Laughter Yoga is a unique new physical activity where anyone can learn to laugh for no reason at all! It is a perfect blend of playful and energizing laughter exercises. These laughter exercises are interspersed with gentle yogic breathing and stretching exercises, rhythmic clapping and chanting. Laughter Yoga, a growing phenomenon started in 1995 by Dr. Madan Kataria, a Mumbai, India physician, has people getting together to laugh for no reason at all, other than the health and fun of it. Since then, Laughter Yoga has grown into a global movement with more than 6,000 clubs in over 60 countries!


We’ve all heard the clique “Laughter is the best medicine”. Well, I am here to tell you that it is not just a clique. Science has stepped up to prove the health benefits of laughter that humans have suspected for millennia. It raises your endorphins and seratonin levels, lowers stress hormones and blood pressure and boost the immune system. Laughter is also a great way to increase productivity and creativity.


Psychologist Alice M. Isen and colleagues conducted a study with a group of college students to determine how laughter affects creativity. Each student was given a box of matches, a box of tacks, and a candle. They were asked how they would affix the candle to a corkboard so that when the candle was lit the wax would not drip onto the corkboard. Before attempting to solve the problem, one group of students watched a comedy film of television bloopers. The other group of students watched “Area Under a Curve”, a math film. The researchers found that 75% of the students watching the funny bloopers solved the problem correctly, whereas only 20% of students who watched the math film got it correct.


Fun, humor, laughter and playfulness all help our creative spirits. We can suddenly see the world in a different way and seeing things differently helps break old patterns, develop unique ideas and innovative ways of doing things. The good news is that you don't need comedy or jokes to laugh! Here's were Laughter Yoga comes in. The science has show that simulated laughter produces the same physiological effects. So we can simply choose to laugh! Or fake it until you make it! The more you do this the eaiser it becomes. Eventually, there is no faking. The memory of your body and brain kick in and you are able to laugh genuinely more often with less effort and the effects on your creativity will be evident!