Updated 07.05.26

By Ellie Poore

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Joy is one of those things we tend to think we'll have more of when life settles down. When the pain eases, when the to-do list shrinks or when things finally feel a bit more manageable. 

But what if joy doesn't work like that? What if it isn't a reward waiting at the end of a difficult stretch - but a resource that could actually help us through it?

This month, our community explored exactly that. We gathered three times for community practice sessions on the theme of joy, led by Breathworks teachers Emma Tian Williamson, Karen Hall, and Ginny Wall. What emerged across these sessions was that joy isn't a luxury we allow ourselves when everything else is taken care of. It's more crucial than that - and more available than we might think, even in times of difficulty. This blog explores why joy matters and - if it feels lost - how we can begin to invite it back in.

What the Research Shows

Most of us would agree that joy feels good. What might come as more of a surprise is the tangible effect it can have on the body - particularly for those of us living with chronic pain or illness. Here's what the research shows.

Laughter measurably reduces stress hormones

A 2023 review found that laughter reduced cortisol - the body’s primary stress hormone - by nearly 32%. A single laughter session produced a 36.7% reduction and interestingly, the duration didn’t matter: any laughter at all led to significant reductions. Researchers have also found that simply anticipating something funny reduced adrenaline by 70% and cortisol by 39%, revealing that the body can experience benefits before a joke has even landed!

Positive emotions reduce the experience of pain

A 2020 review found a significant association between positive emotions and reduced pain severity. Another older study found that patients who watched a funny film reported greater pain tolerance afterwards than those who hadn't. These studies show that joy can be more than a welcome distraction from pain - it appears to actively change how the body experiences it.

Play supports the brain and body 

Dr Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play, draws on decades of research to show that adults who continue to play - in whatever form suits them - are significantly less prone to dementia, heart disease, and depression. He describes play as "a biological drive as integral to our health as sleep or nutrition." People who keep playing throughout life, his research suggests, are more emotionally resilient, more adaptable, and better equipped to handle stress. It is, he argues, one of the most important things we can do for our long-term health.

Why we Can Lose Touch with Joy

If joy is so good for us, why does it so often go missing?

Karen Hall introduced the idea of the "exhaustion funnel" in her session. At the top - where the funnel is widest - is when life feels manageable. There's room for a wide range of activities: work, relationships, rest, and the things that bring us joy. But as demands increase - through pain, illness, work or other responsibilities - we start shedding what feels least essential and the funnel narrows. The first things to go are usually the activities we do purely for enjoyment, because they feel like luxuries we can't justify when we're struggling. 

Similarly, in a special event last year, Vidyamala spoke with writer and comedian Miranda Hart - herself many years into navigating chronic illness - about how joy can erode not from illness alone but also from the cultural pressure to be productive, capable, and endlessly serious. Miranda observed that at some point, life simply becomes relentless: “Everything gets deeply serious. We’ve got careers, mortgages - and then what disappears is play and joy. There isn’t time to play.” 

So amongst these responsibilities and challenges of adult life, how can we begin to reconnect with joy? The good news is that joy is something we can actively cultivate and practise - here’s what our teachers shared. 

Practical Ways to Let Joy In

Notice the small things

Emma spoke about how stress narrows our field of vision: “When I’m stressed, there’s a kind of restricted view of the world. Everything becomes blinkered.” But meditation practice - and what Emma calls 'turning down the white noise of the world' - create the conditions for small joys to surface. She described sitting in a field with lambs during a recent retreat, laughing as they played around her: “There was a real sense of shared joy I could appreciate.” You don’t need a retreat, or lambs nearby to try this - you could explore this anywhere. What small thing in your current space brings you joy, when you take the time to look?

Connect with memories

When we can’t access joy directly, Karen reminded us that memory is a powerful shortcut. The brain responds to a vividly recalled experience of joy in a very similar way to living it again. Try bringing to mind a moment of real delight - not just the headline of it, but also the detail. Where were you? Who were you with? What did it smell like?

Seek out laughter

Ginny drew on neuroscience to explain that our brains build rigid, automatic models of ourselves and the world, meaning we can get stuck in patterns of thinking and feeling without even realising it. Laughter, she suggested, is one of the quickest ways to break free of those patterns. It doesn’t need any planning - a funny film, a blooper reel or rewatching a video sent by the friend who always makes you laugh are all great ways to interrupt an automatic pattern and let in something new. 

Try sending joy around the body

Emma led a beautiful meditation - beginning with a feeling or memory of joy, generating a sense of warmth, and imaginatively moving that quality through the body, "bathing ourselves with joy." The idea at the heart of this is something Emma cited from Thich Nhat Hanh: "Sometimes a smile is a result of your joy, and sometimes joy is a result of your smile." We don't have to wait to feel joyful before we can access joy, the body can lead the way. A smile, bringing to mind a happy memory, or a deliberate pause to notice warmth or sensation are all ways we can proactively welcome joy.

Rediscover play

What counts as play is different for everyone. Karen Hall described it as anything that gets you out of the exhaustion funnel and really engages you - where you're present with something you're doing for its own sake - not for productivity, or self-improvement, but for pure enjoyment. For some people that’s music, for some it’s cycling in nature and for others it’s watching a David Attenborough documentary until something fills you with awe. 

In her conversation with Vidyamala, Miranda Hart - who has spent years rebuilding her relationship with joy during chronic illness - described rediscovering play as something close to a lifeline. Her definition of play was simple: doing something just for the hell of it, with no measurement of success. For her, that’s playing ping pong, dancing or, on occasion, sitting in a river in her pants!

What used to make time disappear for you? And when was the last time you were really absorbed in something enjoyable?

Try a guided meditation

Breathworks’ Treasure of Pleasure meditation, guided by Vidyamala invites us to connect with the pleasant and enjoyable aspects of our experience. 

Click here to listen

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The recordings from this month's community sessions on Joy are available to listen back to in our free resource library. You can find them in The Community of Practice, our online mindfulness hub - click here to browse session recordings if you already have an account, or click here to create your free account.

Vidyamala's conversation with Miranda Hart is available to purchase for £19.50 from our Community of Practice shop. Click here to buy it if you already have an account, or click here to create your free account first.

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