Everyone knows that laughter makes life easier. And that Germans go to the cellar to laugh, unfortunately, too. It has been researched that the body reduces stress hormones through laughter, similar to sport. In contrast to sport, however, laughter as a burn-out prophylaxis does not have a strong lobby and is rarely associated with it. After all, it sounds too ridiculous!
Switch off your mind with laughter
Cornelia Leisch sees things very differently. The 64-year-old from Munich has written a book: Laughter Yoga with Seniors. In it and in her workshops, she dispels preconceptions. For example, that artificial laughter automatically leads to hearty laughter. Rather, it is about switching off the mind. According to her theory and life experience, those who feel rather than think find it easier to enjoy themselves.
This is because laughter automatically triggers the autonomic nervous system. “We move from the head to the body level,” says Leisch, who has been involved in laughter training for 20 years. Laughter has a similar effect to dancing or singing on the autonomic nervous system. It counteracts the sympathetic nervous system, which prepares us for performance by increasing our heart rate and blood pressure. The parasympathetic nervous system in turn activates recovery, regeneration and relaxation.
Childlike and curious attitude
But laughter cannot be commanded, it has to be teased out. In her laughter groups, Leisch encourages participants to adopt a childlike, curious attitude. In doing so, she builds a bridge to overcome the fear or shame of laughing in public. Anyone who listens to her quickly realizes that this is not about jokes or humour. Laughter training is a serious matter.
To get involved, Leisch begins her laughter sessions with instructions on how to eat lemons. “I appeal to people’s imagination,” she says. Those who follow her words imagine a lemon on their hand, inhale its scent, cut it with a knife in their imagination and take a hearty bite. This makes your mouth water and your face contort in anticipation of acidity on your tongue.
Low-threshold introduction
This low-threshold introduction helps the expert, who has been running a Sunday laughter group in Munich’s Westpark for 20 years, to break down inhibitions. Then it’s on to the real laughter. Here, too, the participants are helped by their own imagination: they imitate starting a motorcycle – with the appropriate sound, foot kick and hand movement, of course. After just a few seconds, the first ones are already laughing. And because it’s infectious, the whole group is soon cackling. The YouTube video “Grandma laughs again” gives an impression of this.
It helps to be able to laugh at your own weaknesses. To achieve this, the laughter expert also integrates various finger and clapping exercises into her workshops. These playful coordination units are challenging for some. But laughter relieves tension and stress.
Experiences with Alzheimer’s
Her experiences with the Alzheimer’s Society are exciting. In group seminars with people with early-stage dementia and their relatives, it became clear that many reach their limits with the same exercises. Regardless of whether they are cognitively impaired or healthy. And in the end, everyone laughs and no longer takes their shortcomings so seriously.
Laughter connects
An important element of the laughter sessions is eye contact. “Since coronavirus, this is hardly common in everyday life,” Leisch has observed. This makes it all the more intense for participants to look into the (smiling) eyes of the person opposite them. “It brings people into contact with each other and creates a connection,” says the trainer, who suffered from depression herself and was able to overcome it with the help of the laughter club. She therefore encourages participants to shift their own focus. Instead of moaning because the bus is driving away in front of you, people should pay more attention to the good moments. These can be found on walks or in encounters with other people.
