Yoga Teacher Training Forum

There is a new trend taking the world by storm. Laughter Yoga! It is a combination of yoga deep breathing exercises and laughter. It was started by a doctor in India who could see the benefits of a good laughter.

Laughter is the best medicine they say. It lifts the spirit, reduces stress and is an excellent anti-dote to depression and anxiety.

But what if you do not have something to laugh about? Fake it until you make it.

According to the followers of this type of yoga, the body cannot tell the difference between real or fake laughter. During the session the yoga master will lead the group into segments of laughter and breathing. It consists of different types of laughter. It also includes some playfulness.

Children, when playing, do not always need some specific stimulation to laugh. They are usually spontaneous and laugh easily. Adults learn to control emotions and decide what humor is and what not. Meaning adults do not laugh as much as they did when they were children.

You can do this on your own but it might feel crazy in the beginning. It is advised to go to a class or laughter club. A class can start with members greeting each other but not in words. They do this by making laughing sounds. Deep breathing exercises can incorporate laughter. Many yoga teachers have designed different ways and names for the laughing exercises. You get the "cell phone laugh" and the "lion face laugh". You will start laughing just by watching the others.

To get the full benefit of this yoga you need a full fifteen to twenty minutes of laughing. In a study done by universities of Graz in Austria, Bangalore in India and the United States, they have found that laughter lowers the levels of the stress hormones, it gives people a positive attitude and help them deal with difficulties in a different manner, although initially blood pressure and respiration rises, it does reduces hypertension and anxiety.

In our busy world where everybody is stressed out and hardly coping with life, we all need ways and means of relaxing, exercising and keeping ourselves healthy. Yoga is one of the best ways of doing all of the above.