Laughter Yoga Reduced My Pain of Rheumatism

Ingrid, Austria: I’ve been suffering from acute rheumatism since I was 15, and two serious whiplash injuries worsened my discomfort. At the age of 43, I was forced to stop working as a Nurse and needed home help and domiciliary care. For several years, I was doing pain therapy, and it was my therapist, who introduced me to Laughter Yoga.

In September 2009, I visited Salzburg’s Laughter Club for the first time. I was enthusiastic. It felt like I had never moved so many muscles in 1 hour. Just my first session left me feeling more relaxed. During the following days, my pain diminished and even the stiffness in the mornings was reduced – this effect has continued until today! I felt more balanced than before. This experience motivated me to try Laughter Yoga Alone and I visited the Laughter Club for almost every weekly session. Two weeks after my first Laughter Club visit, I was able to reduce my pain medication and discontinue Morphia and Cortisone.

I can’t imagine that a few months back, I had difficulty dressing and was not able to do my household chores. But, now with Laughter Yoga I feel more and more healthy – a feeling I could not imagine for several years. My physical mobility and endurance have improved a lot and anything I do is more effortless than before. Laughter Yoga has enabled me to break the vicious circle between pain and mental imbalance and to sleep well – without nightly pain attacks!

Due to the pain release, I’m participating more actively in life now. My aim is to start working again after 10 years of disability. I’m planning to start working in the field of adult and senior education. I want to combine my Laughter Yoga Leader Skills with my professional experience in domiciliary care, my training as a Nutritionist and Health Promoter (according to Dr. Bruker) and as a Validation Worker (according to Feil).

Laughter Yoga gives me the chance to get enough strength, fitness and balance again to achieve this goal!