The Importance of Laughter

Good morning judges, fellow students, and staff. The late Erma Bombeck once wrote, "If I could live my life over, I would have laughed more." Bombeck was one of America's funniest columnists and author of many theses on humor of life. She KNEW the importance of laughing. For one, people who laugh is pleasant to be around; try pulling a long face all day, and pretty soon you will notice others avoiding you. The power of laughter can never be underestimated.

It is a part of life.

Laughter is a universal language. It is extremely beneficial to the human body, and it has no known side effects. As Psychiatrist Robert Holden states, laughing produces happy chemicals in the body called endorphins, which work in the brain to give us an overall feeling of contentment. When you laugh, all thought process stops and no other thoughts enter our mind. This is a way of relieving stress, thus lowering blood pressure, ; according to a recent study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland, this can in turn indirectly reduce one's risks of a heart attack and other health related problems.

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How laughing can contribute to physical fitness is known to so few, it is almost a secret. Scientists estimate that laughing 100 times is equivalent to a 10-minute workout on a rowing machine, or 15 minutes on a stationary exercise bike. The mere act of laughing exercises the diaphragm, as well as the abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg and back muscles. & If we laugh, and I don't mean a fake little "giggle" when you hear an old knock-knock joke, unless you happen to find it hilarious, but a real, strong laughter, for at least 10 to 15 minutes a day, we can increase our energy consumption by 10 to 40 calories per day!;

It HAS happened, ladies and gentlemen, a hybrid brand of psychology called "laughter therapy" is laughter-cising its way into hospital and nursing home lives with mood lifter activities!While there is still some mystery about exactly how laughter helps, there is no longer any question that it does promote good health.

So for those who wish to lose weight, now you can just laugh it off!Laughter creates a more youthful appearance. Apparently, it takes more muscles in your face to frown than to laugh, both of which generate wrinkles, but a frown generates more. Some of you are probably thinking, the words 'wrinkle' and 'young' does not go together. True. But "laugh lines" or wrinkles caused by laughter can give a person an amiable look, as opposed to wrinkles and creases cause by stress and unhappiness, which can give them a more callous characteristic.

As important as laughter may be, there is a time and place for everything, including laughing. One does not laugh when someone dies, one does not laugh at others' beliefs and one certainly does not laugh at those who are suffering. Laughter can be hurtful when it is used to single a person or race out. It can be dangerous when it leads to violence and stereotyping. "Dumb blonde jokes" is an example. Though blondes can see it through a different light and use that to their advantage! So laugh for the right reasons and in the right situation. No matter how funny a sensitive issue may seem, it is best to control your laughter and have a private chuckle later, if you must.

Laughter provides a harmless outlet for negative emotions, and provides a coping mechanism for strenuous situations. As Erma Bombeck once said, "If you can't make it better, you can laugh at it, and if you can laugh at it, you can live with it. Bad things are bound to happen, if not, then how else can the good things in life be eminent? I mean, take my cousin, for example. When he is being mischievous and he knows he's in big trouble, he will resort to whatever means possible to make the family laugh, so he can escape with little or no punishment.

We are always reminded that tragedy is not too far away from comedy; this is why we never get a lop-sided view of things. If we can see the funny side, then we will never make the mistake of taking ourselves too seriously. Attempt to see the ridiculous side of life. Erma Bombeck was right. Don't wait to wish you could live your life over.

Laughter Therapy

“Laughter is the best medicine!” We’ve all heard that before, but is it true? Studies show 20-25 minutes of laughter every day is healthy for the body. Laughing also helps with depression, cancer patients, making our hearts healthy. It also strengthens our immune systems, relieves stress, helps us look younger and so much more. Laughing Therapy relates to positive thinking.

Most diseases are related to stress, tension depression. When we have tension, we start various problems in our body such as; high blood pressure, heart troubles, lowers our immune systems, etc. Laughing helps relaxes our muscles and helps in relieving stress. Muscular tension is released when you laugh. Your digestion is better. It helps heart rate and helps blood flow. The blood vessels carrying blood in our body expands which results in increased blood supply to various body parts. When we laugh, our mind stops the thought process, we don’t think of anything, keeping our stress at lowest possible level. Laughter also helps in keeping the level of stress hormones low.

Laughing also helps in fighting against mental stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia and various other mental disorders. This reduces our dependencies up on various medications required to stay away from the illness. People who try laughter therapy say they feel much better, tension-free, mentally balanced and they sleep better than before.

