# Happiness/Laughter Yoga

<Happiness
With more than 400 laughter clubs across the United States alone, and 6000 groups worldwide, laughter yoga is seriously taking hold as a "well-bumming workout". It's an infectious workout regime that helps you to stop taking things too seriously and to concentrate on the funny side of life.

## Benefits

Laughter Yoga was started by Dr Madan Kataria in 1995. It combines gentle yoga breathing (Pranayama), stretching, and simulated unconditional laughter. When the laughter is practiced in a group setting, the laughter soon becomes genuine. Some of the benefits from laughter and Laughter Yoga include:
Health benefits: The health benefits of laughter are extensive. After laughing, the positive effects of laughter last up to 45 minutes, benefiting the cardiovascular system and reducing blood pressure;[6] indeed, studies have shown that people suffering from heart disease are 40 percent less likely to laugh in many situations compared to people without heart disease.[7] Laughter even speeds healing.
Stress relief: Laughter is a means to reduce anxiety and stress, as well as fostering a positive attitude and feeling of happiness. Within minutes of laughing, stress levels drop. It's an aerobic workout. Laughter Yoga workouts are good for your heart, diaphragm, abdominal, intercostal, respiratory, and facial muscles. As part of the "workout", endorphins are released, giving you a sense of well-being.
It restores playfulness in your life. Children laugh up to 300-400 times a day during their formative years, and this reduces to 10-15 times a day as an adult.

## Laughter Yoga

Do not take things too seriously. Concentrate on the funny side of life. Go laughing through the day. Practice Laughter Yoga. Laughter is healthy.
1. Clap your hands = We clap our hands in front of the heart chakra. We focus on the stomach and laugh "Ho, ho." We focus on the chest and laugh "Haha." Third, we change constantly between the abdomen and the chest up and down and shout, "Hoho, Haha, Hoho ...
2. Body = We lay our hands on the head and laugh in the head "Hehehe." So we can clean the head of tension. Then we lay hands on the chest and shout "Hahaha". We lay hands on the stomach and yell "Hohoho". We concentrate on the feet and trample with our feet on the ground: "Huhuhu".
3. Laughing Wave = We bow the upper body to the earth. The hands are facing down. We focus on the ground. The hands go to heaven. We wail like a siren: "Hahahaha." We make the laughing wave several times. We connect through our laughter heaven and earth.
4. Welcome laughter = Within a group, we keep eye contact and laugh, until all people are happy. At home we look in the mirror and welcome ourselves. When we look into the mirror there is always something to laugh about.
5. Hands to heaven = We extend our hands to the heaven, concentrate on our chest and laugh a minute "Hahaha."
6. Happy Mantra = We think the mantra: "May all beings be happy. Let there be a world of laughing." We see all people in the world and ourselves as a laughing Buddhas, laughing gods or laughing holinesses.

## Videos

* german laugh
* Benefits of Laughter Yoga with John Cleese (BBC)
* laughing yogi
* Laughter Yoga Steps
* LAUGHTER YOGA EXERCISE