Halifax’s first laughing club is drawing a crowd each month to exercise body and mind with simple techniques designed with overall well-being in mind.
By Amy Dove <am800547@dal.ca>
Posted: Jan. 27, 2006
Rene Robichaud demonstrates the lion laugh at the Jan. 25 laughing club meeting. Photo: Amy Dove
The giggles start slowly around the circle. Fifteen heads are bowed over shaking shoulders. Turning to laughter, the sound ripples around the circle until one participant is reduced to tears.
The second meeting of the Halifax Laughing Club is officially in session. The small group uses the Alderney Gate library in Dartmouth.
An unusual location for such a loud event, Rene Robichaud, laughter leader and club creator, assures the group the library knows they are there.
For one hour, Robichaud leads the group through various laughs - from the milkshake laugh to the deep-belly laugh. There are 15 basic laughs taught but the class uses only three or four each session.
The group goes through the hearty laughter, the one-metre laughter and the lion laugh. Each laugh involves the whole body and has movements incorporated in the act.
This was Jack Merrell's first session, but he says he will definitely be back.
"You should always nourish your smile. I always smile, I like to share myself," he says.
Robichaud says he saw an opportunity in Halifax for something new. The club is the only official laughing club in Atlantic Canada he knows of.
He says Halifax needs a club like this because the city is too stressed. On average, children laugh 400 times per day and adults only laugh 15 times per day, says Robichaud.
"Just look at people in the market on Saturday or walking in the street -- and you see not too many people laughing or smiling," he says.
Robichaud learned the techniques from an instructor in Montreal. The New Brunswick native has an arts degree from the University of Moncton and says he likes to do things differently.
He will be attending a workshop in Moncton in March to learn more about the health side of the practice so he can deepen his approach with clients.
"Laughing club and laughter is a serious business," he says.
Jack Merrell and Dean Morton enjoy a hearty laugh. Photo: Amy Dove
The Halifax club meets once a month for one-hour sessions. Since November 2005, meetings have attracted between 10 and 15 participants. Robichaud says he was surprised by the turnout and hopes it will continue to grow.
"If we improve the quality of life and help people to relax more, it would be better for everybody," he says. "Better for the people and better for the community."
The club aims to teach people how to bring more laughter into their day by remembering childhood experiences and becoming more comfortable with laughing. Different stretches are also incorporated in the routine. The basic techniques are simple to incorporate into daily life and should be used outside the class, says Robichaud.
"Like any skill you should practise, practise, practise."
Robichaud says the first laughing club was in India in 1995. While attempting to find truth in the saying "laughter is the best medicine", Dr. Madan Kataria discovered extensive literature on the subject stating the health benefits of laughing. Kataria's website states a group of four people in a public park sharing jokes quickly grew to more than 50 participants. When the good-natured jokes ran out, Kataria went back to his research to discover the therapeutic benefits of laughter are produced whether the laughter is genuine or not.
He went on to develop laughing techniques in combination with yoga breathing for relaxation. There are currently more than 5,000 laughing clubs around the world.
Robichaud and class stretch out for the one-metre laugh, or as he calls it the Robin Hood laugh. Photo: Amy Dove
There is more to laughing than bringing a smile to someone's face. The health benefits range from increased circulation and heightened endorphin release to a complete muscular workout of the facial muscles.
Josianne Boily, a naturopathic health practitioner, says a good laugh can be equal to a 10- or 15-minute run for the heart.
"I prefer that myself," she says with a laugh.
She also says people who laugh more are less likely to be sick because laughing has been linked to strengthening the immune system. The act of laughing also increases circulation, helping the heart and lungs function better.
"When you laugh, you exhale more than inhale, so it starts cleaning the lungs," she explains.
Laughter also helps fight depression, anxiety and psychosomatic disorders by enhancing the production of serotonin, a natural anti-depressant, she says.
Robichaud says laughter helps him control stress.
"I was the type to sometimes more react to things. I wanted to respond more," he says, adding seeing the humour in situations allows him to respond better.
Dr. Kataria states laughter is not a cure all fix for health ailments but it is a good preventative measure to control stress and maintain health.
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