a better perspective. It
shrinks the hurts of everyday life to a smaller, if not
inconsequential size. They appear not as overwhelming. It
allows us to stand above an issue, acknowledge it, and treat
it lightly in the awareness that we are touched by the issue
but not contained by it. Most of us have a tendency to pay
such close attention to our issues that they eventually
become a huge part of all we see. If we are able to laugh
about serious things, they simply can't be that huge. All
the uncomfortable traits of the people we interact with in
our life suddenly seem both unimportant and entirely
bearable when we can laugh about them. We are even able to
convince ourselves they are somehow endearing, and we view
them with indulgent affection.
Laughter makes us feel
good because it defuses three of the most painful emotions
(fear, anger and boredom) by releasing them. That release,
in turn, prevents or stops conflicts, eases tension, and
helps people to see one another's point of view better.
Laughter helps us cope with problems better. When we
trust we drop our defences. As laughter opens us up and
allows us to be vulnerable, we become willing to make
changes. We no longer need to keep score of the good things
we do for others. We lose track, and we don't even care.
Laughter makes us generous to a fault and we feel better
giving than receiving.
Laughter lifts us up and makes
life worth living. You experience that elusive state of
being called relaxation. It makes us stress less and enjoy
the company of other people more.
Laughter Yoga aims
to develop joyfulness, not happiness. In contrast to
“happiness”, “joyfulness” is the unconditional commitment to
have fun despite all of the possible problems that we are
faced with in life. Joyfulness is primarily a physical
phenomenon. “You fake it until you get it”. The decision may
come from the brain, but the process is physical. Because
the body and the mind are so closely inter-connected, when
you “do good” you “feel good”. “Motion Creates Emotion”.
Being joyful “doing good” actually changes the body
chemistry and fosters a healthier state of being.
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Laughter builds
self-confidence
Laughter makes us feel safer
and eases much of our awkwardness.
Laughter puts
anxiety on a back burner for everyone. We can't laugh and
worry at the same time. When we release anxiety (a product
of the mind) through laughter, our love (the nature of our
heart) surges to the surface and we are able to fully
experience and enjoy it.
Laughter is an important
social skill that keeps communications fun
Laughter
interrupts the power struggle. It is really hard to lock
down in conflict with someone when you are laughing. When
people enter a power struggle and let playfulness drop by
the wayside, they lose touch with their laughter, their
trust in life and others. This only leads to a downward
vicious circle that benefits no one. It leads us to focus on
our own needs and not the needs of the people around us.
Laughter allows people to be more open with each other
because it creates safety, and issues don't seem as awesome.
It allows us to express ourselves more clearly because we
think more clearly when we laugh.
When we laugh with
others, we ourselves are fun, and we provide good company.
Regular doses of laughter and play also take the work out of
staying in love for a lifetime.
Laughing for no
reason makes us more likeable because it minimizes our need
to gain self-confidence by analysing and judging other
people.
When we laugh with others, criticism seems to
collapse. We are able to let them be themselves and enjoy
them even more for that.
Laughter breaks down the
instinctive barriers between people and allows them to trust
each other. The fears most of us have about other people are
rooted in the past. We lose them when we laugh and fully
experience the present.
Laughter is a pathway to
unconditional love. Loving with the mind is a two way street
(I love / I hate and everything in between). Loving with the
heart is only a one way street: I love, I love, I love.
Also, the bonding qualities of laughter allow us to feel
such emotional closeness that we want to be physically and
spiritually close as well. It is something deeper than just
biology. It is a part of the mystery of laughter that we
have yet to solve.
Laughing with others preserves our
dignity - a need for relationships and the people in them.
Laughing for no reason develops our sense of humour and
helps us find more laughter in our lives.
Laughing in
a group for no reason helps to progressively break down
inhibition and other mental blocks which have been created
by oneself, one's parents and society. Once these barriers
are removed, the infinite potential to laugh unfolds
automatically and a sense of humour starts flowing.
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Success with
Laughter
Every human being has infinite
potential to perform and achieve anything he desires, but
most of his power lies dormant and untapped. The human brain
has a left and a right hemisphere. The left side of the
brain is analytical, logical, calculative and concerned with
learning skills. You can't learn some things beyond a
certain limit. The right side of the brain is concerned with
intuition, imagination, inventions, music, art, creativity,
meditation and healing. The power of the right side of the
brain is unlimited. One of the easiest ways to stimulate the
right side of the brain is by playfulness. By being playful
one can become more creative and imaginative. It will unfold
the unlimited potential of our beings.
