Laughing one's blues, inhibitions away

Laughter clubs, once considered as a retired man’s excuse to kill time by laughing away awkwardly, are now mushrooming across the City. In fact, Bangalore is well on its way to becoming the international hub of laughter clubs.

Inspired by cancer-stricken American Norman Colisins’ stunning defiance of death for 20 years with a regular dosage of laughter, physician Madan Kataria started the country’s first laughter club in Mumbai in 1998. Like a chain reaction, the late B K Sathyanarayana started Bangalore’s own Romeo Laughter Club at Jayanagar in 2001. Since then, the number of laughter clubs has been on the rise, exceeding the 200-mark. Now, clubs in the City boast of participants from 65 different countries.

Bangalore Laughter Yoga International Clubs president Prof  P Sadashiva said, “Laughter as an effective tool to ease tension is catching up with Bangaloreans, especially with IT professionals.”

So popular have these clubs become they are attracting the international IT crowd. People from Japan, America, Europe and 65 other countries are joining laughter clubs, which have over the years earned the ‘stress-buster’ reputation. “As a result, the number of laughter clubs has exceeded 200 from 130 around three years ago,” he added.

Spreading laughter for the past 11 years at Basavanagudi, Bugle Rock Laughter Club founder-member Ramachandra Murthy said that in an hour of laughing session, participants clap around 500 times, which facilitates blood circulation all over the body. There are around 60 different exercises done in a session which regulates organs from head to toe, he said.

“Laughter not only reduces the probability of arthritis, frozen shoulder, blood pressure and diabetes, but laughing vociferously also prevents throat-related ailments like thyroid,” Murthy said.

Gubbi Balliappa, founder of Gubbi Balliappa Laughter Club, has been spreading laughter among American participants at the ripe age of 81. She decided to start a laughter club of her own inspired by the laughter activities conducted by Dr Kataria.

She says, “Laughter replaces old age with youth. So, I introduce myself to others that I am 81 years young.”

“People have a wrong notion about laughing exercise that it is restricted merely to laughter. It includes breathing exercise taken from Pranayama and physical exercise from Suryanamaskar and Yogasana,” clarifies Sudha Suresh, lead anchor of the Avalahalli Girinagar Laughter Club. She said laughter exercises improved the psychological health of a person by building confidence and optimism. By attending these sessions, the participants make friends, share their feelings and thus mingle with the society.

Businesswoman Mamatha, who attends a laughter club regularly, says she overcame a cellulitis infection with regular laughter exercises. “Along with medication, laughter gave me immunity and the much-needed confidence to psychologically overcome my ailment,” she said.