LC Exercise #5 Part 2: Laugh Yoga Session

After having our laugh yoga session in class, I really wanted to try it out with some friends, but never really ended up doing it. Although it was definitely fun in class, I thought it would have been even better if I was good friends with the people because then no one would feel awkward. So this past Saturday I tried it with a small group of five friends, and if I had known how much of a success it was going to be I would have definitely done it sooner.

I kind of improvised because I didn’t remember all the different activities, but I started off with chanting “Hee, hee! Ho, ho, ho!” (I couldn’t remember what it actually was!), poking themselves, handshakes, “putting on lotion”, rowing in a line, adding “ha’s” in a line (we just starting at the front again until we couldn’t go any higher), saying random things in a circle, and I made up a few of my own (jumping high fives with one big “HA!” and whispering “ha’s” into someone’s ear, getting louder and louder). A lot of what made it funny though was that people didn’t always stick to the rules of each exercise. They seemed to really get into it and like it, and by the end we were in a giant pig pile on the floor hysterically laughing.

The feedback I got was all positive, but also I could just tell from their genuine laughter that they had enjoyed it. They all seemed skeptical at the beginning, and were really surprised when it actually turned out well. Eric said something like, “No offense, but at first I thought this was going to suck- but it was actually good!” and Payal said “Gabi! Wait..! That was actually so fun!”. It also definitely had a lasting effect as well because a couple hours later Raichel randomly started giggling, and we were all confused, and she could barely get it out, “…Eric’s face! During laugh yoga!”. So obviously the happiness lasted even after the session was over.

It was a really good group to do it in because it did not take long to get a lot of genuine laughter. I felt more myself around them, so it was easier for me to get into it as well. I wasn’t necessarily nervous to try I with them, but I was just nervous for whether it’d be fun or not- but it definitely was because no one really held back!