Laughing Yoga

What is Laughter Yoga?

Laughter yoga combines simulated laughter exercises with gentle breathing techniques, it’s usually performed in a group, led by a teacher who guides everyone through the practice. It works because laughter is contagious, when you see someone else laughing you want to laugh yourself, and therefore practicing ‘laughing’ in a group makes it very hard not to join in!

How did laughter yoga originate?

The practise of laughter yoga was first developed in 1995 by a family physician in Mumbai called Dr. Kataria while he was looking for ways to help alleviate the stress of people living in the over-crowded city. His first idea was a laughter group in which people told jokes and generally made each other laugh, however, a few sessions in Dr Kataria realised that the members of his group weren’t laughing at the jokes they were being told so much as they couldn’t help themselves laugh when they saw other people laughing. Dr. Kataria saw how much his participants enjoyed the sessions and remarked on feeling calmer and less stressed afterwards. Dr Kataria realised that you could teach the body how to laugh without relying on jokes or humour and with this realisation he created and perfected simulated laughter techniques. He went on to incorporated breathing exercises alongside the laughter and that is how laughter yoga was created. 

What does a class look like?

We first experienced laughing yoga in Jaipur, where, between 6 & 7am everyday people gather in Central Park and partake in laughing yoga sessions. Sessions vary but in general a class starts with warm up exercises including chanting, clapping and breathing before interspersing laughing into the practice. What starts of as feeling like forced laughter can’t help but becomes genuine as your inhibitions are broken down and you relax into the experience and start to have fun with it. Meditation is also often part of a session in which everyone is encouraged to engage in spontaneous, free-flowing laughter.

What does it feel like?

At first, very odd! But as you ease into it you can’t help but really enjoy yourself. Laughing promotes endorphins that make us feel good at the same time as relaxing the whole body, relieving physical tensions and stress. Laughing also boosts the immune system as it decreases the stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease. Humour lightens your burdens, connects you to the people around you and inspires hope; and laughter yoga works in all the same ways. After a class, you feel lighter, calmer and genuinely happy.

If you’re travelling to India laughter yoga is practiced across the country and we recommend asking whoever you are staying with for where you might be able to join in. In the UK there are now laughter yoga centers and academies in London also across the wider country.