☼ Feels good (as reported by many laughers around the world)
☼ Improves circulation (movement of the diaphragm causes more oxygen to be sent to the cells)
☼ Boosts the immune system (as most exercise does)
☼ Stimulates digestion and internal organs (although if you’re busting a gut and rolling around on the floor, that’s the last thing you’ll be thinking about)
☼ Helps with pain management (you may still have the pain, but you may be too busy laughing to think about it)
☼ Slows the aging process (if you’re laughing, it means you’re still alive)
☼ Smoothes out wrinkles (maybe … I’ve still got mine)
☼ Improves breathing (not sure about this one, sometimes it’s hard to catch my breath when I’m laughing so hard)
On top of all that, Laughing supports your longevity.
Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara was 97 years old at the time the article about him appeared in Japan Times. He has written about 150 books … since the age of 75! He works 18 hours a day … 7 days a week! When people asked Dr. Hinohara where he gets his energy, what do you think his answer was? He said, People have it all wrong, thinking that we get energy from food and sleep. No, we get our energy from feeling good.
First, to get the health benefits (and the feel-good benefits), we need about 10-15 minutes of sustained laughter. Just as with any exercise, a regular habit is best. We don’t expect to only exercise once and continue to get the benefits. It’s the same with laughter. It’s best to build a habit of doing it regularly.
Regular laughter helps to “tune up” our bodies, minds and emotions to build this “feeling good” state. How do we do that? Other than going to a comedy club every night? There are a number of ways on the internet. You can search for “laughing babies” and watch those videos. You can get creative and search for other laughter sites. Note that humour is subjective and we may only get some half-hearted chuckles from many jokes and humour sites on the net. Again, it takes a sustained 10-15 minutes of laughter to fully receive the benefits.
Here is another way: Go to my laughter video and laugh with me daily. Here’s what you do. Go to my website and grab the video on the of the page: www.joyenergyandhealth.com/aj-experiential-video If you choose to bring your willingness to thetable, you will laugh and maybe smile. You will get some exercise. You can access your child-like playfulness. You may experience some feelings of being out of your “comfort zone.” Again, if you are willing, just allow that … just for a few minutes … and see what happens. ”Authentic Joy” is nothing new. You have it inside always. You will just be doing some “allowing,” allowing yourself to feel it … to touch it.
Be sure to check with your doctor or health care provider if you have any of the following
CONTRA-INDICATIONS TO LAUGHTER YOGA(TM) Laughter Yoga(TM) is not a substitute for a proper medical consultation for physical, mental and psychological illnesses, and may not be suitable for every one. Laughter yoga is a complementary form of therapy. It is a physical and aerobic exercise which may cause strain as well as a rise in intra-abdominal pressure and internal jogging. Also, the heart rate and blood pressure will increase initially, although later, may decrease to a lower level. Please honour your body and don’t do any movements that cause pain. If in doubt, or if pain occurs, please consult your trained medical professional. Laughter yoga is contraindicated if you have:
- uncontrolled high blood pressure - severe heart disease such as angina and congestive heart failure - any kind of hernia - glaucoma - epilepsy - flu or persistent cough - recent surgery (wait at least 3 months after major surgery) - severe back ache - major psychiatric disorder - pregnancy - while the extra pressure or internal jogging may be contraindicated in the first trimester and may be uncomfortable in later months, being in the energy of laughter, gentle laughter, smiling and feeling good is beneficial for the baby. This list is for guidance only and is not meant to cover every possible condition. Please use your common sense, no strain, no new pain.
As with any exercise program, check with your doctor of health care provider first.
Having said all that, I hope you brought your “willingness.” If you just watch the video, you may get a chuckle out of it, but the real benefit is if you actually get up off your easy chair and participate. (For those who are chair-bound, this can be done sitting down, even lying down. Laughter knows few boundaries.) As with everything else in life, you will get out of it what you put into it. Decide right now to do whatever it takes to motivate yourself, to jump in. Allow yourself to feel totally silly. If you have thoughts like “This is stupid. Why am I doing this?” and so on, here’s what to do.
Know that they are just thoughts and allowing them to pass their way through your skull while you are enjoying laughter is just fine. The benefits of laughter and feeling good are so wonderful that, if you need to, just respond to your own thoughts by saying. “Thanks for sharing…and you can shut up now!” :-)
Go here now: www.joyenergyandhealth.com/aj-experiential-video
Your third mission, should you decide to accept, is: Laugh along with me or with the laughing babies on the net, every day, for a minimum of 10-15 minutes … every day. (Time commitment: 10-15 minutes a day)
Important note: the most critical thing is to install a habit of doing it daily. Therefore, if you only do 10 minutes or 5 minutes, that is great and fantastic. If you only do one minute of laughter a day, that is better than starting out with 15 minutes and then stopping. I started with 10 minutes. Now I usually laugh between 10 and 15 minutes daily. Running total daily time commitment therefore is 20 minutes, at the outside.
Protocol # Minimum Time Optimum Time
1 15 seconds x 4= 1 minute 15 seconds x 12= 3 minutes
2 45 seconds x 2= 1.5 minutes 1 minute x 2= 2 minutes
3 5 minute 15 minutes
If we start off with the absolute minimum, we are looking at: Bare Bones Minimum Daily Time Commitment: 3 and a half minutes a day. If we choose to optimize: Optimum Daily Time Commitment: 20 minutes a day. See what we are doing here? We are making it easy. Baby steps, one at a time, to build a good habit.
A word about discipline: Many, me included, have had negative connotations about this word “discipline.” It conjures up teachers telling us what to do, or military drill sergeants yelling in our faces and forcing us to do things against our will. This is a different kind of discipline. It is self discipline that we choose to do because we understand the long-term benefits. The good news and another great “secret” of life:
We only need a little discipline until we build a habit. Once a good habit is installed, it runs by itself with a minimum of effort on our part. It’s wonderful how we are constructed to be creatures of habit. This works against us when we fall into bad habits. But it works for us when we install a good and healthful habit. And healthful habits can crowd out bad habits. For example, when we have built a habit of laughing 15 minutes a day, it means we are not