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Healing Ways

Article Abstracts
Aug 15, 2023

Healing Ways

Laughing Yoga

Article Abstracts
Dec 26, 2024

Laughing yoga is a self-therapeutic practice of movement and breathing exercises used to intentionally call forth laughter. A core component of laughing yoga is conjuring laughter outside of reacting to joy or humor. Laughing yoga was originally discovered by Dr. Madan Kataria, a family physician in Mumbai, India, in 1995. Since then, the practice has been used to promote psychological, physical, and social wellbeing as laughter has many documented benefits.

For instance, laughter has been documented to improve mood and reduce pain by suppressing stress-hormones like cortisol, release “happy chemicals” such as dopamine and serotonin, and lower rates of depression. Shared, or contagious laughter, may strengthen relationships by increasing feelings of relaxation and safety.

When it comes to the practice of laughter yoga, however, laughter is intentional, rather than spontaneous. Both spontaneous and forced laughter can yield benefits. Carla H. Brown, a certified leader of laughter yoga from Santa Cruz, notes that laughter involves more regulated and increased breathing. This increased intake of oxygen may help to clear the mind, regulate blood pressure, and release happy endorphins.

More recent studies in 2023 are using laughter yoga in a variety of contexts, such as to mitigate pregnancy symptoms and promote prenatal attachment, improve glycemic control among individuals with type 2 diabetes, and improve sleep quality. Although these studies yield promising results, their sample sizes are small and the research requires further investigation. Moreover, many individuals benefit from laughter yoga today, and the practice is becoming increasingly studied around the world.

REFERENCES

Ağapınar Şahin, S., & Bekar, M. (2023). The influence of laughter yoga on pregnancy symptoms, mental well-being, and prenatal attachment: A randomized controlled study. Health Care for Women International, 44(6), 782–801. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2022.2164284

Dunbar, R. I., Baron, R., Frangou, A., Pearce, E., van Leeuwen, E. J., Stow, J., Partridge, G., MacDonald, I., Barra, V., & van Vugt, M. (2012). Social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold. Proceedings. Biological sciences, 279(1731), 1161–1167. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2011.1373

Hirosaki, M., Ohira, T., Wu, Y., Eguchi, E., Shirai, K., Imano, H., Funakubo, N., Nishizawa, H., Katakami, N., Shimomura, I., & Iso, H. (2023). Laughter yoga as an enjoyable therapeutic approach for glycemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes: A randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 14, 1148468. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1148468

Laughing yoga: What is it and does it work? (2021, January 8). Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/laughing-yoga

Law, M. M., Broadbent, E. A., & Sollers, J. J. (2018). A comparison of the cardiovascular effects of simulated and spontaneous laughter. Complementary therapies in medicine, 37, 103–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2018.02.005

Manninen S, Tuominen L, Dunbar RI, Karjalainen T, Hirvonen J, Arponen E, Hari R, Jääskeläinen IP, Sams M, Nummenmaa L. Social Laughter Triggers Endogenous Opioid Release in Humans. J Neurosci. 2017 Jun 21;37(25):6125-6131. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0688-16.2017. Epub 2017 May 23. PMID: 28536272; PMCID: PMC6596504.

van der Wal, C. N., & Kok, R. N. (2019). Laughter-inducing therapies: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Social science & medicine (1982), 232, 473–488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.02.018

Yim J. (2016). Therapeutic Benefits of Laughter in Mental Health: A Theoretical Review. The Tohoku journal of experimental medicine, 239(3), 243–249. https://doi.org/10.1620/tjem.239.243

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