“Your body cannot heal without play. Your mind cannot heal without laughter.
Your soul cannot heal without joy”.
—Catherine Rippenger Fenwick“
It’s been eleven years in the making of my laughter yoga business, (who would have thought). In that time of laughing with more people than I could have ever imagined, I have discovered so much about myself and others.
Becoming a gelotologist, (the study of laughter and its effects on the body, from a psychological and physiological perspective), has opened my heart and eyes to the possibilities that are available to us all.
Laughter Yoga isn’t just about having joyful heartfelt experiences but having a euphoric presence of mind.
This is why I live a stress free life, hahaha, most of the time!
Did you know that stress can be relieved by just laughing — even for no reason?
It’s all a matter of hormones.
In the brain, the hypothalamus secretes a hormone that causes the pituitary gland to secrete another hormone that causes the adrenals to secrete cortisol. It’s your body’s main stress hormone. It works with certain parts of your brain to control your mood, motivation, and fear.
When cortisol levels rise to a certain level, the hippocampus (a part of the brain important for learning and memory) and other areas of the brain tell the hypothalamus, to turn off production of cortisol. This is the correct feedback response. Too much cortisol can damage the hippocampus.
If the hippocampus can’t provide proper feedback to the hypothalamus, cortisol continues to be secreted. This, in turn, causes more damage to the hypothalamus. The hormones from the hypothalamus govern physiologic functions such as temperature regulation, thirst, hunger, sleep, mood, sex drive, and the release of other hormones within the body. Oxytocin and vasopressin are also hypothalamic hormones.
The hypothalamus uses a set-point to regulate the body’s systems, including electrolyte, fluid balance and body weight. It receives inputs from the body, and then makes the proper changes if anything differentiates from this set-point. The set-point can temporarily change, but remains remarkably fixed from day-to-day.
Laughing is the most natural way for regulating the set-point and decreasing stress throughout your internal world by bringing the hypothalamus back into homeostasis — the condition of optimal functioning for the organism such as body temperature and fluid balance, being kept within certain pre-set limits.
Laughter is the best medicine for reducing stress hormones produced in the hypothalamus section of the brain. It affects the brain cognitively, increasing your intelligence, improving your memory and your ability to process information as well as lowering blood pressure thereby reducing risk of heart attack and stroke.
And while you’re laughing the whole body, mind, heart and spirit begins to take on a new meaning and HAPPINESS is the result.
When we master our internal world, we can master our outside world.
Listen to your heart!
Love you to the moon and back!
Reference: Medically Reviewed on March 2, 2015 by Healthline Medical Team