By laughing, it improves our immune system. As I stated above, the base of laughter therapy relates to positive thinking. It is proved scientifically that if a person has negative thoughts while he/she is sick or prey to depression or anger about his/her illness, then it results in weakening of his/her immune system and then it takes more high doses of medications to cure that person. At the other end, positive thinking helps a person improve his/her immune system and become healthy again as soon as possible. Laughter therapy helps in removing negative thoughts from our mind and not letting our immune system go down any further.

“According to one research, laughter helps in increasing the number of Natural Killer cells, antibodies levels in our body which fight against diseases that attack us, improving our immune system many folds.” This has proved very helpful in fighting against some deadly diseases such as cancers, AIDS, some mental disorder. The treatment of which requires patient to have a strong immune system. It also helps you feel and look younger by exercising your facial muscles.

Laughter provides support in curing some chronicle and hereditary diseases, asthma, obesity problems, addictions of various types by improving conditions of patients such by strengthening immune system, blocking negative thoughts, arresting anger and similar mental conditions. People who cannot exercise because of their physical condition, have found laughter to be very beneficial.

Steve Wilson started the Laughter Therapy in 1964. He was a psychologist at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. Wilson was asked to teach his practices in other states and it became a hit! He went from Ohio across to California and he made it to India. In India, he met Dr. K in 1998, who was also a Laughter Therapists. The teachers’ in India who believes in the laughing therapy was completely different from the East side of the world. The East side thought it would just a study to go into for school and to help relieve stress. The West believed it healed the ill ones. With the influence of the India teachers and his colleagues from the East, Wilson decided to start his World Laughter Tour so the methods of the East and the West could be shown to the whole world.

There are classes taught everywhere here in Utah. Most are called Laughter Yoga Classes. The Laughter Yoga Classes is learning the unconditional laughter with yogic breathing, also known as Pranayama. You will learn how to just laugh, without even hearing a joke, seeing something funny, or even thinking. Laughter Yoga is non-political, non-religious, non-racial, non-threatening, and non-competitive. It also teaches you to just take a breather and stay positive no matter what situation you are in. “Laughter Yoga combines laughter with yogic breathing exercises. It is a perfect way to laugh and get exercise at the same time. It approaches laughter as a body exercise so it’s easy to laugh even if you’re depressed or in a bad mood. I’ve tried it, and it works.” – Oprah Winfrey

Laughing for about 20-25 minutes a day can make you feel fresh for the rest of the day. Not only does it make you feel fresh but also it helps keep you healthy. Laughing will help keep your blood levels downs, help the blood flow smoothly, relaxes your muscles, and help cure diseases. You will learn how to relax and think positive. Laughter Therapy is known all over the world. However, I have just found out about this. Classes are taught all over Utah. Take a class and get the feel of what Laughter Therapy can do to you. And remember, “Laughter is the best medicine!”

Works Cited:

1. http://www.worldlaughtertour.com/sections/about/history.asp

• CeraNet, Inc. World Laughter Tour, Inc. – History ©2011

• Used September 24, 2011

2. http://www.laughteryoga.org/index.php?option=com_content;view=article;id=731:laughter-yoga-as-laughter-therapy;catid=263:laughter-yoga-for-healing-therapeutic-benefits;Itemid=457

• Laughter Yoga International, Dr. Kataria – Last updated September 10, 2011

• Used September 24, 2011

3. http://www.laughteryoga.org/index.php?option=com_content;view=article;id=180:what-is-laughter-yoga;catid=85:about-laughter-yoga;Itemid=265

The value of laughter

Cliche as it might sound, laughter really is the best medicine -- and I can certainly vouch for that because I've had some experience with this recently. During a pretty stressful week in my life, I was lucky enough to receive quite a few doses of laughter. Last week was a hard week. One of the hardest I've had in awhile. There was stress. There was change. But you know what else was there? Laughter. As I was struggling to get through the week, one of the few things that pushed me through and pushed me forward was laughing.

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Laughing can seem like a minor thing, something we do without really thinking much about it. We all do it from time to time (some more than others!) and we've been doing it since we were infants. It's something that we were rewarded for when we were tiny babies. Just think about how often people try to make babies laugh and how clearly pleased they appear once the giggle erupts from that tiny little mouth. We were encouraged to laugh and we received positive responses when we did so.

