Ever Felt Better After Laughing Out Loud? Explore the Health Benefits of Laughter and Hypnosis
- 4 days ago
- 7 min read
Kicki Hjortmarker is known for her broad knowledge and extensive experience working with the human body and mind to heal injuries and chronic pain conditions. She is the founder of Swedish Balance, dedicated to help people live a balanced life pain-free.
You’re in a bad mood, and life sucks! But, all of a sudden, your dog or your cat does something funny. It cracks you up! Maybe you don’t have a dog or a cat, but most of us have an Instagram or Facebook account, right? When you watch a funny video on Instagram, it probably feels like the horizon lifts a bit. But then, your negative thoughts come right back into your mind, going around in circles. So, what if we could do something that lifted us up in the absence of a funny dog, cat, or social media!? What if we could find something that would crack us up instantly and then keep us in that lighter mood, that higher vibration? Because who wants to be addicted to their phone and social media?
How to crack yourself up on command
I learned this exercise in acting school to access real emotions without outside stimuli. Our professor had us work with our faces to be able to cry, express fear, lash out in anger, and laugh out loud on command.
So, even if we weren’t able to feel the real emotions while on stage or in front of the camera, we would just start moving our faces and use our breath in a certain way, and the emotions would wake up, become real, and just flow! Your body holds the memory of the feeling that accompanies the expression and movement.
You might feel really ridiculous doing this to start, but hey, remember you’re doing it just for you in solitude. And the effects are both free and pretty immediate once you “get over yourself.” So, here we go:
Exercise 1: Wake up your face and diaphragm
Make yourself comfortable so that you can relax, whether that is sitting, standing, or lying down.
Now, you’re going to warm up your fascial muscles that you use when you’re smiling. So, start by being completely still. The only thing you’re going to move now is your mouth and lips. Lift the corners of your mouth really high as if you’re smiling.
Repeat the above, alternating between lifting the corners of your mouth and then dropping them toward the floor. Do this at least 8 times, going back and forth.
Next, after getting the muscles used to moving a lot, pay attention to the sensation you get in your body when you lift the corners of your mouth versus when you drop the corners of your mouth.
Continue with the fascial exercise as above, but now add the forehead and your eyes. As you form your mouth into a smile, lift your eyebrows and forehead at the same time, then go back to neutral. You might start to giggle spontaneously. If it doesn’t happen yet for you, don’t worry! Everything takes practice. If you’re feeling really low when you start doing this, and if you usually don’t move your face much, of course, it’s going to take you longer to get the hang of it.
Let the face rest for a while before continuing with this exercise for your diaphragm and belly. Do a quick and forced exhalation, as if you’re coughing or actually laughing. Repeat this several times, aiming for 10 or more.
Now, add your fascial exercise again. Lift the corners of your mouth, lift your eyebrows and forehead, and “put a smile on your face.” Add the quick forced exhalations, then come back to neutral.
This time, try to go back and forth between a “happy face” and a “sad face” while also doing quick exhalations.
Is a sound perhaps slipping out now automatically? Maybe there is a little laughing sound as you put your happy face on, and maybe a little sad sound as you put your sad face on?
Keep your happy face on. Do several quick and forced exhalations with no breath in between, the exact way you do it when you laugh naturally.
Keep on doing it, take a breath, and then do number 9 again, over and over. If you don’t feel like you’re cracking up all naturally by now, add an image! Either put an actual fun image in front of you, or close your eyes and remember a fun event in your mind's eye, or simply make it up!
Exercise 2: Deep relaxation with self-hypnotic suggestions
Relax and let go for a few minutes.
Take a few belly breaths. Inhale, and as you exhale, make the exhale longer than the inhale. Close your eyes and remember a time when you laughed so hard that you could barely stop.
See this picture of yourself in your mind's eye. Place the picture toward the front of your head.
Remember what you laughed at.
Was it daytime or nighttime?
What was the temperature?
Was it rainy and cold or sunny and warm?
Who was around you?
What did you wear?
What was your general mood this day?
What did you hear around you?
What colors did you see?
Were you hungry or full?
If you can’t remember anything right now, come back to it later, or just make something up! You can be anything or anyone while doing this exercise. Play around with ideas. It could be fun to try on a new hairdo or a new wardrobe.
This is your time to put yourself in the most fun environment and outfit ever! Crank it up!
