Seniors get a big dose of the best medicine
By Audrey Levine Staff Writer
More than 20 participants held empty champagne glasses in front of them as Don Ho’s “Tiny Bubbles” played on a nearby stereo.
They began walking around the room, their glasses in hand, as they wished each other a very happy new year.
The only catch was that, instead of using words, they were speaking through laughter.
For the senior citizens gathered at the Manville Senior Center on South Third Avenue on Jan. 17, “Laugh Out Loud” with certified laughter leader and yoga instructor Yvette Halpin was a chance to relax for a few hours and have a good time through an unusual form of exercise.
”It was very nice and made us all feel good,” said Patricia Farias, of South 5th Avenue, as she sat down to a chicken lunch after the session.
The session was Ms. Halpin’s second opportunity to bring this program to Manville residents, to teach them the benefits of laughter in feeling healthier. For the hour-long session, she combined different yoga stretches and movements with laughter to help the participants be more relaxed.
”I knew the program incorporated yoga and I felt it was a good vehicle for engaging people who couldn’t get on the floor,” said Ms. Halpin, who has been teaching the class to senior citizens and at colleges since 2005. “As people age, they get used to being serious about aging and in talking about aches. These exercises bring out a joy and playfulness.”
The program began in 1995 when a doctor in India realized his patients would heal faster if they maintained a sense of humor through treatment, according to Ms. Halpin. She said he found several of his patients, who seemed to be healing quickly, telling jokes until they would run out of new ones to share.
”After that, he said why don’t we just use laughter for no reason,” she said.
Ms. Halpin, who took a weekend course in Atlantic City to learn the technique, led participants through different exercises at the senior center in which they used only laughter to communicate while saying “happy new year” into an imaginary phone, popping the bubbles on bubble wrap and giving a thumbs-up to friends.
”You will gain the ageless spirit of playfulness,” she said to the participants, asking them to forget about age and any negativity that comes with a number. “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?”
Ms. Halpin said that she likes bringing different themes into her sessions to keep people entertained, aside from the focus of new year. She said other sessions have centered on the Wizard of Oz, luaus, fiestas and other activities.
”We are not just laughing, we are feeling connected,” she said.
Joanne Pearson, center manager for the Manville Senior Center, said she invited Ms. Halpin after previously seeing her teach the course at the Somerset County Library. Ms. Pearson said Ms. Halpin first came in November and, because she received such a great reception, they decided to bring her back again.
”I thought it would be uplifting for the seniors,” Ms. Pearson said. “They really enjoy the program.”
Several participants in the program echoed that sentiment as they sat down after spending the hour laughing and stretching. Many said having the opportunity to laugh made them feel young again, while others said they just simply felt good.
”I give Ms. Halpin a lot of credit,” said Pat Suk, of Whitehouse, who teaches exercise classes at the Manville Senior Center. “It’s hard to get seniors to move, and she got everyone up.”
There also are many actual health benefits of laughter, according to Ms. Halpin. She said it can serve as a cardiovascular and respiratory workout, and often reduces blood pressure and heart rate, while making the immune system more active and helping to fight infection.
Ms. Halpin encouraged the participants to continue using the techniques in their everyday lives.
”I want you to go home and be able to feel this all the time,” she said to the participants as the class wound down.
She then instructed them to all sit on the edge of their seats and repeat after her as she spoke three sentences to keep them remembering the benefits of laughter.
”We are the happiest people in the world,” she said. “We love to laugh. We are going to laugh every day.”