Laughter yoga

Domain VIII · Creative & expressive arts therapies · Madan Kataria · 1995 · Mumbai, India

What it is

Laughter yoga is a group wellness practice created by the Indian physician Dr Madan Kataria. He launched the first Laughter Club with five people in a Mumbai park in March 1995. When the group ran out of jokes, he switched to laughing "for no reason": laughter is first done deliberately as an…

Format

• Laughter yoga has no clinical phases. Its structure works at two levels: within a session and across a course of practice.
• A. Session structure (LYI booklet, about 60 minutes)

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• A research protocol. One trial used eight 45-minute seated sessions over four weeks, with certified instructors present at each session.
• Version followed: the Laughter Yoga International (LYI) one-hour, four-step session described in LYI's Information Booklet (clapping, deep breathing, childlike playfulness, laughter exercises, then Laughter Meditation and guided relaxation), cross-checked against LYI's current website, which presents the same content as "5 pillars" (adding Laughter Meditation as a pillar). Screening draws on the BMJ narrative review…
• What it is. Laughter yoga is a group wellness practice created by the Indian physician Dr Madan Kataria. He launched the first Laughter Club with five people in a Mumbai park in March 1995. When the group ran out of jokes, he switched to laughing "for no reason": laughter is first done deliberately as an exercise, with no jokes, humour or comedy, and is combined with yogic breathing that lengthens the exhale. LYI…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Evidence status of health claims. LYI's materials claim effects on stress hormones, endorphins and immunity, and benefits for hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, depression, asthma, arthritis, migraine and cancer. They support these mostly with testimonials, including anecdotes of reduced…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Neck problems or dizziness when tipping the head back; keep the head level.
• Giggle incontinence in children. Children who are already the target of teasing.
• Adults who find it infantilising. Explain why it is used and let them clap without the words.
• This exercise gives the leader control over intensity. With fragile clients, stop at the giggle stage.
• As in 4.12, the jaw. Quick abdominal pulsing still raises abdominal pressure, so the 4.1 cautions apply.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.