Last week I got the opportunity to attend a laughter yoga class sponsored by the Akron Public Library System. I walked into the class of about 30 students and noticed that it was a slice of Americana, with many races and all age groups ranging from college kids to senior citizens. Some of the attendees looked a bit tentative about getting their laugh-on (primarily the husbands), but for the most part, the class looked ready for some gigilicious fun. The class was given by Professor Azaad S. Khaira (The Laugh Doc), who did a super job of taking the class through laughing warm-ups, full-blown laughter asanas, and educated us all on the importance and benefits of laughing every day.

This was my second foray into laughter yoga, and I was anxious to experience it again. I attended my first class as part of my yoga-teacher training and my fellow students and I absolutely loved it. I was curious though to see how people not totally engrossed in the practice of traditional yoga, would embrace an hour of laughter yoga instruction.

Azaad told the group that the average kid below the age of 13 laughs approximately 400 times per day. Then he asked us how many times we thought people over 13 laugh per day. The answer was pretty damn depressing: The average person only laughs six times per day. That just ain’t right. We’re all just a little too stressed out, have been conditioned to sit down and shut up, and need a cure for our terminal seriousness disorder.

Azaad admitted that life is hard, and sometimes it is difficult to take his laughter off his yoga mat, so he encouraged us to follow his weekly schedule to help deal with seriousness disorder:

Monday: Smile and say something nice to people you encounter or work with. Smiles are contagious.

Tuesday: Do new things. Try driving to work a different way or a new food; just mix it up and get out of your regular routine.

Wednesday: On Hump Day it is all about the attitude. Instead of whining, try being grateful for what you have.

Thursday: Practice ARC—acts of random kindness—and help someone in need.

Friday: Give me an F for forgiveness, and I’m not just talking about forgiveness of others; I’m talking about a little therapeutic forgiveness of yourself.

Azaad didn’t provide any exercises for Saturday and Sunday, so I guess we get to take those days off to relax and focus on improving our daily ratio of laughing.

I loved all the laughter asanas we did in class, and it felt good to let it all hang out. In fact, I was downright giddy from the opportunity to be silly in public, around perfect strangers. The serotonin released from laughing was pumping through my body, and I got a full-blown yoga high (both physically and spiritually).

Everyone in the class had big smiles on their faces, and I smiled the whole way home as I thought about how hilariously cool it would be to lead my very own laughter yoga class! I am seriously considering getting certified to teach laughter yoga and have incorporated some laugh asanas into a few of my yoga classes.

Ho-ho-ha-ha-ha!