Why I would love to continue Laughter Yoga

Mid of May, we were invited by the lovely people at Go Ahead to try the Laughter Yoga session and they were very brave enough to admit me with the children, especially my ever so busy little Miss M. 

Healthier biscuit brand, go ahead!, recently conducted research into the UK’s exercise habits and discovered that 70% of people would do more exercise if it was more fun, and 60% claimed that laughter would be their ideal form of exercise.

With this in mind, this inspired the launch of The go ahead! Laughter Yoga Studio with laughter yoga expert, Melanie Bloch, hosting a series of free classes to nourish both the mind and body to create the ultimate feel food experience

I have heard a lot of Laughter Yoga recently but have never thought about giving it a go but after the session, I was so impressed with the outcome (We did it only for half an hour) and decided to continue the Laughter Yoga session. More than me and everyone in that hall that day, I think, Miss M was the one who enjoyed it to the fullest. 

It’s a known fact that “Laughter is the best cure to any illness and the world’s best Stress reliever”

And I definitely fall within the 70% of people who would love to exercise but not in the boring usual way talking to machines and rollers.  

In fact, 10 minutes of belly laughter has been proved to be the equivalent to 30 minutes of the plank for your core.

Laughter Yoga is not the usual stretch and twist. It is done rhythmically with laughter and giggles. Instead of building your muscles, you relax your entire body and there are so many other benefits.  Few of them are

1. Boosts the T-cells, strengthening the immune system 
2. Reduces the stress hormone, cortisol.
3. Produces mood lifting, pain reducing endorphin.
4. Increases blood flow to the heart and supports healthier vascular function, boosting the heart rate and lowering blood pressure.
5. Improves lung capacity, generating improved respiration
6. Can strengthen focus and concentration

You dance to the music, Do all the silly thing you are afraid of doing in Public and your ultimate aim is to laugh and make others laugh! In short, You turn into a child and forget about the surroundings and just laugh and relax. 

Miss M was the perfect student and the teacher in the class tho enjoyed it to the fullest and was keenly observing everyone when everyone was concentrating and I am sure she must have been wondering throughout the session that

“Why do people take so much effort to do something that I do almost everyday and every minute.”

Here is a small tip to feel good in five minutes:

It has been shown that smiling for 10-15 seconds creates the motor neurons to light-up, signalling to the brain to create endorphins. So, how can you get these muscles working?

1. Put a pencil between your teeth and hold it there for tens seconds. The corners of the mouth automatically turn up when you do this and the endorphin effect is activated.
2. When you wake up in the morning – even if you don’t feel like it – allow yourself a gentle smile.
3. When you get up and out of bed in the morning, yawn, stretch and breathe. Look in the mirror and smile at yourself for 10-15 seconds.
4. Breathe in, hold that breathe for a second, smile, and breathe out with a gentle chuckle…
5. Repeat twice and you will feel uplifted!

There were loads of tips in the session that We cam home with an extremely relaxed mind full of tips to keep us healthy – and most importantly, the good 30 minute laughter did a wonder that the kids were too tired on the way back home and look what happened in tube. 

Thanks to Go Ahead and Laughter Yoga for the wonderful Session and hope this blog post impresses atleast a few of my lovely readers to try out Laughter Yoga.