What is Laughter Yoga?
Laughter yoga is a modern exercise involving prolonged voluntary laughter. This type of yoga is performed without any humorous reason to laugh, yet provides similar physiological and psychological benefits as spontaneous laughter.
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Laughter yoga sessions often start with gentle warm-up techniques which include stretching, chanting, clapping, eye contact and body movement, to help break down inhibitions and encourage a sense of playfulness. Breathing exercises are used to prepare the lungs for laughter, followed by a series of ‘laughter exercises’ that combine the method of acting and visualization techniques with playfulness.
Benefits
Reduce Stress
Laughter yoga has shown to decreases in cortisol levels up by up to 28%
Boost Energy
Laughter Yoga brings more oxygen to the body and brain, making us feel more energetic
Improve Mood
Laughing releases endorphins, helping to improve your mood within minutes
Quality of Life
Laughter helps us create a positive mental state and deal with difficult situations
Meet Larry
Laughter Yoga Leader
Laughter is a blessing. If you can laugh when there’s nothing to laugh at — you’ve got it.
In the News
Laughter Yoga
Laughter truly can be the best medicine!
Learn how the power of laughter and a commitment to laughter yoga has helped Larry O’Brien manage the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and bipolar disorder, as well as improve his overall quality of life.
Get ready to laugh out loud!
Providence
Larry O’Brien loves a quote from Hafiz, the medieval Persian poet: “Laughter is the sound of a soul waking up.”
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When you see O’Brien in action, you’d believe it. During his laughter yoga sessions, he rides energetically around the room in his wheelchair. As he laughs, he claps out every syllable: “Ho! Ho! Ha-ha-ha! Very good! Very good! Yayyyy!”
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Age-Friendly RI Radio Hour
We have a great show for you to today!
I'm really really looking forward to this. I have with us (not in the studio, we're in our own homes in our own little Zoom boxes) Larry O'Brien who is from the providence Laughter Club.
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How laughter really is the best cure for Covid blues, according to doctors
Doctors now say a daily giggle can boost our mental and physical health after a bleak year, with laughter the best cure for Covid blues.
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Boston Globe
Larry O’Brien laughs. A lot.
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O’Brien, a Laughter Yoga leader, runs the Providence Laughter Club, which has taken to Zoom since the onset of COVID-19. All are welcome.
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I sought him out because, like a lot of us these days, I needed a good laugh. I’d heard about him for years through my friend John Roarke.
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The Providence Laughter Club on "Mann About Town"
An interview with Dick and Rona Mann of WBLQ radio in Westerly, RI