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Laughter Club Yuks It Up for Better Health
By
Molly Kavanaugh
LAKEWOOD, Ohio – Karl Burkhardt has no reason to apologize but has
found lots of reasons to laugh, so he looked into the eyes of a stranger
and belted out his best “I’m sorry” laugh.
Then he ambled over to another stranger and repeated the performance.
For two months, the 77-year-old retired painter has been spending
Monday nights yukking it up with others at the Open Heart Laughter Yoga
Club in Lakewood. And you know what? His buddies at Edgewater Yacht Club
have noticed a change.
“Karl is laughing more,” they say.
No kidding, say doctors and researchers who have found positive benefits
of laughter, from maintaining a healthy heart to reducing stress and depression.
Many people have heard how the late Saturday Review editor Norman
Cousins laughed himself back to health from a debilitating spinal disease
by watching funny movies. Since Cousins’ book “Anatomy of an
Illness” was published in 1979, many others have documented the benefits
of humor and laughter.
Dr. Michael Miller, a cardiologist at the University of Maryland
Medical Center, found that people with healthy hearts were more likely
to use humor and laughter than people with heart disease. In another study,
Miller found that people who watched funny movies like “There’s
Something About Mary” had increased blood flow to the heart compared
with those who watched sad movies like “Saving Private Ryan.”
Lee Berk, who has a doctorate in public health, and his team of researchers
at Loma Linda University in California found that the anticipation of “mirthful
laughter” increased hormones that alleviate depression and enhance
immunity. In a second study, the team found that this same anticipation
reduced stress hormones.
Dr. William Fry, psychiatrist and professor emeritus at Stanford
University, has studied humor and laughter for years and has found that
it helps maintain a healthy heart. One minute of laughter equals 10 minutes
on the rowing machine, he says.
“There are promising signs of the value of laughter,” said
Heath Demaree, associate professor of psychology at Case Western Reserve
University.
The idea of getting people together to laugh in clubs began in India
13 years ago. Dr. Madan Kataria was in the middle of writing a magazine
article about the benefits of laughter when he got the brainstorm to round
up friends and head to a park to practice laughing.
The scheme spread. Now there are more than 8,000 laughter clubs meeting
in 60 countries, including one in California that meets daily on the beach.
To get people laughing, Kataria initially told jokes, but the Mumbai
physician quickly ran out of good material. Since fake laughter produces
the same health benefits as genuine laughter, he turned to prompts, such
as telling the crowd to laugh like a lion or to greet one another with
a laugh.
It didn’t take long for the fake laugh to become real.
Kataria’s wife, a yoga teacher, added breathing exercises and gentle
stretching to the routine, and now thousands of people have been trained
to lead laughter clubs using Kataria’s method.
Holistic practitioner Pamela Venus attended weekend training in Philadelphia
and has been leading the Lakewood laughter club since October.
“We’re really into the joy here,” she tells the 15 people
who recently gathered in the community room at the condominium complex
where
she lives.
Venus asks the participants, ranging in age from 16 to 80, to keep
the mood positive before and after class, avoiding such controversial topics
as politics.
During class, only Venus talks as she instructs the participants
to walk around the room, look each other in the eyes and exchange a shy
laugh, a bullfrog laugh, an appreciative laugh, a flying-bird laugh and
so on. The hourlong class begins with gentle stretching exercises and ends
with guided meditation.
The newcomers quickly catch on as the veterans ham it up with facial
expressions and hand gestures.
“I was shocked at the fake laughter and how quickly it became genuine,” says
Pat Murray after attending her first class.
Murray expected more yoga but was not disappointed by the evening
and plans to return. “It’s fun to be with people who are up,” she
says.
Venus now does laughing exercises daily and has seen positive changes
in her life. “When I do get stressed out, it’s not as much
and it’s for a much shorter period of time,” she says.
And her new favorite word? Laughalicious.
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