This seems to a joke if we tell that “Clapping hands makes
you healthier”, but believe it or not, this is more than a funny joke. The
confirmed benefits of clapping were proven through several studies, and while
more research is expected on the matter, we can tell already, yes, it can
really make you healthier.
The sound of two hands clapping is much more than early
morning music, and it is much more that a trivial gesture, developed through
the humankind evolution as encouraging sign of other people achievements.
We clap our hands when we cheer or encourage someone.
We also clap when we are happy and excited.
Many people also clap while singing.
Clapping hands is fun.
This is why many children like clapping.
So, let’s see in more details on how clapping is not just
fun, but also helps to strengthen our health.
Science on
Clapping
According to several well established healing modalities
(acupressure, acupuncture, reflexology, and various adaptations of the above),
the hands and palms have numerous reflex points that, when stimulated,
engage the body’s healing response and prompt a gradual (sometimes near
immediate) improvement in any type of ailment.
A different way to look at this is to consider that:
We have receptors in the hands that are connected to
sensory fields in the brain, as shown by the cortical homunculus model
(our neurological “map” – see below.) Clapping activates these hands receptors
(or more if you use your hands to clap on other body parts), which in turn
activate a fair portion of the brain, which itself leads to the activation of
various body systems and their associated healing response in ways that are
experientially evident but that we still need to better understand.
Clapping stimulates blood circulation, the lifeline of
the human body, and this helps with literally everything.
Crushing chronic illness with clapping
K.C. Bhardwaj is a 76-year-old man from India who
says that hands clapping cured completely his glaucoma at advanced level of
disease:
“Over a decade
back I was looking for a miracle cure to glaucoma. I had started lose vision in
both eyes. I did not have the courage to undergo surgery. It was then I heard
at a ‘satsang’ that clapping could cure diseases and that was why devotees
clapped while reciting kirtans.”
Clapping stimulates blood circulation and removes all
obstructions in the veins and arteries, including bad cholesterol. Bhardwaj
claims that even the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed it as best
exercise. “I regained my vision in about a year just by clapping for about half
an hour every morning,” he reveals.
Explaining the method, he said before clapping one should
apply coconut or mustard oil on the palms so that it was absorbed by the body.
Wear socks and leather shoes to check leakage of energy waves generated in the
body. Strike both hands against each other, right to left, keeping them
straight facing each other and the arms a little loose. Fingertips and the palm
of each hand should strike each other, advises Bhardwaj.
Initially, he says, clap 200 to 300 times the first day
and increase the speed from 50 to 100 claps a minute and duration to about 20
minutes. A healthy person, who wants to keep fit, should clap 1,500 times a
day.
Telling about the benefits of clapping, Bhardwaj claims
the problems that would vanish over a period of time. Life threatening heart
conditions, hypertension, and diabetes, depression, asthma, common cold, and
arthritis, headaches, insomnia and hair loss could be cured by clapping, he
says.
Clap your hands for brain power
Apparently hand-clapping rhymes and songs are actually
linked to cognitive skills. Research by Dr. Idit Sulkin, of the Ben-Gurion
University Music Science Lab, found that young children who naturally play
hand-clapping games are better spellers, have neater handwriting, and better
overall writing skills.
Intrigued, she conducted further research. For ten weeks
she engaged groups of children, ages 6 to 10, in a program of either music
appreciation or hand-clapping. Very quickly the children’s cognitive abilities
improved, but only those taking part in hand-clapping songs.
She also interviewed teachers and joined in when children
sang in their classrooms. She was trying to understand why they tend to enjoy
hand-clapping songs until a certain age, when other activities such as sports
become dominant. Dr. Sulkin observed, “These activities serve as a
developmental platform to enhance children’s needs — emotional, sociological,
physiological, and cognitive. It’s a transition stage that leads them to the
next phases of growing up.”
Interestingly, Dr. Sulkin also found that hand-clapping
songs also benefit adults. When adults engage in these games from childhood
they report feeling less tense and their mood improves. They also become more
focused and alert.
Clapping benefits
Here are some general benefits of hand clapping you may
expect to noticed if you decide to add this simple and effective exercise to
your daily routine:
* Clapping is an effective medicine for people who
suffers from digestive disorders, and sort of bowel issues, heart burning or high
acidity.
* Gout and Arthritis symptoms, commonly associated with
older people, can be significantly reduced with hands clapping activities, if
used as regular fitness routine.
* Clapping hands will help you lot to get relief from
heart diseases, and health issues, associated with asthma. Clapping helps to
improve the nerves operational performance, enhancing connections with heart,
liver, lungs, and other vital internal organs.
* Clapping stimulates blood circulation and removes all
obstructions in the veins and arteries, including bad cholesterol.
* It boosts your immunity because it strengthens the
white blood cells in your body; these protect your body from any kind of
illness.
* As noticed earlier, clapping might assist in better
brain development, and allows old people to preserve their cognitive functions
for long. It also helps improving life skills in small children and boosting
their academic performance.
* While engaged in the clapping activities, you also improve
your mood, reduce accumulated stress, and promote deep relaxation.
* Clapping might help also for headaches, insomnia, and even
hair loss.
When you perform the exercise, first clap your hands
lightly, and gradually increase the strength.
Sources and
Additional Information:
