Laughter yoga brings back joy to older adults
Few things in life feel quite as good as having a hearty laugh with friends. And don’t underestimate the power of that. Laughter can help keep depression at bay, and even slow down dementia in seniors. In Taiwan, several clubs have cropped up over the years promoting "laughter yoga," which has become especially popular among older adults. The clubs hold meetups regularly, encouraging participants to giggle, chortle, and chuckle to stave off loneliness and encourage wellbeing. Here’s our Sunday special report.
It’s Monday morning, and a group of older adults have gathered at a stadium in New Taipei’s Sanchong District. All together, they can laugh and laugh for a straight hour.
These are members of New Taipei’s laughter yoga association. They are experts at having a cackle. And they all have their own silly nicknames.
Laughter yoga was popularized by Indian physician Madan Kataria, who in 1995 started organizing meetups in parks in Mumbai. Since then, countless laughter clubs have been founded in more than 110 countries around the world. Taiwan’s first club was founded in 2005, in Taoyuan’s Luzhu District. Sixteen years later, more than 50 laughter clubs have formed nationwide.
Nina Ho
Psychologist
Laughter yoga is a special kind of yoga. Firstly, it uses your external expression to influence your inner thoughts and emotions. Secondly, it is a kind of breathing exercise that uses your diaphragm. Breathing exercises can lower your body’s stress response, boost your immune system, and regulate your mood.
According to medical studies, laughing can be very beneficial. It releases stress, boosts the immune system, burns calories, promotes cardiovascular health and can even make you live longer. And doing laughter yoga comes with even more advantages.
The people gathered at the stadium are mostly over the age of 65. Some are locals, and some come from other areas of Taiwan. They leave home to put up a fight against aging.
No matter how healthy one’s body is, aging alone at home without social interaction can give rise to depression and dementia.
Nina Ho
Psychologist
Most people think that when you get old, you don’t have interests, your body functions deteriorate and you don’t want to go out. But actually, all these are symptoms of depression. Dementia and depression are closely linked. That is to say, depression can speed up dementia, and dementia can cause depression.
Joan Wang is the host of a radio program, and found out about laughter yoga during an interview. A few years ago, her father passed away, leaving her mother depressed and grieving alone at home. It was only then that Wang realized she had long ignored the fact that her parents were aging. So, she decided to take her mother to a laughter club meetup, to see if laughing could truly heal all wounds.
Joan Wang
New Taipei laughter yoga association
My mother was all alone, crying every day. But then we found, she was always happy when she was surrounded by people her age.
Wang delved deep into the laughter yoga, carrying out research, raising awareness about it, and eventually organizing laugh meetups at the Sanchong stadium. She says all she has done has been because of the love for her mother.
Joan Wang’s mother
My husband was no longer with me, and I was depressed. I couldn’t laugh. I wasn’t happy and I couldn’t laugh. I looked miserable every day. My husband passed away six years ago. If I hadn’t learned to laugh, I wouldn’t be the same today.
The laugh yoga sessions eventually prompted her to establish an association that’s active at community care sites and dementia service centers. From Monday to Friday, the association fills the spaces with laughter to keep depression at bay and slow down dementia.
Wang’s mother can have a fun time with people her age, taking a stroll and singing songs. She even volunteers to help bring joy to elderly care homes.
Joan Wang
New Taipei laughter yoga association
The only condition to joining the volunteer team is that you need to be able to laugh. Nothing else matters. It doesn’t matter if you need a cane to walk. Or if you have had a stroke, or have had cancer. It’s OK! You can also be of any age.
The average age of the volunteers is around 70, but they are all committed to helping other older adults. The only thing that’s needed is to be able to break out in laughter and spread it to others. The volunteers bring other older adults living alone out to do laughter yoga, sing and dance and make each other happy. Among the volunteers are Ah Chao, who has reduced mobility due to spinal issues, and Hsiang Pen Pen, who has systemic lupus erythematosus. They say that thanks to Wang, their lives have significantly improved.
Ah Chao
Volunteer
We go around together to entertain older adults. Sometimes I see them, and they seem to not want to laugh. But I get very happy once we are able to crack them up. Seeing them happy makes me happy.
Hsiang Pen Pen
Volunteer
I used to admire people who lived to 80 and were looking good. I didn’t know whether I’d ever reach my 80s. But now that I’m here my perspective has changed.
One of the key members of the volunteer group is Tsao Wen-yen. At 8 a.m. she sets off from her home in Xindian District, riding her scooter for an hour to the laughter yoga sessions in Sanchong.
Tsao Wen-yen
Volunteer
The year I turned 71, and without any physical or mental preparation, I suddenly became an older adult living alone. It was terrifying. I was afraid I wouldn’t know what to do.
Tsao had been a preschool teacher for more than 40 years. When she first turned up in Sanchong, she found it very awkward to laugh without a reason. But laughter is infectious. Though she was just ready to follow the motions and clap along with everyone, in the end, she really did end up bursting out laughing.
Tsao Wen-yen
Volunteer
How did I end up laughing back then? I really did laugh out loud. I had fun despite everything. What started off as a fake laugh ended up being a real laugh. So I kept going there and I attended a course on growth. I started learning as a student.
From student, to group leader, to lecturer, Tsao worked her way up.
Tsao Wen-yen
Volunteer
The spirit of this is for the elderly to help the elderly. That was very shocking for me. But that’s my mission for the rest of my life. To offer support to other older adults as an older adult.
Tsao brought her previous experience in preschools to the laughter workshops. Her ideas were well received, and she found a lot of validation and value in the endeavor. Every time she holds an activity she spreads the true essence of love and laughter to participants.
Tsao Wen-yen
Volunteer
I can gladly say that in these activities I can learn to prepare for the future. If I reach my 90s, I know how to be a happy as a person living alone.
Like Tsao, 65-year-old Chen Yueh-ming also wanted to learn how to be happy living alone. Laughter yoga left a deep impression on her. Eight years ago, her mother passed away, marking the start of her life living alone. She also retired, which left a big hole in her life.
Chen Yueh-ming
Volunteer
When I was going to retire, I was very restless. I didn’t know what I would do after retiring.
Chen found out about laughter yoga on the internet, and searched for clubs she could join. She quickly found a group that brought a smile to her face.
Chen Yueh-ming
Volunteer
My former colleagues told me, “Your face now looks so different from before!”
After retiring and joining others in laughter, Chen became a changed person, with an open heart.
Chen Yueh-ming
Volunteer
The biggest change was in myself. It allowed me to open up my heart. As laugh leaders, we have this responsibility to tell our laugh friends to not just laugh at the meetups, but also at home. When you’re upset, laugh it out.
Most of the volunteers in the laugh club are already retired. Some of them live alone, and some of them have health conditions. But through laughing, they’ve created a new life for themselves.
Nina Ho
Psychologist
They can rebuild a new social environment. There, they can interact with people their age. If you are at home, and you’re an older adult, you just accept it, and think that you have to go take care of so and so. But in a club, you are with classmates. You can help people and learn new things together. It allows people to find a new identity and value.
Joan Wang
New Taipei laughter yoga association
I hope that that more people can do what I’ve done. Perhaps they are unmarried, or they live alone. They can come out and join us, form part of this network. And then, when they get older, there will be a new batch of people caring for them.
This jolly group in New Taipei is trying to bring positive change to older adults in the community through laughter. The head of the group hopes that more people can join to respond to loneliness and sadness with a loud HA HA HA.
2022-09-25
