Cancer patients at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Centre in Manila were recently given a healthy dose of Laughter Yoga, which relieved their stress, and help promote a positive outlook in life. Laughter Yoga is a practice involving prolonged laughter, which provides the same psychological and physiological benefits as spontaneous laughing.

The patients were taught deep-breathing techniques and loud belly laughing, which involved playful gestures and hearty humor with other participants.

Some comments:

Pinoy Laughter Yoga founder, Paolo Trinidad: Even a 10-minute laugh can provide the best dose of medicine. When you laugh, it's really a natural stress buster, so by merely laughing, you're putting down the stress levels of a person. We are all aware that 70 to 90 percent of the diseases all over the world come from stress. So we make them laugh, we get rid of the stress; we get rid of the cancer.

Vanna Javier, Oncologist: There has been no statistically significant value to say that it can replace the main treatment, but it always had positive benefits on the patient, and most importantly it's contagious. There are no interactions, no negative side effects. So the universal positivity of it, I think, is the main reason why the west is also very open to laughter as complementary medicine.

Anita Ferrer, Breast Cancer Patient: It's very relaxing and it somehow removes all those negativities that we feel. That's what I feel when I laugh.

It was the first Laughter Yoga session for cancer patients inside the hospital, and doctors say they are considering adding more activities which provide a lighter outlook to help those fighting a serious disease.

Article source: http://www.ntd.tv/en/news/world/asia-pacific/20130911/82656-laughter-yoga-helps-cancer-patients-in-manila.html" target="_blank">http://www.ntd.tv/en/news/world/asia-pacific/20130911/82656-laughter-yoga-helps-cancer-patients-in-manila.html