We all have heard it said that laughter is the best medicine, but you may not know that laughter is also quite a good exercise. Laughter has been said to create many beneficial results such as strengthening the immune system, reducing stress and elevating endorphins — the “feel good” hormones. All of these beneficial results are similar to what one experiences with physical exercise, so now you may be able to experience all these benefits from a new laughter yoga. Furthermore, the good news for those who don’t like to exercise, this could be a way to take advantage of this much unused health benefit.

William Fry, professor emeritus at Stanford University has long reported the beneficial effects of laughter. He says that laughter stimulates the brain, boosts circulation and exercises the muscles. What better way to incorporate this new found exercise than to apply it to a very old tradition — yoga. So, Dr. Mandan Kataria, a family physician from India, developed a form of yoga called “Hasya Yoga” that incorporates laughter with yogic breathing techniques for which he calls “laughter medication”. Dr. Kataria states that “when you start laughing, your chemistry changes, your physiology changes, and your chances to experience happiness are much greater”.

After Dr. Kataria developed laughter yoga, he decided to expand his ideas into a new group dynamic. He started the “laughter club” in a local park with his wife and a few friends. At first, they told each other jokes but when they ran out of humorous stories, they decided to simply start laughing. When they first started with forced laughter, they were skeptical but they soon found that it was contagious. And, before long, everyone started to laugh along not even knowing what they were laughing about. The interesting thing about their laughter clubs is that even though it is phony laughter, it appears to have the same benefits as the real thing.




Don’t laugh — there are more than 5,000 laughter clubs around the world today. Dr. Kataria has even taken this unique concept to prisons, classrooms, factories, corporations and even a school for the blind. It’s amazing how someone can take such a simple concept and turn it into an incredible dynamic tool for spreading not only good will, but good health. So, what are you waiting for — start laughing. If you don’t believe us, watch this video and tell me how you feel afterwards. I dare you not to laugh.

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