The jokes worked—until they ran out of clean, funny material. Frustrated, Dr. Kataria realized that laughter triggered by humor was unreliable. But he noticed something else: after the jokes ended, people continued to laugh at each other laughing . That observation became the seed of the method.
In a world grappling with stress, burnout, and anxiety, a peculiar wellness practice has been gaining quiet momentum since the mid-1990s. It doesn’t require expensive mats, designer leggings, or even a sense of humor. It’s called Laughter Yoga, and its premise is surprisingly simple: voluntary laughter, combined with yogic breathing, can provide the same physiological and psychological benefits as spontaneous laughter. What Is It? Laughter Yoga (Hasya Yoga) was founded in 1995 by Dr. Madan Kataria, a family physician from Mumbai, India. The origin story is charmingly accidental. Dr. Kataria wrote an article titled “Laughter—The Best Medicine” for a health journal. Intrigued by his own research, he went to a local public park one morning with four strangers and asked them to tell jokes. laughter yoga
And for that, you don’t need a punchline. You just need to start: Ho ho, ha ha ha. The jokes worked—until they ran out of clean,