Laughter Yoga

Laughter is the Best Medicine

I discovered laughter yoga 12 years ago, and I was fascinated by the idea. At that time, I felt that my life could do with a bit more joy in it, a bit more playfulness and fun, but I didn’t know how to make that happen – and then laughter yoga came along and I’ve been practising it ever since. And sharing it with others – because it really can turn your your life around.

Laughter yoga was started in 1995 by a family doctor who was reading about all the health benefits of hearty laughter, and he felt that a good laugh would benefit his patients a lot more than all the pills and medicines he was prescribing.

It is really good for you and it’s lots of fun! It’s gentle aerobic exercise and brings lots of fresh oxygen into your lungs making you feel healthy and energised. It releases endorphins and other happy hormones into your system lifting your mood and making you feel good.

There are no jokes, comedy or humour, and you don’t have to feel happy when you start. We initiate laughter as an exercise, but the pretend laughter very quickly becomes real laughter because laughter is infectious. And laughter connects people - it helps you make friends.

It’s called laughter yoga because, like all yogic practices, it’s based on the breath. But there are no special yoga poses, no standing on your head - just breathing in, and breathing out with a laugh.

So if you are lonely, or stressed, or unhappy, or depressed, you might try a few sessions of laughter yoga. You might just get addicted - like me

Introduction to Laughter Yoga

Scientific research confirms that laughter is good for us and we should all be getting more of it – that it is indeed 'the best medicine'. We are told we need to get more joy into our lives, more friends and fun, and more laughter. The trouble is that many of us would like to laugh more but we don’t know where to start.

Laughter yoga offers an answer. It combines playful laughter exercises with deep yoga style breathing (pranayama) - and anyone can take part. There are three myths about laughter that we need to be clear about:

We think you need a sense of humour to laugh -you don’t
We think you need a reason to laugh –you don’t
We think you need to be happy - you don’t

There are no jokes, comedy or humour in laughter yoga.

It’s easy to get started, and laughter is infectious. It’s also gentle cardio-vascular exercise, and has been described as ‘internal jogging'.

A new Yoga Group Leader in Swansea

Over 100 members of Swansea u3a wanted a laughter yoga group, and Linda Jones was prepared to train as their leader but could find no convenient training. So Subject Adviser Judith Walker took a trip to Swansea and delivered the training. The photos show Linda receiving her certificate from Judith, and celebrations with other other members of Swansea u3a. Thank you Linda and Jane ( Group Coordinator) for your warm support and welcome.

Join Judith's Laughter yoga sessions

These take place on the second Wednesday of every month, from 10am-11am. REGISTER HERE

I have been running laughter yoga groups in Edinburgh u3a since 2012 and offer one-to-one laughter coaching. Laughter yoga has changed her life for the better – I am happier, more confident and have a lot more friends. My wish is that I can help others find the same thing.

We don’t laugh because we’re happy, we’re happy because we laugh." William James

Where can I find laughter yoga in the u3a?

u3a online Learning Platform -This is open to any member of any u3a. There is laughter yoga online on the second Wednesday of the month and again on the last Tuesday. Register here . (All free)

u3a Interest Groups Online -You need to become a member of Interest Groups Online u3a and you can join here

In-person groups -Some u3as have in-person laughter yoga groups. To find these, you have to look at the Groups pages of the u3a you are interested in.

Would you like to lead laughter yoga sessions for your own u3a?

If you would like to lead laughter yoga sessions it's really important to be properly trained as a laughter leader. Laughter yoga is not just 'having a laugh'. Like all forms of yoga, it is based on the breath (pranayama). Training only takes a couple of days and it’s a lot of fun. There is a careful structure in a laughter yoga session which you learn in the training, and which will give you confidence, and bring a sense of purpose to your group.

You can then be confident that what you are delivering is actually laughter yoga and not something else. It’s very easy to find that your session has drifted off into telling jokes and looking for funny things - as Dr Kataria himself found in the beginning.

It is also important to be aware that, as in any physical exercise, there are medical contra-indications and all participants need to be made aware of this at the start of a session.

You don’t need any traditional yoga experience to train as a laughter leader. I recommend choosing someone in the Laughter Association UK as there you will get an excellent training for a very reasonable price. Below is a link to the website, but if you need any help in finding someone convenient please let me know.

Laughter Yoga Dance

Bollywood style aerobic dancing and laughing. This combines aerobic dancing, laughter exercises, and breathing exercises, which will make you feel fresh and energized. The dancing steps are taken from Bollywood movies. They are very simple and anybody can do it. Most laughter exercises are rhythmic and musical, making the experience a lot of fun. Also, you will have bouts of free-flowing hearty laughter followed by deep breathing exercises for relaxation, in between the dancing steps.

Subject Advice