Laughter Yoga practice offers a delightful way to relieve stress
Known as “hasyayoga”, the Laughter Yoga discipline originated in India and has quickly spread throughout the world. A class feels like a combination of breathing practice and creative movement workshop, though that doesn’t capture the full exuberance of a session.
On Friday evenings, Ganna Herendon, a Certified Laughter Yoga Leader, teaches Laughter Yoga at Toes Yoga on Brainerd Road. On a cold January night, the room—brick walls and a cheerful rust-red floor to match—is chilly, but warming quickly.
Ganna explains that Laughter Yoga was started by Indian doctor Madan Kataria. “He noticed that he felt better laughing,” she says. “He and his friends started telling jokes in a park but eventually they ran out of jokes. He said, ‘Come back tomorrow, I’ll come up with something.’ What he came up with were exercises that are contagious in a group of people.’”
Different from wit or comedy, Laughter Yoga bypasses the intellect and appeals to imagination and instinct.
Ganna has the class stretch, giggling softly as each side of the ribcage opens. Then we rev our “laughter engines”—at the belly, chest, throat and forehead. Placing a fist over each engine, we rotate it as if turning a crank, while making a laughing sound. Genuine laughter “at something funny” isn’t necessary—you just make the characteristic “chugging” sound of a laugh and, soon enough, you’re really laughing.
More exercises follow, with lots of physical roleplaying to encourage interaction and what quickly turns into infectious laughter. Vowel Laughter (laughing the sounds “a,” “e,” and so on). Penguin Laughter (walking like a penguin). Airplane Laughter. After-holiday Bill Laughter. Argument Laughter, in which we harangue each other in nonsense sounds.
We also perform breathing exercises found in other yoga classes. Each exercise is punctuated by applause: “Very good! Very good! Yay!” In fact, we’re interacting a lot like Teletubbies: minimal verbal expression, but plenty of vocalization, imagination, and, of course, laughter.
Laughter Yoga can help people through tough emotional times. Ganna encountered the discipline as a newcomer in Nashville, and found it made her more joyful. “The first session was incredible,” she says. “People were so free, goofing off, expressing themselves. I felt inhibited, but they said, ‘Come, do it with us.’ It was a liberating experience to laugh with others for no reason. I was so happy!”
By the end of the session, my heart is pounding. Laughing has health benefits, quite apart from zooming around the room like an airplane. Laughter is a medium-intensity cardiovascular workout, Ganna explains, akin to a brisk walk. It increases circulation, delivers blood to the brain, and improves immune function.
Best of all, you’re laughing too hard to notice you’re working out.
In Chattanooga, practice Laughter Yoga at:
Center for Mindful Living
First Sundays, 2 p.m.
400 E. Main St., Suite 150
centerformindfulliving.org
Toes Yoga
Fridays, 6:15 p.m.
3228 Brainerd Rd.
toesyoga.com