The benefits of Laughter Yoga are amazing. Laughter Yoga is a unique exercise routine that combines laughter exercises with yogic breathing which brings in more oxygen to the body and brain making one feel more energetic and healthy. It is a powerful cardio workout. In fact, 10 minutes of hearty laughter is equal to 30 minutes on a rowing machine. The foremost benefit of laughing is that one remains cheerful throughout the day. This sense of wellbeing comes from the release of feel good hormones called endorphins.
It decreases the negative effects of stress on your body which is the root cause of all illness. Laughter Yoga is a single exercise that deals with physical, mental and emotional stress simultaneously. It also strengthens the immune system, lowers blood pressure, CONTROLS BLOOD SUGAR and keeps your heart healthy. It is a powerful antidote against depression – the number one sickness today.
Laughing promotes a healthy heart. In a good bout of laughter, there is a dilation of blood vessels all over the body. We’ve all seen or experienced this as a flushed appearance and feeling of warmth. Pulse rate and blood pressure rise as the circulatory system is stimulated before settling down, below the original levels. In a nutshell, laughter helps tone the circulatory system of the body.
Laughter and breathing exercises help to increase the breathing capacity of the lungs and increase the net supply of oxygen to the body. Laughter sessions, along with deep breathing, are like chest physiotherapy – especially for those who smoke and suffer from bronchitis and respiratory airway obstruction.
A weak immune system is a major cause for almost all sicknes and ill health. Laughter boosts immune system. Oxygen is one of the primary catalysts for all metabolic reactions in the human body. Ongoing scientific studies show that lack of oxygen is the major cause of most diseases. Laughter Yoga flushes the lungs and fully oxygenates the blood and major organs leaving one bursting with energy and vitality and free from disease.
Diabetes is emerging as a major health hazard worldwide. Japanese scientist Murakami’s experiment to ascertain the effect of laughter on the blood sugar levels has affirmed that laughter has a lowering impact on blood sugar. Murakami indentified 23 genes that can be activated with laughter. In addition, it also reduces the stress hormone cortisol responsible for increase in sugar levels and stabilizes the immune system, which if weakened, can affect the production of insulin in the pancreas.
Laughter has a profound positive impact on allergies, with many practitioners reporting complete disappearance of all symptoms of asthma, skin and other allergies. Though not an intervention for countering physical causes of allergies; Laughter Yoga is a definite tool to remedy stress. It helps to reduce the risk factors by boosting the immune system, encouraging deep breathing and flushing the lungs of stale air and generating a feeling of wellness.
Those suffering from life threatening diseases not only go through physical pain; they also face immense psychological trauma. Not just the patient, but family, friends and care givers all need positive reinforcement. Having a positive mental attitude greatly influences the course of the disease. We have had many members suffering from cancer, immune disorders, multiple sclerosis and other chronic diseases who have reported relief from their symptoms, thereby reducing their medications.
Depression is often associated with physical pain, feelings of despair, loss of appetite, immobility, insomnia and other cardiovascular problems. Practicing Laughter Yoga regularly helps to resolve most of these ailments as it is one of the fastest ways of boosting heart rate, reducing blood pressure, providing an excellent cardio workout and alleviating pain. Extended hearty laughter is a body exercise with powerful body-mind healing effects.
The combination of natural pain killers with movements in laughter exercises makes Laughter Yoga a powerful tool for physiotherapy. Many practitioners have reported reversal of frozen shoulder and other movement limitations due to stroke, arthritis, and injury. Endorphins released as a result of laughter help in reducing the intensity of pain in those suffering from arthritis, spondylitis and muscular spasms of the body.
Scientific studies have proved that a few days of laughter exercises and deep breathing lowers blood pressure thus reducing the risk of a heart attack. Having too much cholesterol in the blood can lead to the hardening and narrowing of the arteries in the major vascular systems. A daily dose of laughter opens the arteries and allows the blood to flow freely to all parts of the body thus preventing a cardiac failure.
