When was the last time you had a good laugh? I mean a real good guffaw -- where your belly shook and you could barely see because you could not keep your eyes open. It seems like in the days of worrying about mortgage payments, whether the kids are getting a good enough education (or if you are!), and working 40+ hour days, that the room for laughter has been shortened to a snicker or the occasional chuckle.
Studies have proven that laughter may not be the best medicine but it does have its benefits; and like yawning and crying it is somewhat contagious. While laughter cannot cure cancer it can relieve stress and promote a calming sense of well being – two things that make dealing with life’s little woes a little bit easier.
Short from going to a comic club where you are not always guaranteed a good laugh, Dr. Kataria, the mastermind behind the concept of Laughter Yoga, recommends going through the process of laughter until you make it real. According to Dr. Kataria our bodies do not know the difference between laughter produced by a joke or self-induced. One of his mantras is, "Laughter doesn't solve your problems it helps you to dissolve your problems".
One of the good things about laughter medicine is that you can take it anywhere. You can do it with a group of friends or by yourself in a quiet private space (the bathroom works). Dr. Kataria has a YouTube Video Channel where he promotes his laughter clubs and website but he also provides some interesting videos sharing laughter throughout the world. There are more than enough possibilities to get your self-induced laughter started. I highly recommend watching his "alone" laughter videos because they are truly contagious. Even if you think it is stupid, laugh along with him.
Another helpful video resource I enjoy is Robert Rivest’s 10 minute Alone Laughter and Breathing video.
I hope you will open up your mind to the prospect that increasing your laughter quotient will improve your life in some way or at the very least improve your mood. Try it it for a few months.
