Laughter Yoga is a new health craze sweeping the world, where anyone can laugh for no reason. We don't need to rely on jokes, comedies and sense of humor. We laugh in a group and initiate laughter as group exercise. Very quickly fake laughter turns into real one. It has many health benefits and changed the lives of many people. there are more than 7000 laughter clubs in more than 70 countries.

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Born in a small village on Indo - Pakistan border, I was the youngest of eight children. Hailing from a farming background, my parents were simple village folk engrossed in the daily grind of a farm life. They never attended school and even my siblings were not interested in studying, but I was the odd one and showed a lot of academic spark which fulled my mother's dream that I should become a doctor. As medical facility was a rarity in the village, and one had to travel almost 15 miles to seek any kind of medical help, she hoped I would study medicine and return to the village to help the people.

In pursuance of her wish, I went to a boarding school and worked hard to get my medical degree. After graduation, I went to Mumbai to do my post- graduate studies in medicine.   Completely lured by the glitz and glitterati of Mumbai, swanky cars and luxurious apartments, I too wanted to become rich and famous. I tried everything in my capacity to reach for the skies, but soon realized it was not that simple. My quest did not succeed and I slumped into a bout of depression. Life was tough and it was not easy to make money without any business experience.   I was stressed and miserable. At that time, my mother visited Mumbai and was shocked to see my state. She said, "Madan, what is wrong? You don't look happy and you don't laugh and smile like you did in the village."

She was right. Somewhere in the midst of upward scramble, I had actually lost my laughter. The transition from an innocent village boy to a city doctor had seriously altered my persona. I knew I was in trouble. Having realized the enormity of the situation, I embarked on a new search -- and this time it was not money. It was to find my laughter - the key to happiness and joy.

Not content with being a practicing physician in a suburb in Mumbai, India, I launched a health magazine "My Doctor' to spread more awareness about good health among people.

It was in March 1995, while writing an article "Laughter -- The Best Medicine' for my journal, I stumbled on a rich repertoire of scientific work done on laughter as a therapy. On exploring further, I was amazed at the volume of documented studies that described at great length the many proven benefits of laughter on the human mind and body.

While going through the scientific literature on the benefits of laughter, I was profoundly inspired by the book "Anatomy of an Illness' written by Norman Cousins in which he described how he laughed his way back to health from Ankylosing Spondylitis, an incurable disease of the spine. The work of Dr. Lee Berk of Loma Linda University in California which showed that mirthful laughter reduces stress levels and has a positive effect on the immune system was also very rousing.

This set me thinking. Life in Mumbai was stressful. People hardly laughed. They were forever rushed and hassled to meet their needs and fulfill their dreams. Even I had turned dour and had lost my laughter to the daily rigors of my profession and the added burden of a publication. This was no joke. There was no time to laugh.

  I believed laughter could improve health and cope with the stressors of modern living. I looked for ways to generate more laughter and help people in medical or personal crisis. I started joking and laughing with my patients and soon found that they recovered much faster as laughter kept them happy and positive.

The Origin

13th March, 1995, I got up at 4am and was pacing up and down in my living room when a sudden idea flashed through my mind: If laughter is so good, why not set up a Laughter Club. I was ecstatic and could hardly wait to implement the concept. Within three hours, I hurried to the public park where I used to go for my daily morning walk and tried to convince the regular morning walkers about the importance of laughter and to start a Laughter Club.

The expressions were predictable. They were aghast and actually thought I was crazy. They laughed at the idea and scoffed at the whole concept. But, I was unshakeable and did not give up.   I managed to motivate 4 out of 400 people! And thus was born the first Laughter Club with just 5 people.

We met for half an hour every morning to laugh together much to the amusement of befuddled onlookers. In the beginning, the session began by someone telling a joke or narrating a humorous anecdote. Soon, people started enjoying the whole exercise and reported feeling much better after a laughter session of 20-30 minutes.  

Bearing the initial ridicule and criticism, I firmly continued to explain the health benefits of laughter till gradually people became a little more receptive and showed a keen interest. The attendance started growing, and there were nearly 55 people by the end of the week. For ten days the routine continued with much vigor, after which we hit a snag. The stock of good jokes and stories ran out, and negative, hurtful and naughty jokes started to emerge. Reacting to offensive jokes, two participants complained that it would be better to close the club than to continue with such jokes.       

Determined to keep the Laughter Club alive, I asked the club members to give me a day to resolve the crisis. That night, I kept trying to look for some way to laugh without jokes.   Luckily, I laid my hands on a book "Emotions and Health', from Prevention Health Care Series (USA). While reading a chapter on humor and laughter, I was surprised to discover that the body cannot differentiate between real and fake laughter. It clearly revealed that if one cannot laugh, one should pretend to laugh.   I also learnt that not only laughter, but a bodily expression of any motion, generates a similar emotion in the mind.

This was a breakthrough - I thought why not use laughter as an exercise.

