Looking for a way to reduce stress and lighten the mood at the same time? Simple, just laugh. For decades researchers have explored how laughter helps relieve stress and enables people to heal faster. It lowers blood pressure, epinephrine and glucose levels and increases glucose tolerance. What’s more, laughter facilitates a discharge of endorphins that has both a euphoric and calming effect on us.
In 1995, Madan Kataria, a Mumbai-based medical professional came up with the idea of Laughter Yoga based on the fact that our brain cannot distinguish between natural and stimulated laughter. He started conducting laughter exercises in a public park and gave rise of the first laughter club. Now such clubs are popular not only in India but across the globe. We often hear and see a group of people laughing uncontrollably as a form of exercise.
Kataria feels that now more than ever we need to laugh to control stress levels. With the ongoing lockdown and uncertainty for the future, a large number of people are stressed and “laughter is truly the best medicine,” he says.
Kataria suggests joining online laughter clubs. He himself conducts classes on Zoom everyday at 7:30 am and 5:30 pm. Anyone can join, no password is required.
He also recommends laughing with family at home during the lockdown. “Look into each other’s eyes and laugh, within moments it will turn into real laughter,” he suggests.
Here are some breathing and laughter exercises he recommends:
Breathe, hold, laugh
Straighten your arms in front of your chest with the palms facing upward. Inhale through the nose and bring your fists closer to your chest. Hold your breath for three to four seconds and then burst out laughing while exhaling.
Breathing into the lungs
• Place your hands between your shoulder blades with the palms facing outward. Take a deep breath, hold for three to four seconds and laugh.
• Join your palms and stretch them above your head until your arms are straight. Take a deep breath, hold it for three to four seconds and laugh.
• Hold your hands out like a lion’s paws. Take a deep breath, hold it for three to four seconds and then stick your tongue out and laugh from your belly.
“Laughter is the fastest and easiest method of exhaling longer and flushing our lungs,” says Kataria.
People are often conscious and unable to fake laughter, Kataria suggests they start by saying ‘ha ha ha’, ‘he he he’, and ‘ho ho ho.’ “Keep doing this till you can laugh genuinely at the sound of your own laughter. Try different ways till you find sounds that amuse you,” he suggests.
Kataria also recommends laughing in front of the mirror. “Whenever you feel a slump in energy levels or you start feeling low, just start saying ‘haaa haaa haaa’. It can work wonders!”