Laughter Yoga for Mental Health Awareness Week in London Laughter Yoga, it's so much more than just a laugh!!

Very busy last week with no less than 8 workshops, mostly Laughter Yoga for Mental Health Awareness Week. Fabulous to see so many different organisations and corporations embracing Mental Health Awareness.

I would be really surprised if each and every one of us is not affected by MH issues at some point in our lives, be it us personally or someone we know.

I know how it feels to suffer the effects of stress, panic attacks and depression and I am thankful to have found Meditation at that time in my life.  Meditation was my support tool until I had the strength to move away from an unhealthy working environment.

Actually all that pain and misery was to be the making of me, drawing me to explore complimentary and holistic health and wellbeing methods and tools that I now work with to help others.

I now run Laughter Yoga Wellness London & UK. We offer various holistic health and wellbeing workshops and therapies that help people feel better in the workplace, including Laughter Yoga Wellbeing Workshops, Sound Meditation, EFT, Massage, Meditation and more offerings being added all the time.

Did you know ?

Approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year.

In England, 1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health problem (such as anxiety and depression) in any given week.

You can check out more unbelievable and interesting stats over at www.mind.org.uk

Fantastic Feedback from Imperial College where I held two laughter yoga wellbeing workshops for their Staff and Teachers as part of their #mhaw17 programme. How awesome, to be the highlight of their programme. Looking forward to more workshops at Imperial College.

Check out the lovely feedback

Thank you Odette, it was the highlight of our Mental Health Awareness Week programme. Something so different, fun and beneficial to staff stress levels and overall health. “

Some more feedback from participants at our Laughter Yoga Workshops for Mental Health Awareness Week with a few Media companies. All participants remarked on how less stressed they felt after the workshops.

It was lovely. Great to finish on Yoga Nidra

Fully enjoyed the session – really wasn’t sure how I would find it, but I loved it

Loved it !!

Great Fun, Feel energised and relaxed

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but loved it and feel very calm and happy now!

Really different and fun.

Really interesting session – never practised laughter yoga before and I definitely saw a difference in my mood.

I loved this session and would recommend this to everyone!!

Really good fun! Can we do it every Week?

It was great to get out of my comfort zone.

It was great! Very relaxing and uplifting!

Relaxed – like being a kid again.

Laughter Yoga is so much more than, Just a Laugh. Really this is a very powerful Holistic Health and Wellbeing tool.

Why Laughter Yoga ?

1. Elevates Mood
2. Reduces Stress
3. Strengthens the immune system
4. Relieves Pain
5. Social Connecter and Team Builder
6. Helps to improve efficiency and performance.
7. Energy Boost
8. Laughing through Challenges. It provides strength in adversity, a coping mechanism to help people keep a positive mental attitude regardless of circumstances.

Contact us for more info on making a difference to the health and wellbeing of your staff.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month Mental Health Awareness Week 8th to 14th May

Mental health problems are all too common in the workplace and it is the leading cause of sickness absence. A staggering 70 million work days are lost each year due to mental health problems in the UK, costing employers approximately £2.4 billion per year.
It is good to see so many businesses, charities, universities and colleges all embracing Mental Health Awareness month with many events planned and I am pleased to say we have already booked in several laughter workshops.
Mental Health Awareness Week is on 8-14 May 2017 and this is one of our busiest weeks so do book in early!! https://laughteryogawellness.co.uk/contact/

Laughter and Mental Health

There are various scholarly and research articles on the subject of Laughter and Mental Health. Many of the known physiological and psychological benefits are supported by the medical profession and various research studies.

A few links to some interesting articles on the subject of mental health and laughter.

