Have you ever heard that laughing is the best cure-all? It's also not very hard to find, unlike those pesky prescriptions. According to an Austin therapist, laughter is all around us.
"You just have to remind people to laugh everyday," said licensed laughter therapist James Green, who holds a bachelor's degree in health care administration from Texas State University - San Marcos.
Green, who works in the College of Education, became interested in the idea of holding "laughter workshops" in 1997 when he attended a meditation group and met Dr. Madan Kataria, founder and president of Laughter Club International in India.
Green has created his own laughing projects as well.
Last Saturday, Green held the first meeting of the Laughing University, where he is a "professor." Four laughing therapists in Austin are involved with the newly-founded "university." Mr. Green has also done various workshops, most of which take place at birthday parties.
"[Laughing] really increases productivity of what we do everyday," Green said."Laughter stimulates the organs. What happens when we don't get enough exercise is that our body becomes sedentary, and circulatory diminution occurs. This kind of stagnation is the doorway to disease."
Why is laughter the solution?
First of all, Green said, laughing is stimulated by touch-like tickling, for example. It stimulates circulation in the body's diaphragm and brings in fresh, oxygen-rich blood.
On Wednesday evening, Green facilitated a laughing workshop with Women in Medicine, an organization for students interested in health care.
The format of the workshop included a smiling exercise that lasted for 30 seconds. A smiling exercise simply entails partnering up with someone and having the person score your smile which will go into a "smiling account."
Another exercise Mr. Green planned was a little more scientific. The exercise is called "argumentative laughter." The theory behind this particular exercise is that laughter will manipulate the diaphragm and reduce stagnation of air in the lungs. "The session had a good opening," said Jamie Sloat, an undeclared freshman. "The laughing made me feel more connected, and I feel like I've opened up a lot more."
"I just want people to realize that laughing can and does make a difference," Green said. "I am hoping and working towards making this a world movement. Because laughing is the universal language. Would a laughing baby from Pakistan understand the smiles and laughter of another baby from Europe? Of course. This is what will close the gap to the cultural divide."
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