Stress is the number one killer today, and most illnesses are stress related. Laughter Yoga is an instant stress buster which takes care of physical, mental and emotional stress simultaneously. It has been scientifically proven that laughter reduces the level of stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine and enhances positive emotions.
Laughter exercises are short and easy and can be added to your existing fitness programme. It can be a value addition to Yoga groups, Tai-Chi groups, aerobic centres, meditation centres, health clubs, sports and fun activities. Laughter Yoga is the latest health craze sweeping the world where anyone can laugh without any reason. It is truly a life changing experience for millions. It is scientifically proven and a lot of fun. People can feel the benefits right from the very first session.
Positive Education: Teaching well-being to Young People
Positive education pairs traditional schooling with positive psychology interventions to improve well-being.
Positive education is based on the science of well-being and happiness.
Positive Education is an approach to education that blends academic learning with character and well-being. It prepares students with life skills such as: grit, optimism, resilience, growth mindset, engagement, and mindfulness amongst others.
Positive education views school as a place where students not only cultivate their intellectual minds, but also develop a broad set of character strengths, virtues, and competencies, which together support their well-being.
Positive education is a whole-school approach to student and staff well-being: it brings together the science of positive psychology with best-practice teaching, encouraging and supporting individuals and communities to flourish.
Positive Education focuses on specific skills that assist students to strengthen their relationships, build positive emotions, enhance personal resilience, promote mindfulness and encourage a healthy lifestyle.
Positive Education brings together the science of Positive Psychology with best practice teaching to encourage and support individuals, schools and communities to flourish. We refer to flourishing as a combination of ‘feeling good and doing good’.
In consultation with world experts in positive psychology and based on Seligman’s PERMA approach, the Geelong Grammar School developed its ‘Model for Positive Education’ to complement traditional learning – an applied framework comprising six domains: Positive Relationships, Positive Emotions, Positive Health, Positive Engagement, Positive Accomplishment, and Positive Purpose. This model has been augmented with four fundamental active processes that underpin successful and sustained implementation of positive education: Learn It, Live It, Teach It, and Embed It.
Widespread support is necessary for the success of the positive education movement.
It has been said in the Dhammapada, “Abstain from all unwholesome deeds, perform wholesome ones, purify your mind – this is the teaching of enlightened persons.”
What are unwholesome deeds and what are the wholesome ones?
Any action that harms others, that disturbs their peace and harmony is a sinful action, an unwholesome action. Any action that helps others, that contributes to their peace and harmony, is a pious action, a wholesome action.
There are three types of Wrong Conduct a human being is capable of – Wrong Conduct with Words, Wrong Conduct with Body and Wrong Conduct with Mind.
WRONG CONDUCT WITH WORDS
There are four sub divisions of Wrong Conduct with Words – false speech, slanderous speech, harsh speech and idle chatter.
Abstaining from false speech:
Herein someone avoids false speech and abstains from it. One speaks the truth, is devoted to truth, reliable, worthy of confidence, not a deceiver of people.
Abstaining from slanderous speech:
One avoids slanderous speech and abstains from it. What one has heard here one does not repeat there, so as to cause dissension there; and what one has heard there one does not repeat here, so as to cause dissension here.
Abstaining from harsh speech:
One avoids harsh language and abstains from it. One speaks such words as are gentle, loving, soothing to the ear; such words as go to the heart, and are courteous, friendly, and agreeable to many.
Abstaining from idle chatter:
One avoids idle chatter and abstains from it. One speaks at the right time, in accordance with facts, speaks what is useful, one’s speech is like a treasure, uttered at the right moment, accompanied by reason, moderate and full of sense.
WRONG CONDUCT WITH BODY
There are three sub divisions of Wrong Conduct with Body – taking life, taking what is not given and sexual misconduct.
