Health News: The therapy group who say that laughter really is the best medicine

Published: 9 June, 2011
by PAVAN AMARA

“Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine,” the romantic poet Lord Byron famously said. 

Now, therapists in Islington are taking that advice literally with the launch of new laughter yoga classes which take its participants back to their childhood.

Whittington Hospital occupational therapist Mary Adshead and former banker Neelam Wadehra have joined forces to form Islington Laughter Club at the Hilldrop Community Centre in Community Lane.

The mix of silliness and children’s party games offers escapism and laughter which “helps your brain switch off”, according to Ms Wadehra.

“That is scientifically proven, as you are unable to think about anything else,” she said. “Everyone, bar none, has stresses, but it’s all about how you handle them. You can choose to laugh or cry at them. 

“When you laugh it massages your internal organs, it increases endorphins and it changes the way you see your life.”

Fatijah Tucker, 80, was among a group of 20 – including young professionals, pensioners and everybody in between –  when she went to her first laughter yoga class this week. 

Ms Tucker said she has already noticed a difference in her energy levels.

“I had a partial stroke a few years ago, and since then my energy levels have dipped,” she added.

“But after my first laughter class I felt like I was suddenly springing out of bed in a way I haven’t in years. I contacted the class leader, and told her, I was so pleased with the effects.”

To test its effectiveness, I went along to join a class on Sunday afternoon on Hampstead Heath.

After being asked what we expected to gain from the class we were asked to stand up and sing songs such as the Hokey Cokey while doing the movement of the children’s party game.

Then we had to play tig before pretending to laugh like Santa Clause, growl like a lion and fly like a bird. We also had to do silly voices, silly faces and silly walks. 

It was such an antidote to adult life and reminded me of when I was in primary school at lunchtime when you could forget about everything.

Although initially the laughter felt a bit forced – and teenagers were laughing at us rather than with us – the afternoon soon became delightful and the laughter genuine.

I had never felt better on a Monday morning when I woke the next day. The positive effects stayed with me. 

While it felt no different from a good laugh with friends, laughing for half an hour straight is something few adults do as regularly as they should. I may have felt stupid standing in the park faking laughter in a big circle, but the aim of this is not to take yourself too seriously. Reactions from passers-by were invaluable, from those who wanted to join in, to those who just stopped and stared in a morbidly curious fashion.

Two years ago the American Cancer Soc­iety recommended laugh­ter therapy for cancer treatment to lower stress levels in patients, improve breathing, lower blood pressure and increase muscle function. 

Two medical studies by Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, which began to use its Caring Clowns programme, found that cancer patients had less pain and slept better.

Ms Adshead, who chairs the Islington club, said: “You end up doing a lot of traditional yoga without actually realising it, because you’re having a great time. 

“This is particularly successful with addicts of all kinds, because in some ways it has the same effect as alcohol or drugs – it hits all the same spots in terms of pleasure and forgetting your problems, but it’s actually good for you, and it’s the cheapest form of therapy out there.”

• To enquire about a class – which costs £3 – call Mary Adshead on 0207 609 6145.