Serious Thoughts about Laughter Yoga: Is It Beneficial for People with Dementia?

Have you heard about laughter yoga? If you're not familiar with it, it may seem funny to bring it up here in a place where we discuss all things dementia-related. Even if you are aware of laughter yoga, you may still be wondering what possible connection it could have to Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

Let's start with what it is and is not. Laughter yoga is not as much yoga as it is laughter, and it's laughter for no reason at all. The yoga aspect enters with the addition of yogic breathing to the laughter.

As for how it relates to people with dementia, laughter yoga has been suggested as therapeutic for people who have dementia. One reason that may be the case is that laughter yoga doesn't rely on the understanding of a joke (which is likely to be impaired in dementia) to induce humor; rather, it simply directs people to laugh. In doing so, it postulates that people can reap the benefits of laughter whether it's fake or real, and regardless of what triggers the laughter to occur.

Learn more about what laughter yoga is, the (brief) history of it, and how it could help people who are living with dementia here: Can Laughter Yoga Benefit People with Dementia?Serious Thoughts about Laughter Yoga: Is It Beneficial for People with Dementia? originally appeared on About.com Alzheimers Disease on Sunday, August 4th, 2013 at 23:47:11.Permalink | Comment | Email this

Source: About Alzheimers Disease - August 4, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news