Therapeutic Benefits of Laughter in Mental Health: A Theoretical Review. by Yim J. For the full article please visit  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27439375

In Summary – In modern society, fierce competition and socioeconomic interaction stress the quality of life, causing a negative influence on a person’s mental health. Laughter is a positive sensation, and seems to be a useful and healthy way to overcome stress. Laughter therapy is a kind of cognitive-behavioral therapies that could make physical, psychological, and social relationships healthy, ultimately improving the quality of life. Laughter therapy, as a non-pharmacological, alternative treatment, has a positive effect on the mental health and the immune system. In addition, laughter therapy does not require specialized preparations, such as suitable facilities and equipment, and it is easily accessible and acceptable. For these reasons, the medical community has taken notice and attempted to include laughter therapy to more traditional therapies. Decreasing stress-making hormones found in the blood, laughter can mitigate the effects of stress. Laughter decreases serum levels of cortisol, epinephrine, growth hormone, and 3,4-dihydrophenylacetic acid (a major dopamine catabolite), indicating a reversal of the stress response. Depression is a disease, where neurotransmitters in the brain, such as norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin, are reduced, and there is something wrong in the mood control circuit of the brain. Laughter can alter dopamine and serotonin activity. Furthermore, endorphins secreted by laughter can help when people are uncomfortable or in a depressed mood. Laughter therapy is a noninvasive and non-pharmacological alternative treatment for stress and depression, representative cases that have a negative influence on mental health. In conclusion, laughter therapy is effective and scientifically supported as a single or adjuvant therapy.

Laughter and depression: hypothesis of pathogenic and therapeutic correlation. by Fonzi L  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20380236

Laughter is a very common behaviour in everyday life, nevertheless scientific literature is lacking in studies which examine closely its nature. The study aims are: to summarise the present knowledge about laughter and its relation with depression and to make hypotheses on its possible therapeutic function. In the first part of the review the main data existing about encephalic structures involved in laughter genesis, which show participation of cortical and subcortical regions, are reported and the effects of laughter on the organism physiologic equilibrium, particularly on the neuroendocrine and immune systems, are described. In the second part, scientific evidence about the influence of depression on the ability to laugh are referred, which suggests that reduction of laughter frequency is a symptom of the disease and that its increase may be used as a marker of clinical improvement. Finally, the main assumptions supporting the hypothesis of the therapeutic action of laughter on depression are examined: first of all, it has been demonstrated that laughter is able to improve mood directly and to moderate negative consequences of stressful events on psychological well-being; in addition, it is possible that the stimulation of particular cerebral regions, involved in depression pathogenesis, and the normalisation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenocortical system dysfunctions, both mediated by laughter, can counteract efficiently depressive symptoms; finally, the favourable effects of laughter on social relationships and physical health may have a role in influencing the ability of depressed patients to face the disease.

Reasons to adding a laughter workshop to your event and just some of the amazing benefits from our laughter yoga wellness workshops.
 
1. Elevates Mood
2. Reduces Stress
3. Strengthens the immune system
4. Relieves Pain
5. Social Connecter and Team Builder
6. Helps to improve efficiency and performance.
7. Energy Boost
8. Laughing through Challenges. It provides strength in adversity, a coping mechanism
to help people keep a positive mental attitude regardless of circumstances.
Contact us to add a laughter wellbeing workshop to your event or conference.

Laughter Yoga for Cancer Patients – Laughter is the best Medicine

Yesterday was World Cancer Day with lots of events happening worldwide.

As a recent Laughter Yoga Leader graduate, I was invited by my mentor Lotte from United Mind to participate in a laughter yoga session she was facilitating for Macmillan nurses and cancer patients at the Whittington Hospital in London.

This was part of the final offering of the day at the Macmillan cancer conference run by Macmillan Cancer Support at the Whittington.

laughter

Wow!! Wow!! Such an incredible afternoon. It was a real honour to witness what I can only call “laughter medicine”  in action and where it is so needed. A truly incredible experience and to see so many people taken away from their worries and illness for that moment was wonderful. This is powerful stuff!!!

My highlight was at the end when one lady literally could not stop laughing. I am so thankful I have added laughter to my holistic toolbox, it feel so right and I can’t wait to get started and add some Gong!. The session ends in a grounding meditation so it will be like a perfectly fitting glove to end in a gong bath meditation. 

I will soon be taking bookings for Laughter Gong Workshops tailored to suit and benefit both Corporate and NHS well-being clients.

Click to see a list of our Laughter Workshops and Services https://laughteryogawellness.co.uk/wellnessservices/

 

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