Dr. Kataria: I was writing an article for a health magazine.   I used to edit a magazine called, My Doctor, and I started writing an article titled "Laughter is the Best Medicine."  I was researching the benefits of laughter, and I found so many benefits.  Also, nobody laughs and I was stressed out too - writing a publication - and I thought, "Oh I need to laugh more!"  So it came to my mind, "Why not start a laughter club?"  So  I went to a public park near my house, and started a laughter club.   People would see me and say, "Hey Doc, are you okay?" and I'd say, "Yes I'm okay."  We started with 5 people, and I would tell jokes in the beginning. The jokes became negative, though, and people said to stop the laughter club.  I said, "No, don't stop the laughter club. We'll find a way to laugh without jokes."  And someone asked, "How?" " I said, "I don't know, I'll find out." I was reading a book about "emotions and health," and I read something beautiful about laughter:  "If you can't laugh, begin laughing."  Fake laughter!  So I said, okay, and we started faking laughter.  We had about 50 people, and we would just start laughing, Soon fake laughter becomes real laughter.  When you laugh you exhale longer. Yoga breathing is based on the fact that when you exhale longer, your body gets more oxygen.  Next, we started 3 social laughter clubs, and then all over India and today, they are in 70 countries.    

Dr. Stair: What are some of the effects laughter has on mood and negative emotion?   

Dr. Kataria:   Laughter can change your mood within seconds by releasing chemicals in your brain called endorphins. It's an antidepressant. Laughter unwinds the negative effects of stress.  It helps you to heal better, and 80 to 90 % percent of illnesses are due to stress. It gives you more oxygen, and the brain needs oxygen for optimal function.   It's also a great way to connect people. There are many social benefits of laughter and one's quality of life depends on the quality of relationships one has. Laughter builds very strong relationships.  Everyone wants to be with the happy people. Nobody wants to be with the grumpy person.  Laughter keeps you in a positive mental state.  We are surrounded by negativity every day and if you keep your mind positive by laughing every day, you will have a better life. Why is laughter unique?  Everyone knows laughter is the best medicine, but what kind of laughter is beneficial?  If you laugh for at least 10-15 minutes, then it brings physical and biological changes.  If you laugh only 5-10 seconds, it does not change your physiology.  Laughter needs to be sustained.  A little bit of laughter doesn't affect us much. 

Dr. Stair: What's laughter's affect on depression?    

Dr. Kataria:  It's not a cure for depression but it helps.  I have seen hundreds of depressed patients all over the world, and by joining laughter yoga they can release a lot of emotions and heal from depression quickly.  Psychiatrists are referring patients to laughter yoga. Even people suffering from cancer are doing laughter yoga.  The Anderson Cancer center in  Texas is using laughter yoga. Michigan university has a laughter yoga integrated in its health programs.  Dr. Andrew Weil, very good friend of mine, endorses laughter yoga completely.   He says, "Laughter yoga can help reduce healthcare costs significantly."     

Dr. Stair:  I saw a video clip of you using laughter yoga in prisons?   

Dr. Kataria: Absolutely!  Prisoners have a lot of anger, and they aren't able to express their anger.  Laughter yoga allows them to do that. I did laughter yoga in 5 or 6 prisons in India, and in  Mexican prisons last year. 

To find out more about laughter yoga, please visit Dr. Kataria's official Laughter Yoga website and stay tuned for his new book, "Laugh for No Reason."