What is Laughter Yoga?
Laughter Yoga (also called Hasya Yoga) is a joyful, playful practice that combines voluntary laughter, yogic breathing, and mindfulness exercises. You don’t need jokes or humor to laugh — the laughter is initiated as a “playful exercise,” and it often becomes genuine and contagious in the group.
The concept was pioneered by Dr. Madan Kataria in Mumbai in 1995, when he realized that the body cannot distinguish between fake laughter and real laughter — both produce physiological and psychological benefits. He and his wife Madhuri and a few other participants started the first laughter club in a park, and over time, the idea spread across the globe.
The practice typically includes:
- Breathing / warm-up exercises
- Simple laughter exercises (e.g. pretend laughter, playful calls)
- Laughter yoga dance / movement
- Q&A, reflection, and laughter meditation
Even if you start by “pretending” to laugh, after a few minutes your body often shifts — laughter becomes genuine. This is the magic of group energy and play.