As we grew older, we realized that there are different types of laughter and different occasions when laughter is appropriate (one of which, I've learned, is not in the front row of a church). As we age, the meaning of laughter changes. It grows deeper and richer and has many more levels than it did when we were infants. As adults, we no longer have people cooing around us, trying to make us laugh, but sometimes, when we're really feeling down, there are people in our lives who can bring us happiness by making us laugh.

For me, laughter is one of the most positive things I can experience. I don't often think about it, but when I do, I realize that I really love to laugh. It's such a great feeling to experience that bubbling of infectious giggles, to look at someone else and know that s/he is experiencing that same thing. It's fantastic to have one of those laugh-out-loud moments when I'm reading a book or to hear someone issue a sassy reply that sends my shoulders shaking. (As was the case a few days ago when, upon waking to a Monday morning, my mouth spewing groans and complaints, a certain someone quipped, "Donde esta Dani?" Ah, the sassy references to me not being the Dani-of-Positively-Present get me every time!)

Laughter is one of those things that just makes you feel good. There's certainly negative laughter (such as laughing at someone), but today I want to focus on how we can bring more of the positive types of laughter into our lives. Just think about how great you would feel if you had a hearty laugh every single day! It would be amazing! I know life is complicated and tricky and messy and sometimes those laugh-out-loud moments aren't always all that accessible, but here are some tips for how to amp up the laughter in your life.

6 Ideas For Bringing More Laughter Into Your Life

Share something silly about yourself with a friend. One of the best moments I had last week when I was really struggling with some tough things was when I shared something silly about myself with a friend. I did something really ridiculous (I'll spare you the details) and, though I would have rather not told anyone about it, I decided to share it with her. She found it hilarious and we both ended up spending a few minutes laughing about it. It can be tempting not to share silly or embarrassing things with others, but sometimes it's one of the best ways to share a great laugh.

Don't forget to laugh at yourself. When you think about laughter and how you can bring more of it into your life, don't forget to spend some time laughing at yourself. I'm not talking about doing it in a mean way of course. I'm just saying this: don't take yourself too seriously. We all do silly things or embarrassing things and one of the best ways to turn a negative into a positive is to laugh about it. Laughing at others can be hurtful and mean, but laughing at yourself in a light-hearted way can be really entertaining and is a great way to perk yourself up.

Watch a funny TV show with someone you love. This is one of my favorite ways to cultivate a funny environment. There are a lot of great TV shows and films filled with comedic relief and they are one of the best ways to bring about a great deal of laughter in your life. Funny books can also be hilarious, but there's something about watching a TV show with someone else that really heightens the laughter. Laughter is great on its own, but it's even better when you share with others. There are obviously many ways to do this, but watching a comedy is one of the best ways to share the laughter love.

Support funny people by going to a comedy show. Even better than watching funny people on TV is actually going to a comedy show. Have you ever been to one? If not, I'd highly recommend it. Even the not-so-great ones are pretty funny. When you go to a show, it's the job of the person on stage to make you laugh. Their whole purpose for being there is to crack you up. So if you want more laughter in your life, this is one of the very best things to look into. It's a great way to not only watch something hilarious, but it also gives you an opportunity to share some great laugh-out-loud moments with a bunch of strangers. What could be better than that?

Help others get a laugh out of themselves. Sometimes others forget that it's okay to laugh at themselves. Some people forget that you can choose to laugh, even when you feel like crying. You can help people out by helping them realize that it's okay to laugh at themselves. Now, if you're going to work on this tip, be careful. It's not always appropriate for people to laugh at themselves and this one depends a lot on the type of person you're dealing with. Take that into consideration first, and then, if appropriate, help others find the funny.

Find the humor in something serious. When we're faced with very serious situations, it can be very hard to see the good in them, let alone the humor. However, I realized over the past week that finding the humor in serious situations is one of the best ways to cope with difficulties. It can be very hard to do this, but if you have the will to, you can always find the silver, funny lining in a situation. Again, you have to make sure it's appropriate to laugh or joke about something, but once you determine that, you realize that shedding a little laughter on a dark subject can be just what you need to brighten things up.

As I mentioned, last week was a hard one for me. I learned a lot about myself and, in the process, learned a lot about the value of laughter. After experiencing these laughter-inducing moments first hand, I know there are great benefits to them. I felt a sense of relief after laughing. I felt a slight moment of being removed from whatever thoughts were plaguing my mind. Laughter offers us a break from the hard parts of life. Laughter offers us a chance to escape, even for a few moments, from the past and the future. Laughter allows us to really be in the moment. So, as Stephen King says above, don't deny laughter. Seek it out and let it stay with you as long as it likes.