Julie Dawn Fox

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They say that ‘laughter is the best medicine’. Laughter can relieve stress， boost your immune system， reduce pain and even help protect you against a heart attack. Imagine being able to get all of these benefits even when there isn’t much to laugh about.

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Young children don’t feel self-conscious about laughing， but when do older people laugh？ Usually only when we see or hear something funny. How would you feel if you saw an adult laughing at nothing？ You’d probably think that they were a bit strange and try to avoid them.

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However， Dr Madan Kataria from Mumbai in India thinks that we should all make more effort to laugh， especially if we don’t really feel like laughing. He discovered that our bodies can’t tell the difference between a real laugh and a false one. This means that it’s possible to get all the benefits of genuine laughter just by pretending to laugh.

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Dr Kataria then developed Laughter Yoga， a system which combines the breathing techniques of yoga with a series of exercises designed to stimulate the laughter muscles. These activities make the body produce the natural effects of real laughter and have already helped thousands of people of all ages and fitness levels.

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Laughter Yoga workshop leaders adapt their methods to achieve different aims： for example， team building in companies， reduced aggression in prisons， improved test results in schools and relief from depression among hospital patients.

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Former clown Ana Banana was delighted to find a therapy that separates laughter from humour. Because her job was to make other people laugh， the jokes weren’t funny for her and she didn’t often laugh herself. A serious illness left Ana severely depressed until she discovered Laughter Yoga.

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After reading Dr Kataria’s book， Ana tried practising making the sounds of laughter – he， he， he; ha， ha， ha – for a few minutes every day， even when she felt really bad. Eventually this became genuine laughter and years later she practises daily. She says， ‘For me， it’s an anti-depressive that has no adverse side-effects. It’s free， liberating and gives me an incredible sense of well-being.’