History of LaughterHistory of Therapeutic Laughter
Last Updated (Saturday, 08 November 2008 14:57) Written by mlaskin Monday, 09 October 2006 00:33
Some date using laughter or humor in a therapeutic way as far back as 5,000 years to Tibetan Buddhist laughter practices. Other experts attribute the movement beginning with Norman Cousins’ book, “Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by a Patient,” which was first published in 1979. Cousins described the experience of obtaining pain relief by watching comedy films. Using humor and laughter to promote positive benefits has been a movement that has grown across the world. The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH) was formed in 1987 for the purpose of providing and disseminating information about applied and therapeutic humor though a variety of settings.
The term “Laughter Yoga” was coined by Dr. Madan Kataria, a physician from India, with his yoga teacher wife Madhuri in 1995. Dr. Kataria was researching the benefits of laughter for an article he was writing. Looking into existing literature in support for the health benefits of laughter inspired him to start a “Laughter Club” in his hometown. The group initially told jokes to each other to stimulate laughter, but it was soon evident that what people find funny differs from individual to individual. Dr. Kataria realized that the body does not know the difference between “real” laughter and “fake” laughter. The same biochemical changes occur in the body with the physical motion of laughter. The doctor and his wife developed exercises that simulated laughter for the club members to do. This led to the discovery that simulated laughter often leads to stimulated laughter. This is even more likely to occur if the participants make eye contact and interact with each other. Dr. Kataria has since founded Laughter Yoga International (laughteryoga.org), an organization promoting the formation of Laughter Clubs around the world.
Steve Wilson, an American psychologist who had a long interest in therapeutic humor, was on a lecture tour in India in 1998 when he attended a laughter club in Mumbai (Bombay). He was inspired to bring the phenomenon to the United States, and invited Dr. Kataria to tour the United States with him and Karyn Buxman, MS, RN, to help “spread the message of the power of laughter around the world.” Out of these seeds arouse World Laughter Tour, Inc. (worldlaughtertou.com), which Steve envisioned as a way to “get the laughter ball rolling.” It includes, but is not limited to, a mission, curriculum, and structure for training others in the use of therapeutic laughter to become Certified Laughter Leaders (CLL’s). World Laughter Tour is backed by a Professional Advisory Committee and a support mechanism for its CLL’s to network and stay current on the latest scientific research on the benefits of laughter.
Whether you attend a Laughter Club led by a leader trained by Laughter Yoga International, or World Laughter Tour, the activities will be similar. Both groups include in their mission to promote world peace through the spreading of laughter.
