1 hour Laughter Yoga

  Laughter Yoga

-      or how to laugh for no reason at all except for laughter itself

30-60 minute program

Stand in a circle. One person must be anchor and guide the rest. Only anchor can talk. Other expressions are ok – BUT NO TALKING J

Start by making stretching exercises.

• Stretch for the ceiling with both hands – 3 times
• Loosen your shoulders by shaking them
• Turn your head slowly to the left and slowly to the right. Then from side to side. Then up and down.
• Stretch one arm up – feel the stretc in the side. Then do the other arm.
• Breathe in through the nose – Raise arms over head – hold your breath 4 sec. – breathe slowly out through the mouth sounding like “hssssss” - do 3-5 exercises.

Demontrate clapping between exercises “ho ho ha ha ha” while clapping. Left leg ho ho and right leg ha ha ha. Gives a swaying from side to side. Do 3-10 between exercises.

1. laughter exercise: Quiet laughter with open mouth. Place hands on belly, to feel where the laughter comes from. Open mouth and laugh with air only – no sound.

 Ho ho ha ha ha

2. Greeting laughter. Go to someone and present yourself – not with your name, but with your own laughter.

 Ho ho ha ha ha – stretch to the ceiling with both hands

3. Heart laughter: Go to someone – hold their hands, and laugh from your heart. Maybe it is a quiet chuckle, or a healthy guffaw. Whichever is ok, as long as it comes from the heart.

 Ho ho ha ha ha – Breathe like above – 3 times

4. Banana laughter: Peel an imaginary banana while saying “eeehhh”, “eeehhh”, “eeehhh” and the laugh at the banana while pointing at it. Try pointing at someone elses banana J

 Ho ho ha ha ha – Massage cheeks

5. Shy laughter: Go to each other while holding hands in front of your face. When you meet someone, open hands a little bit and giggle or laugh. Continue to someone else..

 Ho ho ha ha ha – Stretch first one arm, and the the other to feel your hips being stretched.

6. Ego laughter: Point at yourself and laugh. This exercise is very important. If you can laugh at yourself, you can laugh at anything J

 Ho ho ha ha ha – Breathe like above – 3 times

7. Party laughter. Pretend you are a corkskrew and skrew your legs down while saying eeeeehhhhhh – then jump up into the air (like champagne from a shaken bottle) while laughing.

 Ho ho ha ha ha – Massage cheeks

8. Lawnmover laughter: Pretend to start a lawnmover engine saying hahaha – hahaha – hahaha – and the the engine starts. You keep laughing while walking/running with the lawnmover.

Go to Laughter Meditation.

Make an intimate circle. Everybody sit down. 3 rules to Laughter Meditation.

1. No talking
2. Look at someone, or listen to someone who triggers you.
3. Fake it until you make it. Start laughing fake, and eventually the real laughter will come.

If you find it diffgicult to laugh this way, just sit back, and enjoy the laughter. You don’t HAVE to laugh.

Anchor says 1-2-3 LAUGH.

Laugh for about 5-15 minues. Ask participants to close eyes for 1 minut and FEEL the difference in their bodies.

Ask participants to share their laughing experience.

30-60 minutes have now passed J Good laugh. You may make fewer exercises to shorten the program.

Thomas Flindt, Ejvind Jacobsen

www.laughteratwork.com