By KIRSTI WEISZ
Melbourne’s Laughter Club didn’t let anything rain on their parade when they gathered at the Atrium near Federation Square last week.
Dressed in scarves and long coats, shivering and wet, they smiled through the bad weather they were caught in.
After introductions were made, the 30-minute session began. Bursts of laughter were carried by the Atrium walls and caught the attention of onlookers.
Many children walking past looked curiously at the group. One parent looked back after hearing bouts of laughter and chuckled to himself.
But what was the small group huddled up on a freezing Melbourne day laughing about?
The Global Laughter Movement was established by Indian physician Dr Madan Kataria in 1995 when he hosted the first laughter yoga club with just five people. Within the last 20 years, more than 6000 laughter clubs have spread to more than 70 countries.
“Laughter yoga is a unique concept where anyone can laugh without jokes, without comedy, without using any humour," Dr Kataria said in a TedMed speech.
“We laugh in a group and initiate laughter as a form of laughter in the beginning, but when we look at each other, laughter becomes infectious and contagious.”
Laughter yoga decreases stress hormones, improves our immune system and boosts endorphins, according to preventive care specialist and researcher at Loma Linda University's Schools of Allied Health Dr Lee Berk.
Based on studies proving the benefits of laughter, Laughter Club Victoria, which comprises 30 clubs, aims to make laughter accessible to everyone.
Laughter Club Victoria president Mahes Karuppiah-Quillen said the act of laughing alone could make a person happier.
“The brain works in association … so when the muscles move ‘ha ha ha’ the mind or the body thinks something … happy is happening,” said Ms Karuppiah-Quillen, who was trained by Dr Kataria and works for the Health Fountain.
Thousands of people across the world will be celebrating World Laughter Day on May 3, promoting the theme of world peace through laughter.
“So when people meet knowing that they are going to meet for world peace ... when we start thinking about it, and start laughing, you start connecting,” Ms Karuppiah-Quillen said.
“Once you change yourself the world around you changes, it’s the good energy and positive energy that makes you want to live in peace and harmony.”
Featuring signature laughs from clubs across the state, Laughter Club Victoria will be hosting this free community event once again at Fed Square’s St Paul’s Court.
There will be a competition seeking out the funniest and most contagious laughter from all age groups.
The group session in April went through all sorts of laughs – those known to aficionados as the balloon laugh, the metre laugh and the cell-phone laugh and there are dozens of others. For a rundown, and laughter yoga exercises, look up the laughter university online.
For Belinda D’Souza from South America, this was her first time at the laughter club and she laughed the entire time. “Laughter takes advantage of natures’ way of being happy,” she said.
Her mother, Florie D’Souza, is a regular member of the Laughter Club and said she found it encouraged people to laugh and smile more in their everyday life.
The session was led by Rosa Murchito who recently went through the Laughter Club training.
“I told someone I got a certificate in laughter and they just laughed at me,” she said.
“When you’re watching [the sessions] it looks stupid. But it’s different when you’re actually participating.”
Ms Murchito said it helped her cope and that laughter could be incorporated into everyday life.
“There comes a time when I get really upset and angry so I’ve learnt to go outside and laugh it off. I have a good laugh ... and then I’ll go back inside and I can cope better.”
By the end of the session, the rain had stopped and a strip of sunlight touched the small group who huddled together discussing laughter.
“When you do a session you feel good for the rest of the day,” Ms Karuppiah-Quillen said.
“Sharing the goodness of laughter may even throw a lifeline to someone. Just to laugh is the language of the soul.”