Laughter Yoga and Cancer

The number of people suffering from cancer is rising constantly.  Research shows that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Scientists have proven that one of the  most common causes of cancer is stress. As we also know, extreme physical, mental and emotional stress weakens our immune system.

Scientific studies have proven that heartfelt laughter has a powerful and immediate strengthening effect on our immune system. Laughter quickly increases immunoglobulin levels that help fight infection and increases the number of Natural Killer Cells (NK cells) in the blood. Natural killer cells play a key role in cancer prevention. Scientist/researcher, Dr. Lee Berk  took blood samples from subjects watching humorous videos and found that natural killer cells increased significantly with laughter.

The NK cells in blood samples from laughing subjects quickly killed cancer cells he introduced into the samples.

Laughter triggers a healing effect in Cancer Patients. When someone is struck with cancer it leads to intense stress and fear. How can laughter yoga help? Laughter exercises as a physical intervention lead to real physiological and biochemical changes in our body, which have a profound effect on the development of cancer, reduces anxiety, and helps one cope with life

Laughter yoga provides a non-intellectual path to laughter. Cancer patients may be in emotional turmoil and become depressed, making it difficult for them to achieve laughter through intellectual stimuli like humorous videos. Laughter yoga approaches laughter as a body exercise that can easily be done regardless of mood.

Laughter helps counter stress and fear. Hearty laughter causes the brain to release chemicals that reduce stress within minutes. It is typical to measure a 70% reduction in stress indicators after just 10 minutes of laughter.

Laughter promotes a positive outlook. Hearty laughter quickly counters depression and negative outlook, especially when practiced within a peer group. This is partly due to chemicals released by the brain and partly due to a powerful emotional response to the group dynamics of laughter yoga.