WORLD LAUGHTER DAY Surely, laughter is the best medicine

Sheela Seharawat

The gift of life is awarded only once and to make it worth it is important that we – Live Every Moment, Laugh Every Day and Love Unconditionally Everyone. Love and laugh are the two most invaluable possessions that mankind has been gifted with and has the abilities to control human mind and makes our life worth living.

There’s no doubt that it is good to share some laugh with others as it makes us and others happy, but it has also the ability to improve our health. Scientifically it is proven that laughter can strengthen our immune system, boost our mood, reduce pain, and can protect us from the damaging effects of stress. By finding more opportunities to laugh and share, we can easily improve our emotional health by finding bigger happiness and strengthening relationships and even add more years to our life.

 In order to raise awareness about laughter and many of its health positives and healing advantages, worldwide the World Laughter Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of the month of May. It was created in 1998 by Dr Madan Kataria, founder of the Worldwide Laughter Yoga movement. He says, “When you laugh, you change and when you change, the whole world changes around you.”

As a manifestation of world peace and to build a global consciousness of brotherhood and friend ship through laughter and happiness has been the main motive behind celebrating the World Laughter Day. It is said that the shortest distance between two points is a smile, but in this case, the curve of a smile has now reached more than 105 countries in the celebration of laughter through more than 6,000 Laughter Clubs. What began as a Laughter Club has now brought the world together for a non-racial and non-profit cause with only happiness as the main motive behind it.

How can laughter act as the best medicine for our health?

An open hearted and free laugh relieves you from physical stress and tensions, leaving our muscles relaxed and smoothened even up to 45 minutes after you have last laughed, thus in a way relaxing the whole body. Here are some valuable health benefits that we derive when we laugh:

• Protects the heart: Helps in improving the functionality of blood vessels, thereby regularising blood flow and as a result, it reduces chances of heart attacks and other cardiovascular ailments.
• An immunity booster: Reduces stress hormones and increases immune cells and antibodies to fight infections and thereby improving the body’s resistance to fight diseases.
• Makes you thinner: Perhaps it is not any replacement therapy for gym exercises or any physical activity but it is a proven fact that laughing for almost for 15-20 minutes a day helps lose weight by burning calories.
• Helps in relaxation and recharge: Reduces stress and increases the energy levels enabling us to stay more focussed and do more mindfully.
• Lightens you from the heavy load of anger and anxiety: Nothing in this world can diffuse and anxiety caused because of it better than a small dose of laughter. Looking at things in a lighter mood can turn problems into perspective and enable you to move away from confrontations, without holding onto bitterness or resentment.

When did you learn to laugh?

Well, we all laughed the first week we came onto this world but with demands to life, stress, tensions, family and professional life pressures and many other reasons we have forget to laugh and lost the most precious gift we were granted. But it’s never late, let’s start now:

• Smile: Is the beginning of a laughter and is as contagious as laughter.
• Whenever you hear laughter, move towards it: people are very happy to share something funny as it gives them the opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humour you find in it.
• Spend time with people who are funny and laughing. This will make you also smile and laugh as they do.

Sheela Seharawat is founder and chief mentor,
Diet Clinic Health Care Pvt Ltd