A good laugh is good medicine

I read with great interest in the January issue of Seniority that a Laughter Club had been started in New Port Richey.

I first heard about Laughter Clubs a couple of years ago from a talk show on National Public Radio. The show opened with a review of a book titled Laugh For No Reason by Dr. Madan Kataria, a physician in India and founding president of Laughter Clubs International. Jean Foracca, host of the radio show, explained that Laughter Clubs inspired by Kataria were being established all over America.

During the program a listener called to say that he had a brother visiting him, who happened to be an "anchor person" for one of the more than 400 Laughter Clubs in their native India. Foracca invited the anchor person to explain how Laughter Clubs work.

He did, and for the next 15 minutes, he conducted an on-air laughter session. Speaking slowly with a clipped British accent, he began to repeat Ho-Ho-Ho-Ha-Ha-Ha several times, each time saying it faster and faster. After dozens of Ho-Ho-Ho-Ha-Ha-Has, the anchor person demonstrated several more laughter routines, which he called Hearty Laughter, Silent Laughter, Medium Laughter, Arm Swinging Laughter and Dancing Laughter. By the time he was finished, everyone in the studio was screaming with laughter.

As for me, I howled until tears were coming down my cheek -- the laughter was that contagious.

In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I taped the program when it was repeated that evening. Now whenever I need a lift, I listen to that tape.

Two years ago, when my cousin and her daughter visited from Sweden, I learned that Kataria had been to Stockholm in September 2000 and launchedLaughter Clubs there. Winters in Sweden are harsh, with just five hours of daylight each day, and for mental balance, a sense of humor is a necessity, my relatives pointed out.

Laughter is not just mentally therapeutic, however. It's also good for our physical health. Laughter can't be sold over the counter, but care and maintenance of our "funny bone" can contribute greatly to our well being. Laughter lowers our blood pressure, releases feel-good hormones from our brain cells and has positive effects on our immune systems.

As we grow older, we naturally look for ways to make ourselves feel more comfortable. I think that along with vitamins and prescription drugs, we should try a daily dose of laughter. After all, in spite of all the uncertainties in this world, a good hearty chuckle will not only lift the spirit of those around us, but it will make us feel more energized.

Joanne Woodward, wife of Paul Newman, sums it up pretty well: "Sexiness wears thin after awhile, and beauty fades, but to be married to someone who makes you laugh every day -- ah, that's a real treat."

Or, as Mark Twain once said, "Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been."

I hope New Port Richey is not the only place in the area that ends up with a Laughter Club. Every Tampa Bay community deserves a regular injection of Ha-Ha-Ha-Ho-Ho-Ho.

-- LaVerne Hammond, who divides her time between Wisconsin and Florida, is an octogenarian at work on her memoirs. Write her in care of Seniority, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731.

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