Laughter & Yoga

“Laughter and yoga can be powerful medicine. Medical science has long known and accepted the therapeutic value of laughter. Human beings were made to laugh. Laughter is a stress reducer in humans that lifts the spirits, makes them feel good and improves their interactions with others. In the past, happy, healthy humans spent 20 minutes a day or more in laughter. Now, the adult daily laugh time is probably five minutes or less in many countries. A regular 20-minute laughter session can have a positively affect health and well being. Laughter is no only fun but is a gentle exercise. Laughter fills the lungs and body with oxygen, clears the breathing passages and exercises the lungs. This is really important for people who don’t get regular aerobic exercise. Laughing stimulates the body to release a cocktail of hormones and chemicals that have startling positive effects on the system. Stress is reduced, blood pressure drops, depression is lifted and the immune system is boosted.” Read more

Yoga at home

Practice yoga at home?

“When I first started Hatha Yoga, asana took place in the studio—exclusively, which was, honestly, plenty posture for me. I probably won’t feel comfortable practicing at home anyway without a teacher to guide me from posture to posture safely. I also think I wouldn’t know what to do. Class after class, year after year, though, poses and their individualized soundtracks (the echoes of tag-along verbal instructions) have filed themselves into my brain and body. Now, alone on my mat, I can still hear my teacher’s oral cues walking me through Trikonasana (triangle pose), Janu Sirsasana (head-to-knee pose) and, among others, Navasana (boat pose).  Her voice is easily recalled—which I mostly welcome, except on those more tired days when I can also hear her corrections of my lazy, shoulders-up-around-my-ears modifications.” Read moe

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