Kim O’Meara © Serena Kirby
The saying ‘laughter is the best medicine’ is no joke. Countless studies confirm the healing properties and mental health benefits of a good giggle. Laughter may even help you to live longer, as one study found that people with a strong sense of humour outlived those who didn’t laugh as much.
Kim O’Meara knows all about the benefits of laughter and is living proof of those benefits.
Kim suffers from CREST syndrome – a debilitating autoimmune disease where the skin thickens and hardens, and all elasticity is removed from organs and soft tissue. The most visible result of the disease can be seen on Kim’s hands and feet that are now severely curled due to shortening of the cartilage. She’s also lost multiple teeth with the disease having moved into her jaw. Adding insult to injury Kim had a stroke four years ago that left her in a wheelchair for six months.
Most of us would be depressed and debilitated by these kinds of medical issues and you’d certainly shun anyone who thought it was something to laugh about. But Kim is not like most people.
“I was given three years to live and that was 20-plus years ago, so I’ve survived way past my expiry date,” Kim says laughing.
After her diagnosis Kim tried all sorts of things to help her cope. After attending a Laughter Yoga session she noted an immediate mental health benefit. From that moment on, Kim was hooked.
Kim explains that Laughter Yoga was developed in India in the mid 1990s by Dr Madan Kataria and his wife Madhuri, a yoga teacher. The couple then travelled the world helping people laugh. There are now more than 6000 Laughter Clubs in 100 countries.
“Laughter Yoga is a group session with aerobic activity which turns fake laughter into real laughter. There’s hand-clapping, breathing exercises and laughter-making activities. The cool thing is that you get the same benefits from fake laughter as you do from real laughter. How funny is that?”
The benefits of laughter are many; it reduces stress, burns calories, strengthens the immune system and releases endorphins and other chemicals which make us feel good. As laughter is wildly contagious it makes sense that it’s also a great social connector and team builder.
Kim has now been a trained Laughter Yoga facilitator for two decades and has guided tens of thousands of people in small- and large-scale laughter sessions around Australia. She’s also on the board of not-for-profit group, Laugh WA, as well as being an official international ambassador.
As a Laughter Yoga facilitator Kim is aware that people may feel self-conscious about laughing aloud in front of a group.
“People often wonder what they look like when they laugh and often cover their mouths or faces fearing that they look funny. But the truly funny thing is that when we laugh our mind goes blank so we don’t actually register what someone else’s laughing-face looks like. Try it sometime. You’ll find it’s true.”
So next time you feel the urge to laugh, don’t hold back. Do it till your eyes water and your face aches. Do it till your belly hurts and your sides split. Think of it as a tonic for your body and mind and know that the pleasure of laughter is always multiplied when shared.
For more information on Laughter Yoga in WA visit www.laughwa.org.au or search online for a local laughter club or facilitated session.