Giggles and Yoga

Don't scowl just laugh
With a tee-hee-hee
Why frown? just giggle
Can't you see-see-see

Guffaw, don't snap
With a pah-hah-hah
Don't sit around and mope
With wah-wah-wah

Hah ha ha hah hah
Ha ha

That last bit is done in the 7-note couplet of "Shave and a Haircut Two Bits", which if you're not familiar with then you obviously haven't seen enough cartoons or Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. In either case you should feel shame. Deep wells of shame that should haunt you until rectified or you stop caring. You know, either/or.

Anyway!

Laughing is without a doubt quite good and one could even go so far as to say bloody brilliant or super smashing great. We all do it, we all love it and most don't get enough of it.
Recently I was talking to friend and she was going on to say how overwhelmed she was getting with work, education, friends and family, something else we all know of all too well. She then apologised for complaining to me to which I replied, "Hey, everyone needs to vent". But what to do when there isn't an ear readily available to vent to? When there isn't a shoulder to prop your head up as you give in for a moment? What do you do to feel better? An answer struck me.

You laugh.

Years ago I had stumbled upon an article detailing something called Laughter Therapy and I devoured it. The phrase "laughter is the best medicine" gets thrown around but few seem to realise just how effective laughing is on the body or how quickly the effects kick in. Now I'm not about pretend I know the ins and outs of it and delve into any medical science since there is plenty floating about on the interweb. But what I can tell you is this: it works.
Simply put, Laughter Therapy is laughing for the sake of laughing. Don't try to think of something funny or amusing, just laugh. Snicker to yourself quietly, let out a mighty bellow or anything in between, the point being that you must laugh. As it turns out the body can't really distinguish between fake laughter and natural laughter and because of this, it will react in the way it always reacts to laughter; it will make you feel good. Blood vessels open, endorphins are released (that's chemical happiness to you and me) and you relax. The beauty of it is two-fold:

• Making yourself laugh generally leads to natural laughter which is easier to sustain and hence prolong that feel good...well, feeling. Fake it 'til you make it.
• It's free (suck it recession!) and can be done any time, anywhere, any when (though don't hold me responsible for you choosing inappropriate times and places i.e. funerals, public places, airports).

You may find it hard at first to just laugh on cue and some will outright refuse to out of fear that someone will judge them. That's fine, I was hesitant at first to even when I knew no one was in earshot. Taking the first step is entirely down to you.
As time went on (as time tends to do) I discovered Laughter Yoga was more apt a name. This is generally the same idea only involving yogic breathing exercises and done in groups as it's easier to chuckle with other people. As of yet I have not tried it with the breathing exercises but I'm of the belief that it would open up a whole other relaxed world.
I finally convinced my friend to try it and she was surprised to find it working as much as I was, even when she was so hesitant at first. But being hesitant to laugh to yourself is a little daft in the end, isn't it?

So there you have it. Next time you're feeling fed up, overwhelmed or just plain blue I ask that you simply laugh for a while. Not that hard really.