Wednesday, December 31, 2008

HA-tha yoga


My friends, meet Ruth Gluxon. She is sticking her tongue out to laugh in an exercise during a laughter yoga class. She says she's worked with cancer patients who say that laughter therapy relieves some of their pain. LAUGHTER YOGA! WHAT A CONCEPT!
This is fascinating to me because I usually take my yoga classes very seriously, too seriously now I fear.
It started in India 15 years ago, when a physician, Dr. Madan Kataria, came up with the idea of free, public laughing clubs. He started out by gathering a few friends in a park in Mumbai.
Kataria claims laughing regularly helps boost the immune system, lowers blood pressure and lifts depression. He went on tour as a sort of laughter evangelist, and his laughing was contagious. Now, there are an estimated 5,000 laughing clubs in 53 countries: throughout India, Europe and of course, in southern California.
So, this leads me to ask...why isn't there a laughing club where I live?! Actually I already laugh nonstop with my family and friends, so I probably wouldn't need to go. But still, it's a nifty idea, don't cha think?

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