Face of Laughing Buddha

LAUGHTER YOGA: Building connections one belly laugh at a time

Last updated: April 8th, 2019

I guess that you would have called me a joyous child. At any often seemingly random moment I would burst into fits of giggles and carry on this way for minutes on end. Sometimes my “giggle fits” as I called them were not welcomed by others or myself because of the social impropriety of the timing. There were numerous times when I let out a good roar of laughter at church, and then there were the times I experienced significant physical pain because my sides and belly ached from laughing. However, in the grand scheme of my childhood, these moments were rare. Often my giggles would have a positive outcome on others joining in the fun with tears of joy running down the faces of the loving adults in my life.

As I grew older, I found my laughter fading, as do others. The seriousness of work and family responsibilities often turn us into stoic adults, who fail to produce an iota of laughter even in the funniest of situations. One day I was feeling this pressure of adulthood, as I sat stooped over the computer in my office during a dark winter day. I felt a familiar ache in my head, associated with tight deadlines, and a kink in my neck from sitting at my desk all day. As I was reflecting on this discomfort, I realized that I longed for these feelings to be replaced by the almost forgotten belly discomfort that was associated with the excessive laughter of my childhood. The interconnectedness of life is remarkable and thus it’s no surprise that not long after that day, I came across an advertisement for a laughter Yoga workshop. I was interested, but had reservations, so I did some research.

As I began researching laughter Yoga, I came across article after article about its health benefits. One Saturday in March, I found myself at my local community centre in my Yoga pants and running shoes ready to experience this phenomenon of “laughter for no reason” as it’s often called. So how was my first experience with laughter Yoga? Well, going in with 15 years of solid, serious adulthood under my belt, I have to admit that I was a little self-conscious as I let out my first “ho-ho-ha-ha-ha” chant. However, by the end of the session my laughter, which had begun as part of a forced exercise, was flowing in a genuine manner. I also felt calm yet focused. And, a truly unexpected benefit that I derived from my first experience with laughter Yoga was a true and meaningful connection with the other workshop participants. I felt as though I really knew them and we had really experienced something significant together.

It really seems that laughing with others builds rapport and connection that sitting around a meeting room table simply does not. It reminded me of the connections I built with others during my impromptu giggle fits as a child. I believe that these connections are built on a generosity of self and spirit that is expressed when one yields their socially constructed self to the power of laughter.

For me, the beauty of laughter Yoga is its ability to act as a conduit for bonding by getting participants into a space that allows for laughter and encourages, initially, artificial laughter, to turn to deep genuine belly laughter so that all involved can reintroduce their joyful inner child to the world.

Read more about laughter in LAUGH AWAY THE PAIN? Laughter’s ancient origins hold keys for health and happiness Today»

[su_panel background=”#f2f2f2″ color=”#000000″ border=”0px none #ffffff” shadow=”0px 0px 0px #ffffff”]Andrea Walsh is an occupational therapist and person with living experience of disability. She is passionate about empowering persons with disabilities through creation of opportunities for meaningful participation and inclusive community building. She works at Trent University as the Institutional Accessibility Advisor and volunteers actively on her city’s Accessibility Advisory Committee.

image: Laughing Buddha via Shutterstock
  1. laughter Yoga is the need of the hour as the man these days is surrounded with so much of stress, leaving a person exhausted and short of laughter. So friends never run away from happiness but infact make laughter yoga therapy a routine of your life.

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