The other day, I had the opportunity to take part in a laughter yoga class from Billy Strean (a professor from the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation). He facilitated a class for two of the sororities on campus (one of them being my own). True to the nature of the name of the class, we all showed up in leggings and activewear, ready to stretch and move. A few of us even brought yoga mats. We would soon learn this was all unnecessary.
What I thought would be a class full of stretches that perhaps naturally induce laughing or maybe forcing ourselves to laugh while performing and transitioning between yoga poses turned out to be a bonding and relaxing experience. Instead, the ‘yoga’ was merely gestures or exercises that we would accompany with laughing sounds which may have been forced at the beginning but throughout each exercise they genuinely became true laughter. An example of one of the exercises was to greet another attendee with a handshake but rather than saying ‘Hello’ merely let out a ‘Ha Ha’ or Ho Ho’. As ridiculous as this sounds, this is exactly the point. While perhaps the first ‘Ha’ was forced, the hilarity of the situation made laughing natural. Other exercises included pretending to be an airplane and relating your laugh to the movement as you flew, or acting out a plane safety demonstration but with laughter instead of words.
After a stressful week of running from class to rehearsal to class again, coming home just to eat, go to the gym and then do more homework, this was exactly what I needed. A chance to hang out with friends, laugh, and relax. I also underestimated how helpful this class would be. An interesting fact that was brought up at the beginning of the workshop was that whether or not the laughter was forced or genuine, the body cannot tell the difference so the benefits will still occur.
As we enter finals season, I highly recommend that everyone seek out a workshop like this or at least find a friend, hang out, laugh. Find something everyday that brings you joy and allows that laughter to be expressed. It feels so good and is like hitting a reset button for your brain, which is a much needed experience at this time of year.
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