Do you think you could stand in a group and just laugh and laugh and laugh – despite there being nothing funny? Because there is a growing body of Hertfordshire folk who believe that chuckling for the sake of it is the key to inner peace. And science backs it up.
World Laughter Day this month (May 3) celebrates laughter yoga, which has been shown to elevate mood, burn calories, reduce stress, boost the immune system, improve memory and thinking, efficiency and performance, raise energy levels and resilience and is a great social connector. Not a bad list, hey?
Described as helping you keep fit and healthy while having fun, it is centred on the idea that just pretending to laugh induces certain responses that are good for us. As long as you are prepared to laugh – even if you don’t find anything funny – the psychological and physiological benefits are triggered. Normal daily laughter lasts only three to four seconds, whereas laughing yoga is sustained for 10-15 minutes. Oh, and apart from its name, it has nothing to do with downward dog or tree poses.
In a case of ‘fake it ‘til you make it’, the good news is that once you start simulating laughter, genuine laughter usually follows.
But if laughter exercises sound too good to be true – laughter and exercise are not typically synonymous – here are two laughter experts who can help clarify. I envision them both as extra characters in that Mary Poppins scene, everyone in hysterics on the ceiling singing Love to Laugh with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2020 من Hertfordshire Life.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2020 من Hertfordshire Life.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Explosive history
With bonfire night this month, author Harry Smee recounts the explosive story of his family’s firework company, Brock’s, creators of wonders and war-changing weapons
A Day In The Life Of... A Jewellery Designer
Laurie McGrath, senior designer at Harriet Kelsall bespoke jewellery in Halls Green, gives an insight into her working day
Sniffig out clues in THE ASHES
Meet the fire investigation dogs securing convictions against arsonists and murderers who otherwise may go free
The greatest traveller
Exploring ancient civilisations and rising powers, Violet CressyMarcks became the most travelled woman of her age. Fifty years after her death we look at her incredible life
Return of the Queen of Romance
Twenty years after the death of record-breaking novelist Dame Barbara Cartland, Gillian Thornton talks passions, plots and a new audience with her son at the family home in Essendon
In bed with CELEBS
Marking its 70th year, Welham Green soft furnishings company Ashley Wilde has grown from a pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap business into an industry leader with A-list partnerships
Roam with a view
We may not have coastline or mountains, but Herts has beautiful views all the same, if you know where to look
Saving Mrs Tiggy-Winkle
The secret life of a much-loved British mammal and simple steps we can take at home to stop its extinction
A walk down Surreal Street
Paul Crowley draws on his graphic designer’s eye to capture scenes from the country to the street, all tinged with surreality
5 minutes with
Carole Spiers, Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce member and founder of International Stress Awareness Week
