Yoga and stress relief are linked, studies show
It is often said that laughter is one of the best kinds of medicine out there. Giggling with loved ones or friends over a funny movie, or sharing a funny joke with co-workers, can be one of the best ways to ease stress, tension and anxiety. What better way than to combine these benefits with those of yoga, by simultaneously chuckling and engaging in the holistic mind-body regimen?
This idea has taken root at fitness studios across the U.S., as instructors seek to incorporate lightheartedness into their classes. The marriage of yoga and stress relief has met with such success that sessions are cropping up at countless gyms, particularly in light of research studies that have shown the considerable health benefits of laughing.
In 2000, a team of cardiologists from the University of Maryland reported that a hearty guffaw shared among friends may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular illnesses.
"Researchers found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations, compared to people of the same age without heart disease," the authors wrote in their report.
Many yoga instructors took these findings to heart. Anne Timpany, for example, confessed to The Republic that she had been laughing all her life, even before giving birth to her children. Reading about the study convinced her to spread her love of chuckling to others, and she opened a laughing yoga studio several months later.
The students gather to stretch, pose, breathe deeply and share funny jokes or stories, a weekly routine that has helped many of them see the bright side of life and improve their health at the same time.
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Tags: laughter, severe foot pain (foot pain), yoga and stress relief (stress relief)
