According to Dr Madan Kataria, the Indian based physician and founder and president of Laughter Clubs International, laughter may indeed be the best of all medicines.

In March, 1995, Dr Kataria was writing an article called Laughter – The Best Medicine for a health magazine. In the course of his research he discovered large amounts of scientific literature on the benefits of laughter on the human mind and body; including research work undertaken by Dr. Lee S. Berk from Loma Linda University, California, who showed how mirthful laughter reduced the stress hormone levels in the body and the effects of laughter on the immune system.

From here Dr Kataria developed a form of laughter therapy called Hasya Yoga - hasya means laughter in Sanskrit – that combines deep, controlled breathing and stretches with various types of forced laughter.

Kataria’s laughter therapy began in India with small groups of people who met regularly for morning walks. Pre-walk sessions began with what Dr Kataria called his laughter cocktail which included hearty laughter, greeting laughter, open-mouthed silent laughter, humming laughter and swinging laughter, with arm movement.

Each laughter is sustained for up to 45 seconds, and followed with deep breathing and stretching exercises.

Kataria likens the use of abdominal muscles during the practice of forced laughter to yoga exercises which tone the digestive system, emphasizing that strong abdominal muscles contribute to a healthy digestive system.

“Life can be a challenge,” Kataria admits, “It helps if you’re able to laugh.” In fact, he claims the benefits are positively life-enhancing. Not only does laughter help you to lose your inhibitions and gain self-confidence, Dr Kataria explains that by embracing the spirit of laughter, it’s possible to achieve a more positive outlook on life, as well as improved lung capacity and abdominal tone.

For more information about Hasya Yoga or Laughter Clubs International, visit Kataria’s Web site at www.worldlaughtertour.com or visit www.laughteryogaireland.org

You know how it is…… the more sugar you eat, the more you want. When you tuck into a slice of cake, the sweet taste triggers the brain to produce chemical messengers which identify the taste as desirable. It also triggers the brain to produce dopamine, another chemical messenger which works with memory, urging you to seek out this rewarding taste in the future.

As the food industry relentlessly markets every fad diet and product by creating food designed for men, children, athletes, pregnant women, people eating in cars etc, Irish people are forgetting how to eat healthily and happily. Eating mindfully can help you make better choices about what you eat.

Mindfulness is an Eastern/Buddhist meditation concept that provides helpful skills for altering problematic eating and body image issues. It’s a positive approach to gaining insight, control over unhealthy eating habits and accepting your body and self as you are.

A mindful eater is non-judgmental, compassionate and above all aware of the taste, texture and process of eating. Being mindful is about being conscious of why you are eating. Are you hungry? Are you tired? Are you bored? There is no menu or recipe to follow. It’s about learning HOW and WHY you eat, and less about WHAT you eat.

When you are so closely in touch with what is going on inside, you know the exact moment you are satisfied rather than stuffed or starving. When you are watchful, you notice how your stomach expands and feels fuller. You experience each bite from start to finish by slowing down every aspect of the eating process to be fully aware of each movement, swallow, aroma and feeling derived from eating.

Be attentive to your body, your mind and your thoughts as you eat, and be consciously aware and attentive of your food choices, your body and nutritional needs. Eat, drink & be mindful!

Mindfulness was once the preserve of the yoga class, where it is used to focus the energy of consciousness and serves as a prelude to meditation.

Now it’s everywhere. Mindfulness has even made it on to The Oprah Winfrey Show – Jon Kabat-Zinn recently led a guided meditation on-air for the millions watching.

I’ve read articles on it’s effectiveness in weekend magazine supplements and monthly glossies, where it is promoted as a cure-all for everything from lowering high blood-pressure, to reducing heart disease and alleviating depression.

But what is mindfulness and how do we practice it?

Mindfulness can help alleviate physical and psychological pain by allowing us to mentally step back from and observe our own discomfort from a distance. Kabat-Zinn described it as “paying attention, on purpose, in a particular way and non-judgmentally”. The idea is to disengage from the content of (particularly) our negative thoughts instead of becoming immersed in them. Once we become a witness we view the thoughts with greater clarity and objectivity. We re-perceive our experiences, moving ourselves from subject to object.

They say that consistent mindfulness practice also creates life-long resiliency to life’s difficulties as it has been shown to rewire the brain for positive emotions and from a yoga point of view, I think there’s something in that. In a yoga class this begins with the teacher reminding her students to focus on their breath and act dispassionately towards the random thoughts passing through as they meditate.

