Laugh again - Christina Cherry

Laugh again!

INTERVIEW: Andrea Toledo is convinced of the healing power of laughter and now offers free courses in Obrigheim

She likes to laugh: Andrea Toledo offers Laughter Yoga courses and says: “With the Exercises we find easy access to creativity, intuition and serenity. That strengthens mental and physical stability. ”(Photo: TILKERIDIS)

“OBRIGHEIM.” Andrea Toledo starts a free laugh yoga class in the primary school in the Obrigheim district of Mühlheim on Thursday. The 58-year-old works as a nurse in a psychiatric clinic in Heppenheim on Bergstrasse and trained as a laughing yoga trainer at the beginning of the year. Gaby Sprengel spoke to Toledo about the meaning of laughing together.

Ms. Toledo, there are actually people who have forgotten how to laugh?

Yes, I experience that every day and not just in everyday clinical practice. It is the Stress that sticks more and more to us humans. Insomnia and thoughts that are always there and the head that comes to rest less and less are the cause of this.

How do you get laughing yoga? ?

Initially it was motivation to laugh a lot. That gave me personal energy, joie de vivre and lightness, I no longer had so many useless thoughts in my head. Constant overstimulation brings you into the hamster wheel. I also had a guilty conscience that I had less and less time for the patients because of the large amount of computer work. I was looking for a way to make myself more alive and happy again.

And that helps laugh?

Yes, that’s how I came to Laughter Yoga. It also helps me professionally. Targeted laughter in nursing is a great asset. You can also laugh in nursing professions. Many people have reduced self-esteem because of physical ailments and the resulting addiction. This in turn often leads to misunderstandings. People easily get the feeling that they are laughed at. From time to time, I use targeted exercises with patients, creating moments of relief. Laughing for no reason can do a lot. I would particularly like to be a refueling point for older people, caring relatives and colleagues from everyday care.

How do I imagine participating??

Basically, just wanting to laugh is enough. It is a combination of playful exercises, with clapping, laughing, breathing technique with diaphragm stimulation, body movements and relaxation methods. An initially played laugh can quickly become an infectious, natural laugh. We practice it for no reason, without any jokes or comedy, just like that.

How does an hour go??

We greet each other laughing, with clapping and relaxing breathing exercises. We mix an imaginary laugh cocktail and start a laugh rocket. Laughter is much easier in the group, it is highly contagious. Our mirror neurons help with this and it doesn’t even need a sense of humor. At the end of an hour there is a simple one Relaxation or a deep relaxation by different methods. Laughter yoga may seem a bit ridiculous at first, but it is incredibly effective. Laughter Yoga developer Madan Kataria says: "We don’t laugh because we are happy, we are happy because we laugh."

Andrea Toledo from Albsheim has been working as a nurse in a psychiatric clinic in Heppenheim in an open ward with mostly older people for 22 years. And gladly, as the 58-year-old says. She is an alternative practitioner for psychotherapy, relaxation teacher and sound therapist. She completed her training as a laughing yoga trainer at the laughing school in Odenwald in Abtsteinach. In her free time she likes to go for walks on the Eiswoog. | gsp

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