Laughter yoga originated in India when a doctor helped people de-stress. The benefits soon became well known, and there are now over 5,000 laughter clubs, in 40 countries. Laughter teacher and psychotherapist Akasha Lonsdale delves deeper.
Somewhat depressingly, the likelihood of being happy appears to be falling. Despite huge increases in income, stress levels in Britain are at an all-time high and the proportion of people saying they are very happy has fallen from 52% in 1957 to just 36% today.
In short, we have forgotten how to be happy - and that means we've lost the key to laughter.
But what factors bring happiness? Three components stand out: pleasure, engagement (the depth of involvement with family, work, romance and hobbies) and meaning. Another strong factor is bonds with friends, family and loved ones.
Laughter can be seen as one manifestation of happiness - and it's not something we tend to do alone. Robert Provine of the University of Maryland, describes it as 'a tool of communication'.
Laughter is infectious, once one person starts, others quickly follow. When we laugh with others, we feel more connected to them - it's part of our bonding.
Laughter and health - the link
Laughter is generally considered to be an essential behaviour of a happy, joyful person. Conversely, lack of laughter contributes to anxiety, depression, and illness.
Children can laugh up to 400 times a day, and adults in the 1950's laughed around 18 minutes a day. Today we laugh an average of no more than six minutes a day.
So why has laughter declined? The answer is manifold: the stress of living in a fast world, dominated by anxiety and fear.
People are working long hours, under pressure to move fast. Transport is congested. Cities are crowded. Divorce and family break-ups are high.
Many people live in the past, feeling guilty or resentful. Others worry about the future. Often the cause of perceived difficulties is attributed to something or someone else.
So it is that we don't take true responsibility and find it hard to live in the moment - which of course is where laughter occurs.
Laughter is seen as dependent on a 'sense of humour': we believe we must have a reason to laugh. In other words, the perception is that laughter is dependent on external stimuli or a belief you have about your personality.
Fostering energy and joy
But people are increasingly realising that laughter is something that can be spontaneously created and need not be dependent on external factors.
Authentic laughter is an energy that wells up from within. It is something that occurs spontaneously, without a reason, resulting in the experience often called joyfulness.
People might have lost it but it is perfectly possible to help them get it back. People can be taught to laugh for no reason but to discover their own innate capacity to experience joy. You do not have to be happy or have a "sense of humour" - or even have a reason to laugh.
We are talking about a simple technique that has proved so powerful that it has become a worldwide phenomenon, after being introduced in India by a medical doctor, Dr. Madan Kataria, to help people manage the stress of life in Mumbai.
Dr. Kataria was so concerned about this issue that one day he went out into a park and asked as many people as he could to join him in an instant laughter club.
Eventually he managed to persuade four people to join him. As others watched in initial bemusement, they took it in turns to tell jokes. After two weeks, however, the jokes and funny stories ran out, and the women started to complain the jokes had become rude and sexist.
So Madan had to think again; which is when he came up with the concept of laughter for no good reason. He also turned to his wife, a yoga teacher, who offered input on deep breathing and so Laughter Yoga was born - a phenomena that has rapidly spread around the world.
Why has laughter yoga been so successful?
First and foremost because it is so easy: anybody can do it. It has no hidden agenda. It is not at anybody's expense. It is socially and emotionally safe. And, very importantly, it is the doing of it that is beneficial.
No thinking is required. Laughter bypasses the thinking left part of our brain, tapping into our right-brain functions. Here lie our child-like qualities; it's where we are spontaneous and fun, creative and intuitive.
It is also scientifically proven that, even if you pretend to laugh or act happy, your body produces 'feel-good' chemicals. Our bodies do not know the difference between thinking about doing something and actually doing it.
Whatever the source of laughter, it leads to physiological changes in the body, including: boosting the immune system, countering harmful stress chemicals and depression, ensuring a good night's sleep, and enriching the blood with oxygen.
Happier people tend to have fewer illnesses. Researchers have found that happiness or related states like hopefulness, optimism and contentment appear to reduce the risk or limit the severity of heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, colds and respiratory infections.
Laughter makes it easier to handle life and its challenges, because it puts us intensely 'in the moment'. It puts us at ease: people who laugh, worry less.
There's nothing for it but to enjoy it - and learn to live life laughing.
Akasha Lonsdale is a psychotherapist and laughter teacher, offering laughter training for corporate programmes and events, conferences, cruises and community programmes.
Picture source: www.thelaughterschool.com
.jpg "Baddha Konasana - Bound Angle Pose")
