Unit 10: Healthy Lifestyle And Longevity - Speaking

Discover how laughter can work for you! You’ve probably heard the expression “Laughter is the best medicine”. Scientists and medical doctors now agree that laughter can help people to deal with stress and anger. Research has shown that people who feel happy and relaxed are healthier and have better relationships. Laughter Yoga is a series of exercises. Laughter Yoga teaches you to laugh for no reason. You don’t have to have a sense of humour, or understand funny jokes. You just have to laugh. When you do Laughter Yoga in a group, you laugh and do yoga breathing, so that you increase the amount of oxygen in your body. Soon the laughter exercises turn into real laughter. After a laughter yoga class, you feel calm and relaxed, but also full of energy and happy. Laughter Yoga was developed by Dr. Kataria, a doctor from India. Laughter Yoga classes started in Mumbai in 1995 with just five people, and now there are over 6,000 laughter clubs in sixty different countries. Julie Whitehead was one of the first people in the UK to become a Laughter Yoga teacher with Dr. Kataria. She says, “Yoga has been a part of my life for thirty years, but in 2002 my life changed when I discovered Laughter Yoga. I am particularly interested in health and well­being.” She is a member of Laughter Network, a group of professionals who want to bring more laughter, health, and happiness into people’s lives. They run Laughter Yoga classes and workshops in the UK, and Julie runs Laughter Yoga holidays in Turkey, Egypt, Spain, and Morocco. Laughing is good for the body and the mind. When we laugh, we breathe more oxygen into our body, which helps to keep us healthy. Endorphins, or happy chemicals, are released in the body, and you feel more relaxed and happy. Laughter also brings people together to share some fun. Companies who have run Laughter Yoga workshops find that they have advantages for both employers and employees. People who are happy at work are more hard-working and make more money for the company. Also, people who laugh together communicate more successfully. In general, people do better at work when they feel happy and relaxed. If you’re not sure about Laughter Yoga, remember this, children laugh 300-400 times a day, but adults only laugh around fifteen times a day. Get more laughter in your life - you can feel the change in you, and when you change, the world changes. Laughter is really the best medicine.