Such is the premise of Laughter Yoga, a technique gaining popularity across the United States. Laughter Yoga is based on the philosophy of "acting happiness." Even when you don't feel like laughing, the physical act of doing so increases feel-good chemicals in the body, says Fort Wayne certified Laughter Yoga leader Lee Wilcher.
"The body cannot differentiate between fake and real laughter, so when you go through the motions of laughter, it produces the same physiological and psychological effects," he said. Humor is a left-brain, analytical process, but laughing for no reason engages the right or creative side of the brain.
Laughter Yoga, which combines deep breathing, stretching and laughter exercises, was founded by Madan Kataria in 1995 after he did extensive research on the physical and emotional benefits of laughing. He encourages leaders who run Laughter Yoga groups to make them free and open to anyone. It can be practiced alone, but doing it within a group has added benefits.
"Laughter is contagious," Wilcher said. "When you pretend to laugh, pretty soon you're laughing for real and others around you start laughing." Wilcher leads Laughter Yoga groups at businesses, in nursing homes and other settings.
Several studies back up the premise that laughing has beneficial results, physiologically and emotionally. One study of information technology workers in India showed the group that participated in Laughter Yoga sessions over 18 days had significantly lowered heart rates and blood pressure readings, plus a 17 percent increase in positive emotions and a 27 percent decrease in negative emotions compared to the control group.
