Seated Laughter Yoga

Laughter Yoga was founded in 1995 by Kataria, a physician from Mumbai, India. Since then he has created 5,000 laughter clubs, in which people meet regularly just to laugh, worldwide.

"Our objective is to build an international community of people who believe in love and laughter," Kataria says.

Laughter Yoga involves what Kataria calls his "breakthrough technology"—exercises designed to get people to laugh for no reason. These exercises, combined with simple yoga breathing techniques and "laughter meditation," are the heart of Laughter Yoga. Kataria promises that Laughter Yoga relieves stress, boosts immunity, fights depression, and eventually makes people into more positive thinkers.

The yoga is performed without any humorous reason to laugh, with one practitioner observing that "The mind does not know that we’re faking it."

Laughter yoga sessions may start with gentle warm-up techniques which include stretching, chanting, clapping, eye contact and body movement, to help break down inhibitions and encourage a sense of playfulness. Breathing exercises are used to prepare the lungs for laughter, followed by a series of ‘laughter exercises’ that combine the method of acting and visualization techniques with playfulness. Laughter exercises are interspersed with breathing exercises.