You don’t have to be in a yoga class to become mindful:
• take a step back from your internal experience as it unfolds
• bring your intention to be present in the here and now
• focus your attention by staying with the experience as it arises
• bring an attitude of curiosity, openness, and acceptance to whatever arises

Next time – the connection between mindfulness, food and weight loss

Many thanks for your responses and tips following my previous posting on air fresheners. Some further tips are included below.

Our return to naturally-derived ingredients makes effective cleaning products, saves us money as well as cutting down on environmental pollution.

Most of these natural ingredients, such as baking soda, washing soda, white distilled vinegar and a spray bottle, can be found in the kitchen. Mix them with environmentally friendly cleaning products or all-natural pure essential oils from the local health food shop, such as vanilla extract, lavender or eucalyptus, and you can easily transform your home into a non-toxic and healthy haven.

For the kitchen and bathroom …..Keep a clean spray bottle filled with straight vinegar beside your cutting board and spray the vinegar on your cutting board before going to bed at night. Don’t bother rinsing, just let it set overnight. The smell of vinegar evaporates within a few hours. (Pure vinegar is also great for cleaning the toilet rim. Just spray it on and wipe off).

For a general de-odoriser…..
Place 1 to 2 teaspoons of natural vanilla extract in a small cup anywhere you would like the air to be freshened. The vanilla bean contains odour-reducing properties.

Also…..
Mists and sprays are an easy way to add natural scent to your home and they are proven allies in the fight against germs.
Using all-natural pure essential oils and an eye-dropper mix together;
20 drops sweet orange essential oil
10 drops lavender essential oil
10 drops eucalyptus essential oil

Add 8 drops to a cup of purified or distilled water in a spray bottle, shaking to mix. This makes enough for five cups of mist. Use liberally on non-staining surfaces or simply spray upward in the center of the room, being sure to avoid contact with eyes.

While the prevalence of asthma in Ireland has been linked to the increased use of environmental pollutants, there have also been links made between other health issues and specific pollutants such as domestic air fresheners.

A study by the University of Bristol called “Children of the ’90s” which monitored the health and development of 14,000 children from before birth, analyzed the effects of ingredients in air fresheners. The results showed 32% more babies suffered diarrhoea in homes where air fresheners were used every day, compared with homes where they were used once a week or less. Moreover they had significantly more earaches in these homes.

Air fresheners also affected mothers. Those who used them daily suffered nearly 10% more headaches. Perhaps most surprising is the finding that women who lived in homes with daily air freshener use had a 26 percent increased risk of depression.

What alternatives are there?

Remove bad odours instead of masking them
• Open windows
• Use non-toxic products.
• Empty rubbish frequently
• Burn 100 % pure beeswax candles as they purify and clean the air
• Use an open box of baking soda
• Use indoor plants to clear carbon dioxide and other toxins

Perfume the air with natural scents
• Simmer cinnamon and cloves, fresh ginger, or herbs in water
• Simmer water with a drop or two of your favorite pure essential oil
• Use organic sachets and potpourris

Next time we’ll give some more simple recipes for home-made air fresheners

In the past 20 years there has been a considerable increase in the prevalence of asthma in Ireland. Estimates vary but according to the Asthma Society of Ireland, as many as 470,000 people in Ireland are asthmatic.

Environmental pollution is thought to be one of the likely causes, either due to a great change in the external environment over this period (allergic substances, pollution, smoking) or due to a change in our bodies’ response to the external environment.

Most sufferers are prescribed inhalers for their condition and it goes without saying that whatever asthma medication has been prescribed for you by your doctor – you keep taking it.  But in conjunction you could also try this yogic breathing tip.

Sit in a comfortable chair with your back straight, both feet flat on the floor and hands sitting loosely on your lap. Focus on your breath and breathe through your nose. Asthmatics are often chronic mouth breathers but it is very important to breathe through your nose as much as possible. Air breathed in through the nose is filtered, warmed and moistened, making it just right for sensitive airways. Nose breathing also promotes correct diaphragmatic action since it makes hyperventilation more difficult.

You may protest that you have to breathe through your mouth because your nose is always blocked. But did you know that a chronically blocked nose can be a result of poor breathing, instead of the other way around?
Try this for 5 minutes a day initially, building up to 10-15 minutes over time. If your mind wanders then just gently bring your attention back to your breath.
You’ll notice the difference.

