Laugh your heart out for better health

Laughter yoga consists of stretching and breathing exercises; when you stretch your arms out, inhale and when you laugh, exhale. — dpa

Giggling and guffawing until your eyes water and your ribs shake: It’s pretty clear that laughter is good for you.

And the more you laugh, the better it is for both your mental and physical well-being.

So, it makes sense to harness the positive effects of laughter and combine it with yoga – to create laughter yoga.

But what exactly is it?

“Yoga techniques such as stretching and breathing exercises are combined with playful laughter exercises,” says humour researcher Professor Tabea Scheel.

The idea is that the laughter, which is fake at first, turns into genuine laughter with constant repetition.

But, laughter yoga is not a solo pursuit and is usually done in a group, with a trainer to give instruction. That’s not just for practical reasons but also due to the deeper meaning behind this practice: “Laughter yoga thrives on active togetherness and positive contagion,” says Inge Fechter, a laughter yoga trainer.

It not only lifts our spirits, but can also have other positive effects on our health. However, it also has its limits.

“Laughter yoga is no substitute for therapy or medical care; it has more of a preventive, supplementary effect,” clarifies Fechter.

According to Prof Scheel, it has not been scientifically proven that laughter yoga has any positive effect on health issues such as depression.

In isolated cases, there have been indications that various yoga techniques can have a short-term positive effect on those suffering from depression.

But it’s not clear if this has any lasting impact.

What is clear is that, in the short term, laughter causes the level of stress hormones to drop and endorphins to spread through the body.

A laughter yoga class can trigger other positive effects in the body: Your breathing deepens, allowing more oxygen to reach your blood and brain.

This gets the cardiovascular system going.

In addition, laughter can lower blood pressure – but this, too, is more of a short-term effect.

“Our head is cleared,” says Inge Fechter. “If you are laughing heartily, it is not possible to indulge in negative thoughts at the same time. Laughter is an outlet that takes the pressure off us and makes room for confidence and hope again.”

There are several exercises that can induce laughter.

One involves stretching your arms up while taking a deep breath.

Then you shake your arms out downward, exhaling with a laugh. This exercise is repeated 10 to 12 times.

Another exercise is the so-called “flower picking” where you pick an imaginary flower and pretend to smell it.

This results in a deep inhale. When exhaling, the air is then “laughed out”.

It’s clear that humour and creativity are important components of laughter yoga. Participants get to clap, hop, dance and mime.

”From this, spontaneous and genuine laughter can quickly spread among those taking part in a laughter yoga group. This happens automatically because when we look at a laughing face, we are encouraged to laugh as well,” says Fechter.

This also applies to people who may not constantly giggle and burst out laughing in their everyday lives.

Prof Scheel is convinced that laughter that comes from the heart can also be learned by these people.

There are now laughter yoga groups in many cities in the world, and classes are also available virtually. – dpa