So last Tuesday I found myself saying yes to my lovely neighbours invite to join her at laughter club. Quick rundown, it was founded back in 1995 by an Indian Physician, Dr Madan Kararia with all of five people in an Indian park and now there are over 6,000 clubs across the world. Laughter Clubs Victoria was founded in 2002 as a not-for-profit organisation and now has 41 clubs across the state where young and old are welcome to come along and laugh - for free!
Now we all know I fancy myself as a bit of a comedian, but I wasn't sure if we were supposed to tell jokes or what the deal was. Always up to trying new things and a bit of a giggle, I went in with an open mind not really knowing what to expect.
There I was at the East Brighton Laughter Club (meets every Tuesday 6-7pm) limbered up and ready to get giggling. The class is led by Certified Laughter Yoga leaders - yep, you can get certified to "teach" laughter. No downward dog required, just lots of clapping and laughing with a bit of breathing and mindfulness thrown in for good measure.
Turns out laughing, even if you don't feel like laughing, can trick the brain into thinking happy thoughts and releasing those feel-good endorphins. There is some truth then in the fake it till you make it idea. And studies do show that laughter helps with depression, decreases stress, increases your resistance to disease and those endorphins can even temporarily relieve pain. Something to think about next time you're in the dentist chair.
Did it feel good? It actually did! Just a fun hour spent not thinking about anything and switching off. The cheeks hurt, and the knickers were dry - win win. Sometimes it just feels good to be silly, and lets face it, I do that on a regular basis anyway.
Checkout a local laughter club - bound to be one near you. Because lets face it, there could never be too much laughter in our lives.
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