By Ann Marie Angebrandt
THERE’S nothing like a good belly laugh to brighten your day.
And that head-throwing-back laugh is good for you, too.
It flushes away stale carbon dioxide, helps manage stress, generates pleasure-producing endorphins, and improves the immune system.
Just ask the people who meet for a group giggle in Williamstown every Saturday morning, rain or shine, at the Commonwealth Reserve in Nelson Place.
They’re part of a growing number of Laughter Club members who have discovered the physical, psychological and social benefits of laughter.
“I love it, I’m hooked,” said 37-year-old Josie Penna who founded the club about 18 months ago.
She first learnt of the activity at a local health food shop and went to a session out of curiosity.
Soon she was doing workshops to learn how to teach.
“Now it’s part of my life,” she said.
In fact Ms Penna, a social worker, is doing her university psychology thesis on the benefits of laughter.
Her fellow laughers range from an 80-year-old man to young children who come along with their parents.
While some may dismiss it as a whacky new-age phenomenon, the movement draws inspiration from yogic traditions.
Dr Madam Kataria, who calls the practise “laughter yoga”, started the first clubs in India about 12 years ago.
Today there are more than 5000 clubs in 40 countries, with a new club laughing its way into being every day, somewhere in the world.
But Ms Penna admits the practice is not for everyone.
Even her husband would rather play soccer on Saturday mornings than join her group.
“Some first-timers feel uncomfortable because it feels unnatural and awkward,” she said. “But once you get into the laughter, you don’t care.”
She said the practice was related less to telling jokes or comedy, than to meditation.
“It puts you in the moment. When you’re laughing, there’s nothing else that matters,” Ms Penna said.
Besides, the body can’t distinguish between a false and a genuine laugh.
“Even if it’s a fake laugh, the physical benefits are the same,” she said.
“And it doesn’t take long before a simulated laugh changes to a real one when you’re in a group.”
People needed to become more aware than ever of the importance of laughter, given the frantic pace of modern life, she said.
“Studies show that in the 1950s people used to laugh 18 minutes a day, but that has dropped to six minutes despite our huge rise in the standard of living,” Ms Penna says.
The group meets at 9.30am every Saturday for a 45-minute laughter session, then a coffee.
Everyone is welcome, and members are asked to pay a gold coin donation.
For more information, call Ms Penna on 0409 357 757.
