World Laughter Day was born in 1995, the brainchild of Madan Kataria, a family doctor from India. While reading a psychology book, Kataria was struck by one of the ideas it explored. That acting <\/em>an emotion could actually create <\/em>the emotion. He wondered, could this be applied to laughter? <\/em>It is, in fact, thought that voluntary laughter has the same psychological and physiological effects as genuine laughter \u2014 especially as ‘fake’ laughter usually sparks the ‘real’ thing. <\/em>Kataria started small, suggesting that groups of friends get together and act <\/em>like they were laughing. The results were electric. The people could not stop<\/em> laughing \u2014 real bellyaching, knee-slapping laughter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From this exercise came Laughter Yoga<\/a> (Hasyayoga), <\/em>a form of yoga based around prolonged voluntary laughter. Sessions usually include stretching and breathing exercises interspersed with group laughter. An emphasis on eye contact helps those awkward giggles along. The Laughter Yoga movement has actually spread to around 60 countries, with at least 200 organisations in America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n OK, so fake laughter spawns real laughter \u2014 and people like to chuckle and stretch. So? Well, it turns out that laughter really is the best medicine. There\u2019s a whole host of things it’s good for, as well as <\/em>letting your mate know he\u2019s hilaaarious. Here are just a couple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In our DNA? Why yes indeed! Various studies have shown that laughter is a survival trait passed down from our monkey uncles. In fact, the \u2018origins\u2019 of laughter can be traced back to between 10 and 16 million years ago! It is thought that laughter as we know it, developed from the panting noises mammals make when playing \u2014 meaning the sound would have conveyed positive \u2018vibes\u2019. This would have strengthened bonds within a group \u2014 and as early humans began to develop more complicated social structures, being in with the in crowd <\/em>would have been essential. Chimpanzees are noted to both laugh spontaneously and <\/em>to fake laugh to join in with gigglers around them \u2014 even if they didn\u2019t hear the joke. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, the classic \u2018ha ha ha\u2019 seems to transcend borders. British neuroscientists found that even in the remotest tribes, such as the tribes of Northern Namibia, who would have had no contact with other cultures, they were still \u2018ha ha ha-ing\u2019 away. This could mean the sound is universally human, regardless of language or location \u2014 which is pretty darn cool!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We don\u2019t need to tell <\/em>you what you find amusing. You probably have your fave funny animal vids (like so!),<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wholecelium.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/wld-3.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nHa Ha Ha! So What Is It Good For? <\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Animal Magic<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow To Get Some LOLs on World Laughter Day<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n