Over the last 26 years, the physical and mental health and wellbeing benefits of Laughter Yoga have been very well researched. Information about how Laughter Yoga improves physical and mental health and wellbeing is widely published and is easily accessed on the internet.
Six of Laughter Yoga’s main health and wellbeing benefits are outlined below. I’d like to refer to one of Dr Kataria’s favourite sayings, “We can live without food for some time, we can also live without water for a little while, but we cannot live without oxygen for very long at all.”
Because this really is obvious but not often thought about, you’ll see I’ve included a fair bit of information about how Laughter Yoga improves our breathing and our health.
Laughter Yoga boosts the immune system – the deep belly laughter that Laughter Yoga triggers causes the diaphragm muscle to move up and down, massaging our internal organs and lymph glands. This also moves the lymph around our bodies, increasing lymphocytes and T cells boosting our immune system.
Laughter Yoga regulates blood flow/blood pressure – Laughter Yoga exercises give the cardiovascular system a good workout. As our muscles relax, blood vessels dilate and become more flexible regulating the flow of blood throughout our body. This can also help in preventing hardening of the arteries and the build-up of cholesterol.
Laughter Yoga increases oxygen levels through deep breathing – to keep our lungs healthy and provide enough oxygen for the body to perform at its best, we need to breathe more effectively, taking deeper breaths and flushing the stale air out of our lungs.
A normal breath fills just 25% (tidal volume) of the total lung capacity. The remaining 75% (residual volume held in the lower two-thirds of our lungs) remains filled with old stale air. Our breathing is even more shallow when we’re stressed, upset, angry or anxious. We really need to be able to breathe deeply.
The secret to deep breathing is to exhale more fully and expel the stale residual air. Laughter empties more air from your lungs than it takes in, and this results in an emptying and cleansing effect. This is especially helpful for people who are suffering from respiratory ailments, such as asthma.
Hearty extended laughter (easy to achieve and sustain with Laughter Yoga) helps longer exhalation, thus ridding the lungs of residual air, which is then replaced by fresh air containing a higher level of oxygen.
To prove this, hold your hand 5 – 10cm from your open mouth and exhale. Feel how much breath hits your hand. Then do the same while laughing out loud. You’ll be amazed at how much more air hits your hand and just how hard or fast your exhaled breath is moving. This breath is being exhaled from your lower lungs by diaphragmatic movement.
Today, across all age groups, shallow breathing is almost the norm, mainly because of our sedentary lifestyle. Some serious effects of shallow breathing include:
- Making your heart work more because most of the gas exchange takes place in the lower lungs, and it has to beat more to achieve the same input of oxygen and output of carbon dioxide;
- You do not help your lymphatic system (it is the engine of your immune system and what keeps you healthy), as that system has no pump. To move the lymph you need to either exercise and/or breathe deeper.
When you breathe deeply during a hearty laugh, saturating your lungs with oxygenated blood, you may have to cough, sputter or spit. This is due to things loosening up in your respiratory system and getting a good fresh cleaning.
Why Laughter Is Good For The Respiratory System (laughteronlineuniversity.com)
Here, I’d also like to add from personal experience that Laughter Yoga also increases lung capacity. After not being able to do any swimming in late 2019 and 2020, I was back in the pool almost at the start of the 2021 summer season.
In early 2019, I’d regularly swum 1000 metres but even then had a long-term goal of being able to swim 1500m on a regular basis.
Thinking I’d be exhausted before reaching 500m in late 2021, I was delighted to find that even though my swimming style is not pretty and that I’m not a fast swimmer, the 500m seemed relatively easy. It didn’t take long to get to my target of 1000m. My first 1500m was reached not long after this and now I’m swimming 1500m at least once a week.
While I hadn’t swum for almost two years, my regular Laughter Yoga exercise program increased my lung capacity, making it easier for me to get back into the swim of things.
Laughter Yoga reduces depression and anxiety – During Laughter exercises and Yoga breathing, we are focused on the present moment. This mindfulness helps us to stay in a more balanced and positive mood even after our Laughter Yoga session has ended.
The improvements to our mood have been shown to decrease levels of depression and anxiety. Regular Laughter Yoga sessions, whether with a group or by zoom at home, extends balanced and positive mood improvements decreasing depression and anxiety.
Laughter Yoga manages pain – the release of powerful natural chemicals from our brain, including endorphins – our body’s natural pain killers, occurs naturally when we laugh. The intentional and sustained laughter from Laughter Yoga exercises means that the benefits from these naturally produced chemicals last longer.
Laughter Yoga decreases stress – Another powerful natural chemical released from the brain during Laughter Yoga is serotonin. This helps in reducing cortisol levels which build up in our bodies through ongoing stress. If high levels of cortisol aren’t reduced then our physical and mental health and wellbeing will suffer.
In 2022, the ABC TV science program, Catalyst, will broadcast a program featuring monitored stress reduction through Laughter Yoga. The results of measuring cortisol levels before and after a Laughter Yoga session and the decreased stress levels are incredible and I’ll let you know when this program will be aired.
Until next time, be happy, stay happy, and remember “A smile starts on the lips, a grin spreads to the eyes, a chuckle comes from the belly; but a good laugh bursts forth from the soul, overflows, and bubbles all around.” (Carolyn Birmingham)