Abstaining from the taking of life:
Herein someone avoids the taking of life and abstains from it. Without stick or sword, conscientious, full of sympathy, one is desirous of the welfare of all sentient beings.
Abstaining from taking what is not given:
One avoids taking what is not given and abstains from it; what another person possesses of goods and property, that he does not take away with thievish intent.
Abstaining from sexual misconduct:
One avoids sexual misconduct and abstains from it.
WRONG CONDUCT WITH MIND
There are three sub divisions of Wrong Conduct with Mind – covetousness, ill will and wrong view.
Abstaining from covetousness:
Here someone avoids being covetous: one is not a coveter of another’s goods and property.
Abstaining from ill-will towards others:
One avoids a mind of ill-will and hatred towards other beings.
Abstaining from wrong view:
One avoids wrong view, distorted vision.
WHOLESOME ACTIONS
There are three types of Right Conduct a human being is capable of – Right Conduct with Words, Right Conduct with Body and Right Conduct with Mind.
How can one “perform wholesome” deeds? One can perform wholesome deeds by practising right speech, right action, and right conduct with mind.
Right speech means speaking in ways that are trustworthy, harmonious, comforting, and worth taking to heart. When you make a practice of these positive forms of right speech, your words become a gift to others.
Right action is behaving peacefully and staying in harmony with fellow human beings.
Right mental conduct is having goodwill for others and cultivating the right view.
To “purify your mind”, you have to cultivate wholesome states and abandon unwholesome states by seeking wisdom and practising meditation.
This is the essence of the teaching of enlightened persons.
Laughter Yoga: How to do it all alone for 10 minutes everyday
Learning Video for Laughing Alone
Laughter is the best medicine.
To get all the health benefits of laughter, you need to laugh deep and continuously for 10-20 minutes. How to do that every day when you are all alone? This video is a tutorial for that.
Laughter Yoga is usually done in groups. People find it difficult to practise it on a daily basis by themselves.
Laughter Yoga is a unique concept where anyone can laugh for no reason without relying on humour, jokes or comedy.
The concept is based on a scientific fact that the body cannot differentiate between real and fake laughter if done with willingness. One gets the same physiological and psychological benefits.
Dr Madan Kataria, a medical doctor, founded the first Laughter Club with just five members in Mumbai in the year 1995. Today there are thousands of laughter clubs all over the world where laughter is initiated as an exercise in a group but with eye contact and childlike playfulness, it soon turns into real and contagious laughter.
It is called Laughter Yoga because it combines laughter exercises with yoga breathing. This brings more oxygen to the body and the brain which makes one feel more energetic and healthy.
When we laugh, our body generates feel good hormones called endorphins which improve our mood and general outlook. During laughter exercises, all the stale air inside the lungs is expelled and our system gets more oxygen which enhances the immune system. In the long run, the inner spirit of laughter helps you build more caring and sharing social relationships, and laugh even when the going in not good.
Why one should not speak a deliberate lie even in jest.
[1]
One day the Buddha came to Rahula, pointed to a bowl with a little bit of water in it, and asked: “Rahula, do you see this bit of water left in the bowl?”
Rahula answered: “Yes, sir.”
“So little, Rahula, is the spiritual achievement of one who is not afraid to speak a deliberate lie.”
[2]
Then the Buddha threw the water away, put the bowl down, and said: “Do you see, Rahula, how that water has been discarded?
“In the same way, one who tells a deliberate lie, discards whatever spiritual achievement he has made.”
[3]
Again, he asked: “Do you see how this bowl is now empty?
“In the same way, one who has no shame in speaking lies is empty of spiritual achievement.”
[4]
Then the Buddha turned the bowl upside down and said: “Do you see, Rahula, how this bowl has been turned upside down?
“In the same way, one who tells a deliberate lie turns his spiritual achievement upside down and becomes incapable of progress.”
[5]
Therefore, the Buddha concluded, one should not speak a deliberate lie even in jest.