And finally to the Niyamas…..
When Patanjali wrote his Yoga Sutras in 500BC, it wasn’t as an attempt to control human behaviour based on moral imperatives. The sutras don’t imply that we are bad or good based upon how we act. Instead they imply that if we choose certain behaviour we get certain results.
The Yamas or the wise characteristics are the first step in the practice. Next are the Niyamas or ethical codes. There are 5 of them. Lets look at how following them can lead to a sustainable society.
• Shaucha/ Purity; keeping the earth’s resources preserved and untouched; preventing pollution; preventing financial impropriety
• Santosha/ Contentment; being satisfied with what we have; not being greedy for more money or more material things; recognising that natural resources are limited and not always seeking to take more of them
• Tapas/ Energy; realising how every individual can direct their energy to make a difference – reducing, reusing, recycling,
• Swadhyaya/ Self-study; understanding the link between mind and body; the links between consumer needs in the west and the developing world; the effects of our actions on the environment
• Ishvarapranidhana/ being mindful that there is a force more powerful than ourselves; that the earth’s natural resources are not ours to do with as we please.

Patanjali in his wisdom produced an 8 limbed inter-connected road map for a sustainable world. It’s not a list of do’s and don’ts. So you are not precluded from practising yoga if for example you eat meat. But maybe by following Patanjali’s path you may eat less meat, or you may turn to sustainably produced meat only or maybe just to organic meat.
Whatever works for you. The ancient sage has given us food for thought…

So the Indian sage Patanjali outlined 8 limbs of yoga in his Yoga Sutras of 500 BC. They include;
• Yamas (wise characteristics)
• Niyamas (ethical observances)
• Asanas (postures)
• Pranyama (breath)
• Pratyhara (withdrawal of senses)
• Dharana (concentration)
• Dhyana (meditation)
• Samadhi (super-consciousness)
……….and as far as Eastern Yoga was concerned, these limbs were all connected and inter-dependent and when observed formed a code of conduct for the individual, ultimately leading to a sustainable society.

Given that a common barometer of success in the West is “What we own” and “How we look”, it was quite natural that when yoga reached the West, the limb that predominated was the Asanas (postures) as yoga turned into a callisthenics competition.

But what became of Patanjali’s other limbs? The first being the Yamas or wise characteristics? And how do the Yamas lead to the idea of a sustainable society?

Well the first of the Yamas refers to non-violence in our actions toward a)ourselves b)other people and by extension c)to all living creatures. From a sustainability point of view then, producing meat for human consumption not only involves killing other forms of life but also causes harmful effects on the environment. Firstly it comes with far greater environmental costs than producing food grain and vegetables. The amount of water needed to grow 1 kg of wheat is 1000-2000 litres as opposed to 10,000-13,000 litres to yield 1kg beef. That’s a big difference given that water is no longer in plentiful supply and is emerging as the new oil.

Also, for sustainable development to take place non-violence needs to be practiced at an economic level in society. A direct result of our western model of development which gives paramount importance to economic growth is child labour, routinely used by industry in developing countries.

Next time we’ll look at Patanjali’s Niyamas or ethical observances in reference to sustainability

That word sustainability – the use of natural resources for the preservation of current and future generations – crops up time and again in relation to practically everything from development and buildings and even food, and is often referred to as a new way of looking at the world. But something we don’t think about too often is the fact that sustainability is also found ingrained in many traditional societies and demonstrated through their belief systems and practices. Interestingly enough it even applies to yoga.

How can that be I hear you say? Well, the first written yoga reference came from Patanjali in his book The Yoga Sutra from about 500BC, in which he described the eight aspects or limbs of yoga. It is often said that together these served as a code of conduct not only for the individual and for society, but they also contained environmental and economic dimensions which when observed lead to a sustainable society.

However, when yoga reached us here in the West sometime in the 1950’s, three of those aspects pre-dominated the western mindset. They were the asanas (postures), pranyama (breath) and dhyana (meditation). Yoga in many instances was interpreted as a set of exercises, with some elements of breath-work and meditation, used to achieve the body beautiful.

Even before the recent global greed scandals this interpretation had thankfully started to change and western yoga practitioners began to see the value of Patanjali’s other aspects. But what were they and how could they lead to the possibility of a sustainable society?

Next time we’ll look at Patanjali’s yamas or wise characteristics in reference to sustainability