What is Laughter Yoga and how can it help?

            Laughter Yoga is a phenomenal new technique for relieving stress and pain that is sweeping the Globe. There are now something like more than
            8000 Laughter Yoga Clubs worldwide in more than 72 countries. You may have seen LY featured on the news or on shows like Oprah.

Laughter Yoga began in 1995 and is the brainchild of Dr. Madan Kitaria, and Indian MD who noticed that some of his patients seemed to do better than others on the same protacals and wondered what the difference was in the patients. He discovered that the people who seemed to do better were also people who loved to laugh. He began studying laughter and the effects it has on the body.

Besides elevating the mood by releasing the feel-good chemical endorphin, laughter oxygenates the blood quickly and thus the brain and the tissues. It also suppresses stress hormones. All having the effect of making people feel less and less stressed.

Laughter Yoga is not a comedy routine. It is a series of exercises designed around playfulness and, in many instances, Yoga exercises that are aimed at facilitating healthy breathing. It is a great way to unwind and let your hair down, so to speak. It's also a great tool for getting the creative juices flowing.

It has been used very effectively in groups of:

• Seniors
• Corporate Executives
• Office Workers
• Factory Workers
• Church Goers
• Prison Inmates
• And more.

I run a Laughter Yoga Club in a senior housing facility on Chicago's North Shore and have had a lot of fun with the 'youngsters' that live there. They enjoy the exercises and the comradery, and come alive amidst the jovial atmosphere of our meetings. I love it!

You can see more about it at www.laughteryoga.org.

HA HA HO HO HO!