Exercise 3: Physical exercise and movement
Get moving! Harvard Health: Mood Boosters
Getting moving might not make you laugh out loud, but it will lift your mood! Work your muscles, make your limbs move, and make sure to breathe a little deeper! You want to make sure to produce the right amount of cortisol. This means that a light or intermediate workout is enough. It can be a brisk walk, a 15-30 minute jog, or a workout at the gym.
Studies have shown that after about 15 minutes, your cortisol levels start to rise. If you feel that you need to be perked up and the 15 minutes haven’t done it yet, go for just a little longer! Go ahead and raise the cortisol a little more.
Be aware that going too long and too hard can make you feel uneasy later in the day due to raised cortisol. So, you will have to figure out what is best for you, read your body, and adjust.
What if it doesn’t work?
Hypnotherapy might be the answer! If you say to yourself, “I can’t do this! I don’t want to do this! This is ridiculous! It doesn’t work!” then hypnotherapy might be the thing for you. Psychology Today: Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy can make you aware of what thoughts you are feeding yourself all day long and how you can change them instantly. Hypnosis can help to decrease the sensation of pain, increase blood flow, decrease blood pressure, overcome a bad habit, feel confident, prepare you for a performance, handle grief better, get you motivated to start something new, end procrastination, feel the joy in life, crank up the giggles and laughs, and much more.
Bodywork & hypnotherapy
When I have a client on my massage table, I often incorporate hypnotic techniques and suggestions when someone is open to it or requests it. It makes the treatment deeper and more profound.
At other times, a full hypnotherapy session (with no bodywork involved) can be the most effective, especially when there is a deeper issue involved and a drastic change is desired.
Amazing health benefits
In addition to feeling better and happier when laughing out loud, there are some real health benefits.
Laughter boosts the immune system. Mayo Clinic: Stress Relief. Laughter does this by boosting immune cells and increasing the activity of antibodies and natural killer cells. Laughter also reduces inflammation in the body by lowering stress hormones. So, with laughter, you can look forward to fewer colds and quicker healing.
Laughter is a full-body regulation tool: It shakes up stagnant energy, restores natural rhythm to all body systems, including the nervous system. Laughter lowers cortisol levels and adrenaline, and the body will move out of fight-or-flight mode.
Laughter increases oxytocin in your body, which is a bonding hormone, so you will feel closer to the people you laugh with. That being said, have you ever felt closer to the actors on a stage after you’ve laughed at them or with them? There might be a feeling of, “We’re buddies now!”
Laughter is a pain reliever! BBC: Science and Environment. Hormones signal to your nervous system that it is safe to let go of tension. When we laugh, the body releases endorphins, hormones that are a natural “feel-good” substance. The body also releases dopamine and serotonin, natural painkillers and mood lifters. Blood flow improves, muscles soften, and stress hormones decrease, which all contribute to a drop in inflammatory processes.
Laughter keeps us in the moment. It is often challenging to be really present in the moment. Our minds tend to wander into the future, and if the future looks challenging, anxiety might set in. If our minds wander into the past and we miss or regret things, depression might set in. But when you’re honestly laughing, you’re in the moment! You can’t dissociate and laugh at the same time. Maybe you’ve noticed that after a good laugh, you feel lighter, your mind doesn’t feel as troubled anymore, your breathing is easier, and the tension around your shoulders isn’t gripping as hard as before. Laughter literally helps shift the body out of fight-or-flight mode and get it back to equilibrium.
So, keep on laughing, feel better, and relieve pain! Take care of your health and healing now!
Call or text Kicki Hjortmarker
1 (323) 404 6613
Email here.
Read more from Kicki Katarina Hjortmarker
Kicki Katarina Hjortmarker, Holistic Bodyworker
Kicki Hjortmarker has a solid background in the hands-on healing field, treating people with injuries and chronic pain conditions. With a holistic approach, she integrates Neuromuscular Massage Therapy, Craniosacral Therapy, Hypnotherapy, Reiki, Pilates, and more.
To practice the artistry of mind/bodywork and massage therapy has been Kicki's lifelong passion.
It started with the awareness of her own body as a child and ballet dancer, and, later, as a gymnast who developed chronic lower back pain whilst on the Swedish National Team in Rhythmic Sports Gymnastics.
Decades later, she overcame nerve damage and temporary paralysis in one hand.
This taught her to trust the healing power of body and mind, and that the body prefers holistic healing methods over conventional treatments.
Her mission is to encourage and inspire others to do the same. To trust the healing power of body, mind, and spirit!"
