I LOVE to laugh, don’t you? It’s so energizing and exhilarating and liberating. And I also LOVE yoga for its balance and peace and strength giving gifts. Both have been godsends for me over the past ten years. So when I heard about laughter yoga a few years ago I thought what a brilliant marriage!

Even though this may not be a new concept to many of you, I think it has so much merit I wanted to bring it back into your radar. Oprah did a segment on this a while back – the show featured her make-up artist participating in a yoga laughter class and going from skeptic to believer in it’s ability to lift stress from the soul. It works!!

This perfect pairing was developed by an Indian doctor searching for a way to bring the benefits of laughing, and yogic breathing to modern man. Years ago people used to laugh 20 minutes a day – now the average person cackles less than 5 minutes a day. What a huge difference! And it’s showing up in our level of stress, disease and relationship happiness.

As you may or may not know, laughing is quite the healthy cocktail for your body. Tons of hormones and chemicals are released producing an amazingly positive effect on our system – lifting depression, sadness, stress and anxiety to name a few. Added bonus, yogic breathing clears the exact same culprits. Whoohoo!

So you’re probably wondering, how the heck do you practice laughter yoga? Good question and the answer is It’s akin to contagious laughing. Anyone can guffaw without reason and laughter exercises almost always lead to real mirth, especially when in a group.

My first experience was in a group of 6 – all strangers but one. We each had to voice a situation that was stressing us out and then everyone reacts to what’s been said by breaking into loud billowing laughter and before you know it you are laughing at the crazy sounds surrounding you – the snorting and cackling is hilarious. The end result is fantastic -your problem seems miles away.

No drugs or alcohol, just clean fun – a great reminder we all need to spend more time playing. So plan a play-date with your mate and head on over to the nearest laughter yoga studio you can find – a beautiful bonding experience for your relationship.

Check out a laughter yoga club and join World Laughter Day on May 3rd.

And hey, do me a favor and let me know your experience – I can’t wait to hear!