The next morning, I explained this to the group and asked them to try and act out laughter with me for one minute. Though skeptical, they agreed to try"

"The results were amazing. For some, acted out laughter quickly turned into real laughter --- this was contagious and very soon others followed. Soon the group was laughing like never before. The hearty laughter that followed persisted for almost ten minutes.

Finally, there was laughter, real laughter -- with no jokes.

The fact that one could laugh without an external trigger was a unique feature. But there were some people who were naturally inhibited and shy and found it difficult to generate laughter. As every person has a different psychological make-up; it was harder for some to laugh.   My new challenge was how to get these people laughing without any reason.

I came up with an idea of warm-up exercises, such as clapping and chanting ho ho ha ha ha. This loosened the inhibitions and helped people to laugh easily. Soon different kinds of laughter exercises were developed, which included elements of role-play, childlike playfulness and other techniques from my days as an amateur dramatic actor.

As the concept evolved, I saw many similarities between laughter and Pranayama in Yoga. Both were based on the principle of optimal breathing - fundamental to good health. Together with my wife, Madhuri, we incorporated the elements from this ancient form of Yogic breathing with laughter and the result was Laughter Yoga or Hasya Yoga (as known in Sanskrit) - a complete workout for health and wellness. A physically-oriented technique, it allows for multiple health benefits, primarily increasing the supply of oxygen, boosting the immune system and energizing and recharging the metabolism.

Today, with thousands of Laughter Yoga Clubs burgeoning worldwide, scores of people are taking advantage of the enormous benefits of laughter and are experiencing relief from a variety of stress-related illnesses.   It has grown on its own strength, and the actual benefits are undeniable.

Laughter Yoga -- A Unique Delivery System

Until now there was no reliable and effective system to deliver laughter. Humor was the only tool available, which is not very consistent and seldom leads to continuous hearty laughter. Laughter Yoga is a breakthrough laughter delivery system which enables a person to laugh continuously for 15 to 20 minutes.

Laughter Yoga combines unconditional laughter with yogic breathing (Pranayama). Anyone can laugh for no reason, without relying on humor, jokes or comedy. In a session, laughter is simulated as a body exercise in a group. The group maintains eye contact and childlike playfulness, and laughter soon turns real and contagious. The concept of Laughter Yoga is based on a scientific fact that the body cannot differentiate between fake and real laughter--if it is done willingly. One gets the same physiological and psychological benefits, purely from the motion. It approaches laughter as a bodily exercise, making it simple for everyone to follow and can actually be prescribed and practiced by one and all irrespective of cultural background, language and state of mind as it is a common language we all speak.

Laughter Yoga is fast sweeping the globe and has become a worldwide phenomenon. It is now being practiced in companies, old age homes, schools, colleges, fitness centers, community centers, prisons, hospitals,   homes for the physically and mentally challenged and cancer self-help group to promote complete wellness. It can also be a value addition to other health building activities like yoga, meditation, aerobics, Tai-Chi, etc.

Dr Madan Kataria MD

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Authors Website: www.laughteryoga.org

Authors Bio:
Dr. Madan Kataria, a medical doctor from Mumbai, India popularly known as the "Guru of Giggling' (London Times), is the founder of Laughter Yoga Clubs movement started in 1995. While researching the benefits of laughter, he was amazed by the number of studies showing profound physiological and psychological benefits of laughter. He decided to find a way to deliver these benefits to his patients and other people. The result is Laughter Yoga, a unique exercise routine that combines group laughter exercises with yoga breathing which allows anyone to laugh without using jokes, humor or comedies. Started with just with just five people in a public park in Mumbai in 1995, it has grown into a worldwide movement of more than 6000 Laughter Yoga clubs in over 60 countries. 

Spreading rapidly in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, South East Asia, China and Africa, this new concept has been widely covered by prestigious publications like the TIME magazine, National Geographic, and the Wall Street Journal and featured on CNN, BBC, US networks and the Oprah Winfrey Show. 

Dr. Kataria is a keynote, motivational and inspirational speaker for companies, corporations and organizations all over the world. He has done seminars and workshops with UBS and Emirates Bank, IBM, Hewlett Packard, YPO (Young President Association), SAS and Emirates Airlines, Volvo Automobiles, Glaxo Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Manpower and Social Welfare, Singapore Government, Western Australian Parliament, Dubai (UAE), HRD Congress Malaysia, the Dubai Wellbeing Show. It also includes Management Associations in Australia, Malaysia, Pakistan and India. 

He is also a corporate consultant for holistic health, stress management, teambuilding, leadership, peak performance and communication skills to national and multinational corporations in India, USA, Canada, Europe, Switzerland, Australia, Singapore and Dubai. 

A popular speaker, Dr. Kataria is featured frequently on television and radio worldwide and is associated with a number of research projects to measure the benefits of laughter. Recent studies in the USA and Bangalore, India using unconditional laughter have positively confirmed these benefits. This scientific confirmation of what has been observed in thousands of laughter groups marks a turning point in the acceptance of Laughter Yoga in business world and in schools, hospitals, old age centers and other areas.