Laughter has long been known as a medicine. Research shows that it increases your overall wellbeing and really can make you feel better. Laughter Yoga is a fabulous wellbeing work-out. In this blog, learn how supporting mental health in the workplace can be easy with Laughter Yoga classes.
Why Laughter Yoga?
The Research
Studies have shown that breath work, laughter exercises and meditation help improve mental health as well as having benefits similar to exercise. All of these are incorporated into Laughter Yoga sessions.
Medical research shows the body doesn’t know the difference between real and simulated laughter. Done with willingness, all the great benefits can be experienced through simulated laughter. A good laugh can help you release stress. A shift in mood takes place and life can be seen from a more positive perspective.
Physical benefits
Laughter yoga activates the body’s feel good hormones and natural painkillers and lowers the stress hormone cortisol. For sufferers of chronic pain, laughing and smiling can be very effective in pain management, for instance.
When you laugh, on the out breath the old air released reduces toxins and stress from the system. The new breath you take in is filled with more oxygen and nutrients that supports brain and body functions. As a result, you will have more energy and a better supported the immune system. In turn, this builds productivity and resilience in the workplace.
Supporting mental health in the workplace
Laughter is the antidote to stress. Supporting mental health in the workplace can be done through laughter. Taking time to have fun helps create balance. Laughter is contagious and can support the process of opening your heart to giving and receiving. It’s easy to laugh when things are going well and you feel good. But if you are feeling stressed or going through a difficult period in your life you may not feel like laughing at all. Smiling and laughing comes naturally but as we transition from child to adult, you can lose this natural joyful expression. You can connect to this innate ability, still within us, by making more room in life for smiling and laughter
A good laugh can help mental health by releasing stress and feelings that may have been held down for a while. If left to build up, this can lead to depletion, burn-out and ‘dis-ease’. Laughing helps you remain in the present moment. When you are laughing you can’t be worried about yesterday or thinking about tomorrow.
Team building in the workplace
Laughter breaks down barriers and supports better communication. Whether with friends, loved ones, family or co-workers. By stepping back and finding a way to laugh, you can more easily get through many life challenges.
The techniques, breath work and meditation practices used in Laughter Yoga help individuals and groups release stress in a therapeutic and fun way which can have a positive impact on health and in all areas of life.
You can liken the ability to laugh to a muscle. Like with any muscle, the more you use it the stronger it becomes. Laughter Yoga can support your ability to smile and laugh more easily and spontaneously, even if you haven’t felt like it for a while.
Wellbeing through Laughter Yoga Sessions provide opportunity to optimise wellness at work through team building, solution-based communication, collaboration and co-operation which can greatly benefit wellbeing in the workplace.
