In the interest of all things natural, peaceful, and happy, I bring you laughter yoga.

On my college campus, there was a “Laughter Yoga” club, and I’d heard mixed reviews about it. However, one day when final exams rendered me incredibly grumpy, I decided to head over with my roommate to the “Laugh Chance” to participate in this club.

There were approximately twenty people all in a circle, in a grassy area on campus. As the meeting began, the sun was brighter than my mood.

Led by two other students, Sammi and Molly, we breathed deeply, in an adaptation of “yoga breathing,” and laughed as we introduced ourselves.

We then did a variety of games of “theme” laughter. For instance, “Kung-Fu” laughter involved pretending to kung fu fight, but instead of actually fighting we laughed. Each punch or kick was accentuated with a “Ha.” My personal favorite was “angry” laughter, in which we pretended to be angry, but instead of yelling, we laughed. My goodness, did we look awkward!

After the club meeting, we talked to Sammi, who turned out to be quite a kindred spirit. We chatted about a class we would be taking the next semester, the joys and frustrations of creating a Planned Studies major, and outdoor adventures. I made a new connection, sent out some positive vibes, and left feeling fantastic. Grumpy, to fantastic- here’s hoping the universe sapped up some of that positive energy!

If you are interested in learning more about laughter yoga, please visit: www.laughteryoga.org

Cheers to cheer,

~Amber~