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Laughter Yoga

health · easy · 10-15 minutes per session, 2-3x per week

What is Laughter Yoga?

Force yourself to laugh for 10-15 minutes. Your body can't tell the difference between fake and real laughter — it releases the same endorphins, lowers cortisol, and boosts immune function. Sounds absurd. The science is rock solid.

Is there evidence for it?

EVIDENCEmoderate

How do you do Laughter Yoga?

  1. 1.Start with fake laughter: 'Ha ha ha ho ho ho' — just make the sounds. It feels incredibly stupid. That's fine
  2. 2.Add body engagement: clap while laughing, raise your arms, bounce on your feet. The movement makes the laughter more natural
  3. 3.Look at yourself in a mirror while doing it — or do it with someone else. The absurdity will trigger real laughter within 2-3 minutes
  4. 4.Common exercises: 'Greeting laughter' (laugh while shaking hands), 'Gradient laughter' (start quiet, build to full belly laugh), 'Lion laughter' (stick out tongue, roar-laugh)
  5. 5.Join a laughter yoga club (they exist in 100+ countries) or follow along with YouTube sessions. A group setting makes it much easier and more fun

How long does it take?

10-15 minutes per session, 2-3x per week.

Is it hard to start?

easy.

Source: Dr. Madan Kataria (founder of Laughter Yoga), psychoneuroimmunology research
health · stress · emotional · energy · relationships
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This is one entry from the library Shift matches against. It is general information, not advice about you, and nothing on this page came from anyone's conversation.