What is Laughter Yoga? Why is it important to our health?

I have been practicing Laughter Yoga and daily intentional laughter since 2018. I had used laughter yoga in the past and came across it coming out of high school in 1998 however I really didn't see the importance of it at the time. I also was conditioned to believe it was silly and not "adult" which suppressed my poor inner child so much more.

Recently (a little over a year ago) I began laughing intentionally for at least thirty minutes everyday for better health. Laughing everyday without the use of jokes or even laughter yoga exercises. This was when I was truly awakened to the effects laughing everyday can have on us. I find myself seeking this time everyday now more and more.

The Health Benefits from intentional laughter are vastly more than most people would think. Laughing is an excellent exercise for cardiovascular health, tones your ab muscles, brings in tons of feel good endorphins and elevates our moods. In fact, laughing for 15 minutes straight alleviates pain for up to four hours afterward. It keeps our blood pressure and sugar levels under control too. Laughing daily also helps promote better sleep. Laughter also boosts the immune system. It does this by increasing the concentration of circulating antibodies and white blood cells in the bloodstream. Laughter yoga also flushes the lungs and oxygenates the blood and major organs. A daily laughter practice has even been good for preventing heart disease and hypertension. 

Amazingly Laughter can lower your blood sugar in diabetes patients, aid in lessening allergy symptoms, help patients with asthma and chronic bronchitis, aid those fighting cancer as well as mental issues such as depression, anxiety etc. by activating the parasympathetic system to relax.

So, as we see here, Laughter Yoga has some pretty amazing health benefits, not to mention its just plain old fun to let our inner child out to play everyday.

I've noticed huge improvements in my daily mental state, I'm loosing weight and I stay happier throughout the day. Hopefully by adopting a daily laughter practice you too can start to feel the effects of laughter in your health and well-being.