Laughter….A Simple, Natural and Effective Medicine!
When was the last time that you had a good laugh? Much of our lives are monotonous. They have a set routine; the same old 9 to 5. In this lifestyle we regard stress as very natural. Though our work may consume most of our time, it is all in the pursuit of happiness. True happiness and satisfaction is an internal matter. Even though the outer disposition of a person may not reflect their inner emotions, the mind is always striving for peace and tranquility.
Laughter is the external expression of the inner delight that we all experience at times, hopefully more than less! Life is so much more beautiful when the inner world is in harmony with the outer world. Laughter is not coincidental , it is brought on by our perception of the world and ourselves. It is something that gives us a sense of complete freedom and joy. We get this when we our independent of external factors and their effects.We have all seen how naturally little children laugh. It is a second nature to them because it is our intrinsic quality that we have been graced with from day one. As we grow older and become more conscious, we move away from our innate self, adapt the norms of the world, and at times suppress our true sentiments. This, of course, is called growing up and behaving maturely, but we all know that we are kids at heart. Therefore, it is necessary to express that feeling on a daily basis in the form of smiles, and laughter. This is food for the soul and body! Your body will thank you for this, since it has innumerable benefits. We will talk a little bit about the great effects of a good laugh on our health in this article.
a. Laughter has a calming effect. Laughter relieves muscle tension and therefore relaxes you. Did you know that it takes only 17 muscles to smile versus 43 to frown? When muscles relax, you feel less drained physically, and fresh.
b. Boost your immunity with a good laugh! Laughter reduces stress by decreasing stress hormones, as well as increasing the release of infection-fighting antibodies.
c. Reduce pain with laughter. You can relieve two hours of pain with a good ten minutes of laughter, studies have shown.
d. Better your imagination and creativity. As your perception of the world becomes more positive, you are able to make better decisions, leading to creative problem solving.
e. Mental benefits of laughing:
• Improved outlook on life (i.e. more positive)
• Ability to cope with life’s ups and downs
• Reduce daily stresses without the feeling of drowning in them
f. Laughter leads to bonding. We all have experienced walking in a room of people laughing and we cannot but help to join in. It is a natural response to participate spontaneously in laughter in group settings as it is contagious. This is excellent for bonding in individual relationships, or in groups. We often use humor to “break the ice” also. Humor is welcome by everyone. Humor is a great tool for defusing anger and negative emotions. In fact, it usually helps us form a deeper connection with others. That’s why children attract people towards them, because happiness likes company also!!! So, enjoy a heartfelt laugh every day for some reason or the other.
g. Laughter invigorates the body. A good laugh soothes tensions, and stimulates all your organs! This obviously then relieves stress.
h. Laughing helps you lose weight. Ten to fifteen minutes of daily laughter can help you burn roughly 50 more calories per day. Not to be used in place of physical activity of course, this is an added benefit of laughing.
Try these simple activities to bring more laughter into your life:
• Smile! A smaller form of laughter, is of course the smile. Smile at the smaller things in life, which will lead you to bigger and better laughs later.
• Be in the company of happy people. The company you keep has a profound effect on your thoughts and beliefs. Happy and playful people will keep your thoughts free of negativity.
• See humor in life. Our experiences make us so stubborn and defensive at times. Seeing things from a light hearted perspective, makes it easier to go through life.
• Be playful!! Bring out the child in you, by playing games, being outdoors in nature, just letting down your guard and being natural. Your natural self is not bound by so many norms and regulations. Of course, you need to be in a safe environment to do so.
• Spend time with children. Children are innocent and reflect purity. Their happy nature is naturally alluring and brings out the spirited side of us.
• Be grateful!! Probably the most important ingredient to be happy is to have gratitude. Look at the glass half full than half empty. Better yet, remember that you are graced with a full glass, and it is your responsibility to not let it empty out. Find happiness in the little things, in nature, in life, etc. Gratitude enhances positive emotions such as happiness, peace, kindness, compassion, selflessness, and the list can go on. This definitely leads to more opportunities to laugh about.
