The transforming force of laughter, with the focus on the laughing meditation.
D Sutorius
Patient education and counseling September 1995 DOI: 10.1016/0738-3991(95)00760-w (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Laughing meditation |
| Duration | 15 min |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Argues that laughter's psychotherapeutic value is underestimated and proposes a 15-minute, three-stage laughing meditation (stretching, laughing and/or crying, silence) as an adjunct to therapy and a coping resource. Reports that participants describe deep relaxation, feeling 'whole' or 'unburdened', tears or sadness, and acceptance of the present. |
Abstract
Laughter is a very special phenomenon. Unfortunately, its (psycho)therapeutic value is underestimated and its transforming force is not used to its full extent. Next to spontaneous laughter, there is also a laughing meditation, a structured exercise of 15 min with 3 stages: stretching, laughing (and/or crying), silence. The laughing meditation can be used as 'adjuvans' in all kinds of therapy and, in other situations it enhances the coping with all of life's woes. This can be done alone or in any group. It facilitates the viewing of problems from another angle and it makes life lighter. Responses from participants indicate a deep relaxation, a feeling of being 'whole', a feeling of being 'unburdened', I feel my tears or I feel sad, a feeling of acceptance of the present.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |