Laughing All the Way to Well-being
Many of us had heard about laugh clubs for years, including laughter yoga and laugh walks, but we didn’t know exactly what they were. At OPI, we had the opportunity to hear Marsha Linehan’s description during a recent training, and the idea seemed simple enough: Just laugh – forced laugh if necessary – until it becomes real, and hopefully, the rest of the group will join.
Naturally we were skeptical, but after a few seconds of listening to Marsha’s recorded laughter, we found ourselves in hysterics with tears and all. After we settled down, we discussed how light-hearted we felt and how that few minutes of laughing made a positive impression that lasted the rest of the day.
According to the Laughter Yoga website, laughter yoga is a considered to be a complete well-being workout where participants initiate laughter as a body exercise that becomes real and contagious laughter. The laughter helps regulate breathing patterns which in turn assists with oxygenating our body and brain, making us feel more healthy and energetic.
Once we knew the “what” and “how,” we wanted to bring it to the group setting. We had a few questions such as:
- How do we get a group of people, specifically young adults, to buy into this?
- Can we really get them to let go of judgments and insecurities enough to be part of this?
- Would they think this was too silly?
- Would they participate?
All of these questions were answered this week when we attempted our first laugh club during our regularly scheduled DBT Skills Generalization group. Following Marsha’s example, we led the group in a round of impromptu laughing, and the group response was varied.
Some starting laughing, some were familiar with the activity, and some were confused as we gave no direction. Once we explained the idea and tried it again, we had more participation but not yet a hundred percent.
We spoke to the group about judgments, beginner’s mind, and being self-conscious. The activity proved to be challenging for a few, and we changed our process for the third attempt by watching a humorous video. This worked well for some; however there was less participation overall from the group. While not everyone participated, we did feel a lighter vibe in the room for the rest of the group.
Laugh Clubs can be found all over the world and participation can also occur by phone and Skype. Check out laughteryoga.org to find a local club or grab a group of friends and create your own laugh club.
by Jenny Bell Martin, M.S.
Director of Career and Volunteer
For more information on our laugh club and other activities that we offer in our programs, please call (888) 814-5985 or click HERE to submit an online contact form. We’ll be in touch promptly.