Conquering Social Anxiety with Laughter Yoga

Tired of feeling frozen with shyness? Ready to kick social anxiety? Try coming to laughter yoga sessions. Or, laugh for 5 minutes straight just before a party or date. Or, put a pen between your upper & lower teeth, push it to the back of your jaw, and hold it there for at least 2 minutes. This "fake smile" works wonders to release happy neurochemicals. All of these are poison to social anxiety.

Prolonged laughter is much more potent than alcohol for beating social anxiety. Alcohol, while it does lower inhibitions, also skews judgment and prevents true affection and connection. A sense of connection and belonging is what most people with social anxiety crave. Plus, alcohol releases a flood of stress hormones "the day after" or even within a few hours, leading to more anxiety and disconnection.

Twenty percent of folks suffering with social anxiety disorder also abuse or are dependent on alcohol. Many find meetings, like 12-step meetings, intimidating. If you can get yourself to a laughter yoga session, within 10 minutes of hearty laughter, your brain takes care of your anxiety for you. All you need to do is laugh, even if just as exercise. This is the basis of laughter yoga and why the founder, Dr. Madan Kataria, became so passionate about it. He suggested whether we laugh for a reason or not, we get the same benefits.

"It's almost impossible to laugh heartily and have racing, obsessive thoughts at the same time."

How? The gut, bouncing about with the contractions of laughter, sends signals to the brain to release all of the happy neurochemicals needed for lowered inhibitions. There are many physiological reasons for this. As the founder encourages, you have full permission to, "fake until you make it." Laughter yoga is also a cumulative practice. The more you regularly participate in laughter yoga, the easier it is to jump into genuine playfulness and let go of inhibitions, regardless of the situation. You can also adopt it as a personal practice and create daily "laughter meditations."

I'm in no way suggesting those suffering with social anxiety and addiction replace 12-step meetings or therapy with laughter yoga sessions. However, practicing laughter yoga will make attending these meetings, or any social gathering, much less threatening.

The social bonding created by laughing together is ancient, pre-dates language, and we're just now getting around to doing some serious research on it. Laughter yoga is now used worldwide to ease major political tension and bring affection and peace where words and strategies have failed. Now, they're laughing first, then talking. It's a big deal to laugh together when it comes to creating unspoken, effortless, almost instant human connection.

You can triumph over shyness. You need the right tools. Laughter yoga, with no effort but to laugh, can soften the hardened ground from years of battling social anxiety.

If you're having trouble mustering the courage to come to a laughter yoga session, remember 1) most people attending sessions aren't there because they're so relaxed and at ease with their lives and 2) you can always try holding a pen between your teeth for 2 minutes in the parking lot.