{"id":2756,"date":"2024-10-29T15:45:54","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T14:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christelwellness.com\/?p=2756"},"modified":"2024-10-29T15:55:04","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T14:55:04","slug":"what-is-laughter-yoga-%f0%9f%a4%a3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christelwellness.com\/en_gb\/2024\/10\/29\/what-is-laughter-yoga-%f0%9f%a4%a3\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Laughter Yoga? \ud83e\udd23"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-de3600feb9574d0177156f576af9231d wp-block-paragraph\">Laughter Yoga (LY in short) attracted me for a very long time, in fact since I first came across it during a yoga retreat in Italy many years ago.&nbsp; During that retreat, our yoga instructor decided one morning to introduce us to this type of yoga and I was so impressed by the effects of the practice that I think I wanted to train in LY since!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9f1138325c506b3795ef8aadc07855ac wp-block-paragraph\">Many years went on and this year was the year!! I finally did my teacher training this past month in France near Toulouse and became a LY teacher.&nbsp; Whilst the training is only two days, it was intense! So much to learn and practice in such short space of time but a fabulous experience with amazing people.&nbsp; We were only 5 people plus the lovely instructor Maguy.&nbsp; Three of us are yoga instructors, one is a school teacher and one is a psychologist.&nbsp; Great mix of people of similar ages.&nbsp; The reasons we all wanted to become LY instructors is simply to make ourselves and others feel better, happier and in good health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-cbbe64db042f4dffc2427dbcacb0e05c wp-block-paragraph\">These days we all suffer from more stress, depression, getting less sleep, thinking negative thoughts and feeling isolated.&nbsp; But if you want to move on and bring laughter &amp; joy into your life like me then LY is the answer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e4ed6b4ae57511ab23e58f2270fb3c50 wp-block-paragraph\">For centuries it has been known that \u201claughter is the best medicine\u201d and science has now proven it. &nbsp;And yet, there\u2019s been no reliable method of bringing more laughter into people\u2019s lives. Most of the time, humour and jokes do not work and there aren\u2019t many reasons to make us laugh these days... LY is a tool which delivers the benefits of laughter on command and demand without relying on outside reasons and conditions of life.&nbsp; Let me explain how it all works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5fc4d5f4d13c5d93d6d070d1909c1cc9 wp-block-paragraph\">The concept of Laughter Yoga is based on scientific studies which has proved that the body cannot differentiate between intentional\/voluntary and real laughter. One gets the same physiological and psychological benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Learn the Art of Laughing for No Reason:<\/strong>&nbsp;Anyone can laugh for no reason without relying on humour, jokes or comedy and one can feel the benefits on the very first session! It\u2019s easy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Real and Contagious Laughter:<\/strong>&nbsp;We initiate laughter as a body exercise in a group and with eye contact and childlike playfulness, it quickly turns into real and contagious laughter.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Science of Breathing:<\/strong>&nbsp;According to the yogic concept of breathing, your exhalation should be longer than your inhalation so that you can get rid of stale air from your lungs. Laughter as a form of exercise is a great way to exhale longer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-53f0f1d03d9342c10fdad239d016c17a\"><strong>The key 5 Benefits of Laughter Yoga<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Good Mood and More Laughter:<\/strong>&nbsp;LY helps to change your mood within minutes by releasing endorphins from your brain cells. You\u2019ll remain cheerful, in a good mood throughout the day and find yourself laughing more than you normally do.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Healthy Exercise to Beat Stress:<\/strong>&nbsp;LY is like an aerobic exercise (cardio workout) which increases your heart rate, blood circulation thereby relaxing your muscles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Health Benefits:<\/strong>&nbsp;LY reduces stress and strengthens the immune system. You will not fall sick easily and if you have a chronic health condition, you will heal faster.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Social Connection:<\/strong>&nbsp;The quality of our life depends upon the quality of our relationships. Laughter is a great connector of people and brings quality caring and sharing amongst friends<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Positive Attitude in Challenging Times:<\/strong>\u00a0Everyone can laugh when life is good, but how does one laugh when faced with challenges? Laughter helps to create a positive mental attitude to deal with negative situations and people. It gives hope and optimism to cope with difficult times<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-82fc32947f28f0f0a58de0065a611059 wp-block-paragraph\">Since announcing my new qualification, some people have asked me why is it called yoga?