My friend Sue Carter Ansari has developed a wonderful concept for a program tailored to breast cancer survivors. Combining intentional laughter, movement, breathing, nutrition and relaxation, JOYFITtm is gaining in popularity. And with good reason! It’s not only effective in chasing away the stress and gloom that often set in permanently, it also encourages healthy lifestyle habits. In fact, JOYFITtm could be used by anyone, but it was originally developed for women with this type of condition.

Did you know that the simple act of laughing has a wonderful effect on the lymphatic system?

It’s really a question of increasing lymphatic flow, which then produces more lymphocytes to kill cancer cells. The lymphatic system is a meshed network of very fine vessels, separate from the blood vessels, but interwoven with the venous system. This network lies beneath the skin and above the muscles, and carries “cleaned” lymphatic fluid back to the vascular system on either side of the neck.

Unlike the cardiac system, where the heart acts as a pump, circulating blood to all parts of the body in a continuous circuit, the lymphatic system is a simple system – without a pump. Lymphatic fluid moves by inertia (very slowly, about 3 beats / minute) in a semicircular fashion. It’s a highly effective efficient cleansing process that forms the backbone of the immune system, as it collects waste from the whole body and cleanses this fluid before returning it to the bloodstream in the neck. Lymph nodes are groups of“cleaning stations” scattered along the lymphatic pathways, mainly in the armpits, neck, chest, abdomen and groin. Lymph nodes specialize in the production of white blood cells (lymphocytes) to clean fluid,antibodies to defend against future predators, and macrophages to eliminate all kinds of unwanted waste.

Although it has no pump to ensure fluid movement, the lymphatic system can be activated manually. The only way to increase flow is to breathe deeply (can you see why laughter can help here?) and move your muscles, which also increases lymph flow since lymph vessels rest on muscles. Lymph can’t move on its own – we have to help it move faster – so more lymphocytes can be produced because more lymph can pass through the lymph nodes where lymphocytes are produced. These lymphocytes attack and kill cancer cells! So we need to move, laugh and breathe.

What could be better than laughter to engage the diaphragm – which then engages the parasympathetic nervous system sending the signal to ALL the body’s systems to relax, producing “feel-good” hormones (endorphins) which in turn send the signal to stress hormones to calm down. And once this signal is received, blood pressure drops, heart rate slows and a general feeling of “happiness in the moment” replaces anxiety and stress – the perfect “domino effect”!

I’ve been working with cancer patients for many years now, and the JOYFIT program using laughter yoga has an extremely positive effect on their health as well as their state of mind. Give it a try! Laughter really is a GREAT medicine with no unwanted side effects! JoyfitProject

Laughter, joy and health

Linda