Laughing yoga

[jagem]

A few months ago my friend Danica helped me a lot when she helped me learn to do laughing yoga. She asked me to do laughing yoga with her one day and we forced ourselves to laugh until it became harder to stop laughing. Even though she was just showing it to me as something that is fun to do, I was able to utilize it during panic attacks or when I'm feeling really depressed. Sometimes it is very hard to apply this when you are having panic attacks but if you can find a way to do it with a friend I would highly recommend it because it has helped me to relax my muscles, which is so hard for me to do in social settings and even sometimes when I'm alone. It is a very simple trick that can quickly turn the day around if you have a safe friend who likes to laugh and all you have to do is force a laugh until you aren't forcing it anymore with a friend. I really hope that this post can help anybody who is reading this who suffers from high anxiety and panic attacks. Thank you for reading this and know that I am very proud of you for being brave and fighting to not allow PTSD to limit you!

 

[shimmerz]

I went to a meditation group in Santa Monica. She was great. At the end of the meditation she did laughing meditation. OMG it was so NICE to laugh again. And with the large group it was infectious.

SO also has me laughing quite often. I seriously believe it relieves muscle tension like nothing else. And it is not a native state when one has PTSD. One has to work at it.

Why Laughter Is Good For Mental Health

Thanks for this reminder.

 

[BuckarooBanzai]

Great idea!

Here's a similar one....

When we smile, certain nerves are triggered and they send a message to the brain to release those happy chemicals, certain neurotransmitters. So, yes, smiling really does help depression greatly.

Problem is, most depressed people have a really hard time smiling. What to do?

A friend of mine, who also happens to be a therapist, instructs her depressed clients to do 'smiling exercises'. How? You put pencil between your teeth but do not allow your lips to close and so touch the pencil. This act generates a 'smile' of sorts and gets those neurotransmitters pumping. She tells clients to do this whenever they can - while driving, watching Tv, etc..

 

[Missycat]

Thanks for the thread. When im feeling low i always turn to humour to get me back on track. I also tend to use humour to hide a lot of the pain and upset.
Laughing produces endorphins and apparently a really good long laugh can burn up to 50 calories - so a win win lol :D