In the early 90s, a small group led by an Indian doctor hailing from Mumbai started the movement of laughter yoga while sitting in the park and simply laughing out loud. The movement caught on worldwide and has now included over 5,000 clubs.

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Its founders concluded that our body cannot differentiate between pretend and genuine laughter. Slowly amid scepticism, their group grew too loud and hearty laughter that persisted for over 10 minutes at times. This gave birth to laughter yoga.

The contagious laughter yoga is a popular movement that primarily includes breathing exercises to cultivate joy and let go of stressors.

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Dr Kataria, the Indian physician who discovered laughing yoga, claimed that it helps lift up the mood, improve quality of life, strengthen the immune system, increase energy levels, and give us a getaway from the hardships in life.

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Now laughter’s ability in taking away the stress in our lives is still up for debate. However, it is proven effective in decreasing our blood sugar levels.

The laughter yoga organisation quotes the Japanese scientist Murakami on their website who concluded that laughter can definitively reduce blood sugar levels.

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During his study, he found 23 genes that are activated with laughter.

He also argues that laughter reduces the release of the stress hormone cortisol which is responsible for our blood sugar levels.