School Students Practice Laughter Yoga to Overcome Stress

Over 2,000 students and schoolteachers of a public school in Greater Noida start their day with laughter yoga in order to overcome anger.

The practice started after the school authorities viewed Yoga coupled with laughter sessions as an ideal method to eclipse traits of aggressive behaviour among students.

The school principal has stressed the need for such sessions in the school due to increase in instances of depression among the students. She said that the laughter sessions are an attempt to include laughter as a part of their general psyche.

"Children are not getting involved in physical activity and also because of the increased competition the stress level is going up. They are all the time wanting to fulfill the dreams of their parents and teachers and consequently their lifestyle becomes lopsided. We feel that they have to regain balance and it needs conscious effort on their part," said Kamini Bhasin, Principal, Delhi Public School in Greater Noida.

“Children are bothered about the marks they get and target they need to achieve. They are forgetting how to laugh. They should use it as a stress reliever and should not be inhibited because it actually is a very very effective medicine,” she added.

She also advocated the need to inculcate stress management skills in the curriculum for its better implementation and results.

Recently, in a shootout incident at a Gurgaon school two students killed their classmate. The incident has alarmed schools about the kind of stress students are in at an impressionable age.

According to the Chairman of Institute of Laughter Yoga, laughter generates positive energy it helps in overall development of a child.

"The laughter yoga is especially beneficial for different parts of our body. We do some exercises in it and especially for the children. Children are too much stressed nowadays. Generally we think that children should normally laugh 400 times a day but they are not laughing as much,” said Jiten Kohli, Chairman of Institute of Laughter Yoga.

“We, as parents, teachers and society persons, are pressurizing them too much. The children are full of knowledge, that's why they are stressed too much and stress can only be reduced by laughing," said Kohli.

Medically it has been proved that laughter has many benefits. Laughter, even if forced, reduces stress, which in turn reduces blood pressure, heart disease, Asthama and diabetes.

"Laughter yoga creates a laugh from inside your body, so that changes the entire attitude of your mind, that provides a person development also and it is very good for children," Kohli further added.

Students, meanwhile, say such sessions are good for them.

“It helps one to take things easy and more of such extra curricular activities should be included," said Parvati Sharma, one of the students.

There are three negative hormones in our body that generates negativity, which in turn increases stress and anxiety. With laughter such negativity can be controlled.

Do you know that laughter has many different kinds? The Laughter Yoga school classifies as Namaste Laugh, Chilly Coup Laugh, Belly Laugh, Lions Laugh, Ghost Laugh, Birds, Butterfly Laugh and others.

Source-ANI
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