Laughter Yoga is a practice, a way to benefit from the joy and healing power of laughter without need of jokes or humor. It began with Dr. Madan Kataria in India 21 years ago and has since expanded into thousands of laughter clubs throughout the world. Dr. Kataria's great insight was the fact that laughing for no reason can produce the same physical and mental effects as laughing at a joke: increased endorphins (pleasure-inducing chemicals in the brain), bonding with community (oxytocin) and all of the other positive effects of letting go of stress. The yoga part of the practice started with Dr. Kataria's wife, Madhuri, a yoga teacher who believed that yoga's breathing, meditative and spiritual aspects had a place in this healing art. Laughter yoga sessions often end with quiet time and a reflection on spreading world peace through laughter.
Over time I've gotten to know the friends I met through my laughter club, and part of the fun each Monday is going out to lunch afterwards to talk and, well, laugh some more. I first discovered Laughter Yoga toward the end of my stay in Japan when my friend Denise Olivieri took me to a World Laughter Day in Tokyo. (Yes, there is such a thing! First Sunday in May every year.) There I was with dozens of others simply laughing for no reason via a variety of short (a minute or so) exercises. Breathing, clapping, laughing--those are the elements of Laughter Yoga. Here's an example of a laughter yoga session on Youtube. No doubt one laugh equals 100 words or more. You can watch this 3-minute clip here.
When I moved back to Denver two years ago I found an on-going club which meets weekly at noon at the Unitarian Church at 14th and Lafayette.* The number of participants varies from just a few to perhaps 15, depending on everyone's schedule or inclination. There is no fee or need to sign up for a course. Starting in June, the group moves to nearby Cheesman Park and continues there until fall.
Here we are one morning in the upstairs room at the church, where the stained glass window creates a beautiful light.
As this blog is part memoir, I wonder, as I write, how my laugh has changed since I was a child. I remember taking a voice class once and being told "Your voice is not your voice. It's a collection of habits, mostly unconscious, that you have heard and adapted." I imagine the same is true of laughter. I have no videos or other recordings of my earlier selves laughing. Probably, as a young child, my laughs and giggles were a lot more spontaneous, but then came my teen years and an infusion of self-consciousness. If laughter reflects our self-confidence, our emotional depth and sense of freedom, then I know my laugh is stronger and freer now than it was during my more timid adolescence.
Laughter yoga has its offshoots and one of them is Laughter Wellness, developed by Sebastien Gendry, a laughter specialist, I guess you could say, based in California. He started Laughter Online University, through which you can get certification in leading Laughter Wellness groups. I enrolled this year, and my goal this month is to finish the program. When I return to Florissant in June, I'd like to bring more laughter skills with me and lead a session or two here. I led my first session in Japan when I returned for a visit in March. It was at the annual retreat of WELL (Women Educators and Language Learners), a group very dear to my heart. About 20 participants turned up for a 9 a.m. session and I was delighted with their enthusiasm and creativity. Later I visited Denise--the friend who had introduced me to LY--and I visited a Tokyo laughter club (see info below). Here we are looking a bit flushed and relaxed after that session.
*Anyone interested in finding a laughter yoga club in your country/area can go to this website. A great source in Japan is Mary Tadokoro. She and her husband are experienced laughter yoga trainers in Tokyo. You can reach her via the Kichijoji Laughter Club. The link for Laughter Online University is here. There are also a growing number of Skype laughter clubs in various countries. You can get the call times at this link. What a way to travel--hohohahaha!
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