Laughter is gaining re-spect as an effective medicine for what ails us. Al-though laughing is a human activity that should come naturally, in our fast-paced, highly structured society we tend to keep our happy emotions tightly reined. But laughing offers physical and psychological benefits, and the more we do of it, the healthier and happier we tend to be.

“People feel light, more energetic and resilient when they laugh,” says Billy Strean, a professor of physical education and recreation at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He is currently on a one-year sabbatical to study laughter and humour. “It’s a form of release we’ve been given by Nature. We can laugh away many negative effects of stress.”

Laughter is a combination of physical exercise and psychologi-cal release. It releases endorphins in the brain that are natural opiates, which attach to receptors in the brain. Laughter also exercises various muscles, including those of the face and stomach; increases lung capacity; and stimulates the cardiovascular, endocrine and digestive systems. And unlike opiate drugs, laughter does not make us lose touch with reality or produce adverse side effects. There is no such thing as a laughter overdose.

As a result, laughter therapy is recommended in a number of treatments. Laughter clubs and “laughter yoga” studios have sprung up around the world as people have become aware of its benefits. Laughing sessions are held within a variety of organizations, including schools, government departments, hospitals, long-term care facilities, seniors’ homes and corporations

The movement began in India in the mid-1990s, when Dr. Madan Kataria of Mumbai wanted to help his patients handle stress and anxiety. He conducted group laughter sessions in the park in Mumbai. He became interested in the physiology of laughter, and that it does not necessarily have to be triggered by jokes, humour and comedy but can be ignited by a few simple relaxation exercises and simulation of laughter. Because of the combination of physical and mental benefits, Kataria called his therapy Laughter Yoga or Hasya Yoga.

Kataria’s Web site (www.laughteryoga.org) estimates there are now 5,000 laughter clubs in 40 countries. In 1998, he initiated the first world Laughter Day, now celebrated on the first Sunday of May every year, with thousands of laughter gatherings worldwide, including in many parts of Canada. Kataria also hosts a Laughter Cruise, a seven-day cruise that departs from Miami this November. He conducts training sessions around the world for those who want to lead group laughter sessions.

Steve Wilson, an American psychologist, caught on to Kataria’s laughter therapy and founded World Laughter Tour Inc. in Ohio in 1999, an organization that also sponsors teacher workshops.

“Laughter is highly contagious, as are intense emotions such as anger,” says Janet MacQuarrie, a communications consultant in Orangeville, Ont., who is a graduate of Kataria’s teaching course. “Group laughter creates a healthy communion for people.”

While babies and children laugh easily and often, adults seem to lose their capacity for laughter, even though it is a universal language. We’ve all felt the dampening effects of expressions such as “Wipe that smile off your face,” or “This is not a laughing matter,” MacQuarrie says.

The benefits of laughter are mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Proverbs: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”

Studies conducted more recently in psychoneuroimmunology by Dr. Lee Bert and Dr. Stanley Tan of Loma Linda University Medical Center in California have found the immune system is directly affected by emotions. Their experiments found hormones that harm or deplete the system such as epinephrine and cortisol were lower in participants who laughed often than in those who did not.

Strean, trained as a laughter leader by World Laughter Tour, leads monthly laughter sessions at the University of Alberta, typically attended by 30 to 40 people. He starts with gentle breathing exercises, then moves into a laughter warm-up in which everyone chants such sounds as “ho, ho, ho,” and “ha, ha, ha.” Next comes simulated laughing, such as imitating a “greeting laugh” or a “cocktail party laugh.” Somehow, simulated laughter turns into stimulated laughter, Strean says, and before participants know it they are doubled over in full-fledged mirthful laughing.

“The process of laughing is a great social connector,” Strean says. “It makes us feel more at ease and more open. People who laugh in group sessions lose their inhibitions and gain energy.” IE

@page_break@