\u00a0 That is because LY combines Laughter, Yogic Breathing, and Mindfulness, three key components of Yoga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e614662f78967a21c6b7c4d40fa27a92 wp-block-paragraph\">LY also known as Hasyayoga, is a global exercise programme developed by Indian physician Dr. Madan Kataria in 1995.  It combines three essential elements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Laughter and Playfulness<\/strong>: Unprovoked, intentional laughter without relying on humor, jokes, or comedies. This approach helps individuals tap into their natural laughter response, which is often suppressed as we grow older.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Yogic Breath-work (Pranayama)<\/strong>: Specific breathing techniques used in yoga to enhance oxygenation, relaxation, and mental clarity. In Laughter Yoga, these techniques are adapted to facilitate deeper, more efficient breathing during laughter exercises.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mindfulness Meditation<\/strong>: A mindful, non-judgmental approach to laughter, focusing on the physical sensations and emotional experiences of laughter. This aspect helps participants cultivate awareness, relaxation, and inner joy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-50c1d82ae14d7ead74ab3ac2d001cafa wp-block-paragraph\">LY is typically practiced in a group setting, led by a trained instructor like me, and involves various exercises to promote intentional laughter. The programme aims to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cultivate joy and happiness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduce stress, anxiety, and depression<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Improve mood and overall well-being<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enhance social connections and community building<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increase oxygenation and relaxation through yogic breathing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1f492c379484ac97b361f6ee514ffc89 wp-block-paragraph\">LY has grown globally, with over 10,000 clubs in more than 110 countries, and is also practiced online. While research on its effectiveness is still limited, anecdotal evidence suggests that Laughter Yoga can have a positive impact on mental and emotional health, making it a popular and accessible wellness practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6cb1cac264718d122ecee99be96c11a6 wp-block-paragraph\">I will be starting LY sessions at the studios where I am teaching currently.&nbsp; If you would like to join me, just send me a message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f9c11e1fdfdb59451632b56a14ceb13b wp-block-paragraph\">Other ways to practice are by joining a LY Facebook group, join your local LY club or by watching Dr Madan Kataria videos on YouTube.\u00a0 There is plenty out there for you to experience all the benefits of LY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8adc3a22d6daa11dc1928d1f0f27dacf wp-block-paragraph\">So start this wonderful practice today to enjoy all the benefits immediately! Ha Ha Ha!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ab0dde36016d122857870af1838eb8f4 wp-block-paragraph\">Namaste<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-191cc06374db2d14074752fb5363225b wp-block-paragraph\">Christel \ud83e\udd23<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Laughter Yoga (LY in short) attracted me for a very long time, in fact since I first came across it during a yoga retreat in Italy many years ago.&nbsp; During that retreat, our yoga instructor decided one morning to introduce us to this type of yoga and I was so impressed by the effects of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"What is Laughter Yoga?","_seopress_titles_desc":"Laughter Yoga (LY in short) attracted me for a very long time, in fact since I first came across it during a yoga retreat in Italy many years ago.\u00a0 During that retreat, our yoga instructor decided one morning to introduce us to this type of yoga and I was so impressed by the effects of the practice that I think I wanted to train in LY since!\r\n\r\nMany years went on and this year was the year!! I finally did my teacher training this past month in France near Toulouse and became a LY teacher.\u00a0 Whilst the training is only two days, it was intense! So much to learn and practice in such short space of time but a fabulous experience with amazing people.\u00a0 We were only 5 people plus the lovely instructor Maguy.\u00a0 Three of us are yoga instructors, one is a school teacher and one is a psychologist.\u00a0 Great mix of people of similar ages.\u00a0 The reasons we all wanted to become LY instructors is simply to make ourselves and others feel better, happier and in good health.\r\n\r\nThese days we all suffer from more stress, depression, getting less sleep, thinking negative thoughts and feeling isolated.\u00a0 But if you want to move on and bring laughter & joy into your life like me then LY is the answer!\r\n\r\nFor centuries it has been known that \u201claughter is the best medicine\u201d and science has now proven it. \u00a0And yet, there\u2019s been no reliable method of bringing more laughter into people\u2019s lives. Most of the time, humour and jokes do not work and there aren\u2019t many reasons to make us laugh these days... LY is a tool which delivers the benefits of laughter on command and demand without relying on outside reasons and conditions of life.\u00a0 Let me explain how it all works.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"38","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"What is Laughter Yoga?","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"Laughter Yoga (LY in short) attracted me for a very long time, in fact since I first came across it during a yoga retreat in Italy many years ago.  