With the bustling laughter, practicing laughing yoga not only helps reduce fatigue and stress for the practitioners and bring them excitement to start a new day but also benefits cancer patients.

Every morning, at 5 am at the Ly Thai To monument, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi, members of a laughing yoga club meet up. Laughing helps bring them a joyful atmosphere to the beginning of the day.

Originating from India, laughing yoga is considered a way to relieve stress. This exercise attracts not only older people but also many young people or even foreign visitors who are curious about laughing yoga. 

Laughing yoga doesn’t have to be as hard on your body as regular yoga exercises. It focuses on relieving stress to improve health; this is also the most fundamental difference to create interest for practitioners. The exercises start with clapping movements, because they increase blood circulation.

Ly Thai To was the first laughing yoga club in Vietnam, currently maintained by Pham Quoc Vinh, a 33 year-old pharmacist at Bach Mai Hospital. After five years, he expanded to other clubs in Ba Mau Lake and Le Thai To Street. In addition, he also organised programmes to support patients at the hospital. 

Practicing yoga also helps produce endorphins, which help reduce stress and pressure. Psychiatrists encourage people, regardless of age, to practice yoga for 5-10 minutes every day. Experts also said that practicing yoga helps bring more oxygen to the brain and body, making people more energetic and healthier.-VNA