Laughter is free
Two years ago I was browsing through the local paper while visiting a friend on Nantucket Island, Mass., when I saw a small notice that intrigued me: “Free Laughter Club at the Saltmarsh Senior Center every Thursday at 10:15 a.m.” I am always looking out for new ways to stay healthy, and by sheer coincidence I had recently read a story back home in St. Catharines, Ont., about the proven psychological and physical benefits of laughing. So off I went.
At the centre, I was met by a slim, blond woman in her 50s who introduced herself as the Laughter Leader. With a smile, she said: “I'm Susan B. Witte (pronounced ‘witty'). An appropriate name, don't you think?” Twelve potential “laughers” showed up – two men and 10 women. The youngest among us was a couple in their late 30s, and the oldest was an 84-year-old woman named Elena.
Learned laughter
Susan explained that the concept of laughter clubs was started almost 10 years ago in Mumbai, India, by Dr. Madan Kataria, a family physician who wanted to help people feel better and thought laughter was a good place to start. The sessions are not about honing a sense of humour; that is a part of our personalities that helps us to make friends and gives us something in common. Laughter, on the other hand, is spontaneous. Kataria believes it can also be taught. Learned laughter, which incorporates the chanting, breathing and stretching components of yoga, is no less effective in relieving stress and brightening our outlook on life, as I was about to discover.
“Let's see how good we can feel today!” Susan said as she began to lead us through a series of relaxation exercises. Susan helped us to unwind with rhythmic clapping to a one-two, one-two-three beat, accompanied by chanting, “Ho-ho, ha-ha-ha.” She told us the chants should come from our navels and we should feel our stomachs moving in and out. I felt like I was training for a job as a mall Santa. A couple of deep breaths followed, then we bent over and stood up again, raising our arms up high while inhaling through our noses and slowly exhaling through our mouths. After a few shoulder and neck rolls, we were warmed up and ready to laugh.
We moved through a number of exercises invented by Kataria. The first was called Namaste Laughter. We placed our hands together in a prayerlike position and bowed slightly to each person in the group, looking into their faces and trying our best to laugh with them. It was forced at first and I felt self-conscious. Susan said we would relax more as we went along. She was right.
Dancing laughter
Dancing Laughter really did the trick. Everyone enjoyed it, especially Elena. We allowed our bodies to twist and twirl. Jitterbug steps slipped into cha-cha-chas and even a few square-dance swings. We were finally ready for Monkey Laughter. Yes, we all jumped up and down, scratching ourselves and shrieking. People who were coming and going in the centre gave us funny looks as they passed by, which definitely made us laugh. We knew we looked ridiculous. The best part was, we didn't care. When the session was over I did feel better. Happier, yes, but also calmer and somehow more content.
The principles of laughter clubs came to Kataria while he was working on a wellness article. He read a lot of scientific literature about laughter's beneficial effects on our bodies and minds and was inspired by the discovery that laughter actually reduced our stress hormones and pumped up our immune system.
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