Laughter…the Best Medicine…Now at Emerald Square

Jan. 11, 2011 - PRLog -- In March 1995, Dr. Madan Kataria was writing an article ‘Laughter - The Best Medicine’ for a health journal. In his research, he discovered many modern scientific studies, describing in depth, the many proven benefits of laughter on the Human mind and body. In particular, Dr. Kataria was impressed by Norman Cousins' book Anatomy of an Illness and the research work by Dr. Lee Berk.

Among Dr. Kataria’s discoveries: “Our body cannot differentiate between pretend and genuine laughter. Both produced the same ‘Happy Chemistry’.” In an experimental group, pretend laughter quickly turned into real laughter - this was contagious and in no time others followed. Soon the group was laughing like never before. The hearty laughter that followed persisted for almost ten minutes. This breakthrough was the birth of Laughter Yoga.
Realizing that there are ways other than humor to stimulate laughter, Dr. Kataria developed a range of Laughter Exercises including elements of role-play and other techniques from his days as an amateur theater actor. Giving a thought to the importance of childlike playfulness, he developed further techniques to stimulate this within the group.
As Yoga practitioners, Dr. Kataria and his wife Madhuri, Co-Founder of Laughter Yoga, saw the similarities between Laughter and Pranayama exercises, and incorporated elements from this ancient form of Yoga into Laughter Yoga, including the deep breathing exercises now used between Laughter Exercises, to deepen the impact.
The result - Laughter Yoga: A blend of Yogic Deep Breathing, Stretching, and Laughter Exercises that cultivate child-like playfulness.
For over fifteen years, this practice has grown across continents so that there are now over 6,000 ‘Laughter Yoga’ Clubs across the world. Now, we are brining this fun form of exercise to Emerald Square and sharing it with the community. Local Laughter Yoga Trainer Ellen Mercer is hosting classes Tuesdays and Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. at Emerald Square Senior Community, 701 N Council, Oklahoma City, Ok. The community is invited to join us for this great exercise experience and ‘pick me up’ session. The class is free. Donations to the instructor are appreciated!

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Emerald Square is OKC's best kept secret in senior living. Offering both independent and assisted living options, this senior community is convenient to NW, SW OKC, Bethany, Warr Acres, Yukon and Mustang areas.