During that retreat, our yoga instructor decided one morning to introduce us to this type of yoga and I was so impressed by the effects of the practice that I think I wanted to train in LY since! Many years went on and this year was the year!! I finally did my teacher training this past month in France near Toulouse and became a LY teacher.  Whilst the training is only two days, it was intense! So much to learn and practice in such short space of time but a fabulous experience with amazing people.  We were only 5 people plus the lovely instructor Maguy.  Three of us are yoga instructors, one is a school teacher and one is a psychologist.  Great mix of people of similar ages.  The reasons we all wanted to become LY instructors is simply to make ourselves and others feel better, happier and in good health. These days we all suffer from more stress, depression, getting less sleep, thinking negative thoughts and feeling isolated.  But if you want to move on and bring laughter & joy into your life like me then LY is the answer! For centuries it has been known that \u201claughter is the best medicine\u201d and science has now proven it.  And yet, there\u2019s been no reliable method of bringing more laughter into people\u2019s lives. Most of the time, humour and jokes do not work and there aren\u2019t many reasons to make us laugh these days... LY is a tool which delivers the benefits of laughter on command and demand without relying on outside reasons and conditions of life.  Let me explain how it all works.","_seopress_social_fb_img":"https:\/\/christelwellness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/EF98ACCC-5803-4104-82D6-6AF6F69E0917-e1730212659570.jpeg","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":2761,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":1200,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":1279,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"What is Laughter Yoga?","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"Laughter Yoga (LY in short) attracted me for a very long time, in fact since I first came across it during a yoga retreat in Italy many years ago.  During that retreat, our yoga instructor decided one morning to introduce us to this type of yoga and I was so impressed by the effects of the practice that I think I wanted to train in LY since! Many years went on and this year was the year!! I finally did my teacher training this past month in France near Toulouse and became a LY teacher.  Whilst the training is only two days, it was intense! So much to learn and practice in such short space of time but a fabulous experience with amazing people.  We were only 5 people plus the lovely instructor Maguy.  Three of us are yoga instructors, one is a school teacher and one is a psychologist.  Great mix of people of similar ages.  The reasons we all wanted to become LY instructors is simply to make ourselves and others feel better, happier and in good health. These days we all suffer from more stress, depression, getting less sleep, thinking negative thoughts and feeling isolated.  But if you want to move on and bring laughter & joy into your life like me then LY is the answer! For centuries it has been known that \u201claughter is the best medicine\u201d and science has now proven it.  And yet, there\u2019s been no reliable method of bringing more laughter into people\u2019s lives. Most of the time, humour and jokes do not work and there aren\u2019t many reasons to make us laugh these days... LY is a tool which delivers the benefits of laughter on command and demand without relying on outside reasons and conditions of life.  Let me explain how it all works.","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"https:\/\/christelwellness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/EF98ACCC-5803-4104-82D6-6AF6F69E0917-e1730212659570.jpeg","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":2761,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":1200,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":1279,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[{"url":"","title":"","desc":"","thumbnail":"","duration":"","rating":"","view_count":"","tag":""}],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,243,38],"tags":[255,256,257,143,37],"class_list":["post-2756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised","category-wellbeing","category-yoga","tag-laughingyoga","tag-laughter","tag-laughter-yoga-instructor","tag-wellbeing","tag-yoga"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christelwellness.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christelwellness.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christelwellness.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christelwellness.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christelwellness.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2756"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/christelwellness.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2771,"href":"https:\/\/christelwellness.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2756\/revisions\/2771"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christelwellness.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christelwellness.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christelwellness.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christelwellness.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}