Laughter Yoga – it’s true what they say, laughter really is the best medicine.
Have you ever tried Laughter Yoga?
It’s a wonderful way of releasing stress or any built-up negative emotions, and it can change our perspective on life and diffuse a problem or dissolve conflict in an instant. In the corporate world, it has proved to be an effective tool in team building skills, vital for business growth and productivity.
Laughter Yoga was created by Dr. Madan Kataria (a physician from India) with his wife Madhuri (a yoga teacher) in 1995. The primary reason why Dr. Kataria named “Laughter Yoga” as such was because he incorporated Pranayama, the ancient science of yogic breathing, into the laughter exercises.
Essentially, your body doesn’t know the difference between fake and genuine laughter, so as long as you make an effort to laugh and are open to it, you will get the same psychological and physiological benefits of genuine laughter. And plus it’s contagious, so the more you pretend to laugh, the more you will laugh, and the more it will become genuine laughter.
According to yogic philosophy, we are alive because the cosmic energy from the universe flows into our body through the breath – the life energy force – or for those familiar with the term “prana.” The very essence of our life is breathing. The first thing we did when we were born was take a breath, and the last thing we’ll do is take our last breath. Whenever we get stressed or experience negative emotions, our breathing becomes irregular and shallow, thus affecting the flow of prana in our body. Laughter helps reverse that process.
Laughing oxygenates our body and brain, making us feel more healthy and energetic. It lowers the level of stress hormones, it releases endorphins from our brain putting us in a good mood. And most importantly it creates a positive energy around us which attracts even more positive energy, helps us connect with others, and improving relationships. Who doesn’t want to be near people who laugh a lot!
Yoga helps us relax and feel at peace with ourselves, but why not add some laughter.
No one can argue that when we feel relaxed, we enjoy life just that little bit more.
Here at Yoga Escapes, although we don’t have specific laughter yoga retreats, we encourage everyone to laugh and have fun in our everyday lives, especially on a yoga retreat! We don’t take ourselves too seriously on our yoga holidays, and we always try to create an easygoing group atmosphere where people can feel relaxed and comfortable. Which in turn creates many opportunities for laughter and smiles. Our yoga classes help us to relax and feel at peace with ourselves, which helps us emanate that positive energy that males us feel so good.
And just as a fun fact – the first Sunday in May is World Laughter Day, so maybe a good time to experiment with some Laughter Yoga!
Life is as fun as you want it to be…
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Vinyasa yoga or restorative yoga – which is better for you?
Yoga Escapes organizes luxury yoga retreats in beautiful places around the world, offering a mix of Vinyasa yoga and restorative Yin yoga classes. Contact the Yoga Escapes team for info on upcoming yoga holidays.