Dr. Deepak Chopra says that “cellular biology is nothing more than metabolism of experiences”. He describes in his speech on ‘Self-directed biological transformation’ that, our thoughts about our daily experiences actually have an effect on every cell in our body, and that this effect is immediate. Our positive and negative experiences are merely a projection of our mind. We are able to experience these emotion through neural impulses in our brains, and in the same manner, our body is able to feel these too. We are capable of strengthening ourselves from the inside out with good, happy and powerful thoughts. The consequence of our thoughts on our bodies can either uplift us or pull us down. Our cellular structure does respond to laughter as medicine, so laugh more, and boost your well-being.
Laughter opens up a whole new world of possibilities for us
Our perception of the external circumstances and problems is changed with a more optimistic outlook. We attract in our lives what we feel and think. Our mind functions better and new ideas flourish in a relaxed and satisfied state of being. Boredom becomes a thing of the past when life is interesting. Life doesn’t just happen instead it is made with our own efforts. Remember that life throws circumstances at us, but our mind interprets them, so control your mind with a strong intellect. Laughter is truly a medicine that works at various levels of the body. Laughter shouldn’t be a chore, but should act as a natural stress reliever. Face your life’s challenges with a steadfast mind, which will lead to a natural state of happiness always. Keeping faith and practicing spirituality also leads to a native state of cheerfulness. So laugh and spread the laughter to others!
Contact Jagadguru Kripalu Yoga and Naturopathy Hospital for lifestyle consultation.
I had listended that more of the medicines is in our body, Like doing fasting, dieting, taking proper water etc,… but this article is fantastic, which reveals such a huge amount of knowledge about our Laughing(God’s gift). Thank you very much. Awesome article!
Very simple and nice suggestion for a healthy life.
I have not seen this type of articles about health benefits of laugh, do laugh everyday.
Indeed, it’s a very interesting and motivational blog. Laughter can boost your mental ,spiritual and physical health . It’s the most simple and yet the most beneficial way of being healthy. So smile,laugh often and be healthy
A good laugh everyday , keeps the doctors away .
Did not know before that laughter has these many advantages , And who does not want to be happy and have a good laugh everyday . But to get it we should not depend on the external situations , we should be happy and joyful from within . We should train our mind in such a way that it should see positivity in all the situation which will lead to the stability of our inner self . But how to achieve that ? By practice and more practice everyday . Indeed they say “Wear a smile because by doing this you are making the world more beautiful “. Exchange smiles with unknown people also , it will make your day .Share few jokes , exchange humor over dining table , Laugh out loud couple of times with your near and dear ones , it will bring them closer .
This Article is just Wow. Am really very Thankful and greatful to the writer who posting for us such wonderful and lifechanging Articles. Too positive powerful Articles. M too inspired by this. How Laughter can make all things positive, Powerful and Possible in our life i can get from this Article. Love this so much. Thank you so much for Posting this exquisite Articles.
Laughter is a natural best medicine to lead a happy, healthy and stressfree life. I am too inspired by this Article.
We don’t know about all these wonderful benefit of laughter before go through this Article. How beautifully explains here that laughter play vital role to lead a happy and cool life. Such wonderful benefit of laughter we have learnt from here.
Thank you so much. We must implement this in our life.
Absolutely we all have childish heart within, This’s true by growing day by day we become more conscious and be mature by adapting the norms of world. But we should remember that laughter is the food for our soul and body. Laughter has also scientific reasons for lead a healthy and happy life, i get to know by read this amazing Article. Thank you.
As there is a famous saying that laughter is the best medicine so we must try to remain always happy .Through this article i learnt how to remain happy in all situations.
Thanks for this wonderful post. God has gifted us Lauhter a simple and natural medicine with so many benefits.