Laughing … as wonderful as it sounds
Research has shown that laughing lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, and boosts immune functions. It also triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, and fosters general spiritual sunniness. All this has encouraged doctors to prescribe laughter to gloomy patients.
Endorsement of the proverbial wisdom about laughter's health-giving properties arrives from Bombay, where a local doctor has instigated a trend for medicinal 'laughing clubs'. Dr Madan Kataria, who propounds a mirth-inducing posture technique derived from yoga, set up the Priydarshini Park laughing club in 1995. Since then, more than 100 laughing clubs have been rapidly established after his model right across India.