The problem
with most of us is that we can't be playful all the time or
with everybody. A laughter club is an ideal platform which
gives an opportunity to be playful in a group, without the
feelings of embarrassment.
Laughter Yoga helps bring
forth the best in human nature. Laughing for no reason is
born of right brain activity and therefore lacks reason and
defies analysis. It is deliciously out of control because it
is not a rational process. It is a purely physical process
that does not need anything the mind has to offer (i.e. a
reason, some sense of humour, or a belief of happiness). It
brings forth the uncontrolled and unsubdued voice of the
heart / the soul / your higher self that expresses and helps
to manifest all of the intrinsic qualities of human nature.
It is a state of mind-body in which the dominant emotions
are pleasure, peace, love, and joy and as such it imparts a
sense of well being and freshness.
Laughter changes
"who we are" for the better. Humans are creatures of habit.
Most of what we consider our identity or "who we are" is
really a series of learned behaviours or "what we do".
Regular practice of Laughter Yoga helps reprogram negative
responses into positive ones (e.g. we argue laughing; we
laugh at an imaginary high credit card bill.) Nothing is
taken away from the importance of the event except our
reaction to it. People who saw themselves as “shy” discover
themselves assertive public speakers; short-tempered
individuals learn to control their moods and defuse their
anger by “laughing it out”, etc.
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What The
Experts Say 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,
cancers 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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Facts
* People who have a
good sense of humour and can chill out enjoy better health
* A few minutes of laughter lowers stress hormones and
raises the number of circulating antibodies, which fight off
disease for almost 36 hours - Paul Pearsall- The Pleasure
Prescription
* BIG Smiles resets the neurochemistry
of the brain toward more positive emotions - Robert Cooper-
Health & Fitness Excellence
* Laughter increases the
immune system, increasing T cell count and IgA and Beta
cells
* Increases the endorphins from the brain,
which assist in managing pain
* Helps with breathing
problems and respiratory conditions
* 100 Laughs is
equivalent to 10minutes on a rowing machine - Professor Fry
* Lowers Blood Pressure
* 10minutes of laughter
can give 2 hours of pain free sleep- Norman Cousins- Anatomy
of an Illness
* We start laughing at 10 weeks old. By
16 weeks we laugh at least once an hour and by four, we're
cackling about once every 4 minutes. By the time we get to
fifty, the average adult laughs about 15 times a day if
they're lucky - Professor Fry
* Laughter improves
team building, communication skills and self esteem.
From Laughter Clubs NSW http://www.laughterclubsnsw.com/
FOR MORE INFORMATION you can purchase Dr Kataria's book,
Laugh For No Reason or visit his website
www.laughteryoga.org
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Laughter
And Weight Loss
Cortisol is caused by
physical and emotional stress! Cortisol is a hormone
released by your adrenal glands in response to either
physical or emotional stress and that is the reason it is
referred to as the "stress" hormone. Whether it's a lot of
missed nights of sleep, an extremely low calorie diet or
getting caught in a traffic jam, your body responds in much
the same way. It secretes cortisol into your bloodstream,
which can cause even more problems.
This hormone is
part of the "fight-or-flight" response that we have as human
beings. Faced with stressful situations and danger, we are
left to either run or fight. Your body secretes this hormone
as a way of defending against stress and danger. Primarily
it increases the flow of glucose, protein and fat out of
your tissues and into your circulation system. For example,
if a bear were chasing you in the woods, your energy levels
would increase because it your body's natural response to a
physical threat.
The dangers of having these high
levels of the hormone have been associated with storage of
visceral fat, diabetes, heart disease, weakened immune
system, and chronic depression.
the best idea for
preventing these deadly, hormonal, Cortisol surges? Come-on,
I know you know the answer. It isn't in some magic Cortisol-blocking
pill, is it? That's right, you need to control your STRESS.
Laughter will do wonders for your stress levels.
Laughter reduces at least four of neuroendocrine hormones
associated with stress response. These are epinephrine,
cortisol, dopac, and growth hormone.
French
neurologist Henri Rubenstein said that even one minute of
laughter can give the body up to 45 minutes of therapeutic
relaxation. It also reduces heart rate and stimulates
appetite and digestion. French doctor Pierre Vachet, who
studied the physiology of laughter, has concluded that
laughter expands the blood vessels and sends more blood
racing to the extremities. As it sends more oxygen to every
cell in the body, it also serves to speed tissue healing and
stabilise many body functions.
Laughter also triggers
the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers,
and produces a general sense of well-being.
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