Mar 18

Laughter Yoga with John Cleese

This is a small follow up to my last post on the benefits of humour. I found this clip from a BBC series with John Cleese in Mumbai attending laughter yoga classes. I’m not sure how I feel about it to be honest. Check out the video clip here…

As I said before laughter is great and has many benefits. I’m just not sure about this particular method. I do think, however, that doctors or psychiatrists should prescribe comedy – “watch two DVDs and call me in the morning”. Or maybe “Put Sarah Silverman on your tongue and let her dissolve slowly…”

Will us laughtermakers be put out of a job by people who can create laughter by themselves. I’m not sure. It seems to work and be contagious, but I can’t help feel that the participants here look a leeeeeetle bit… scwewy, to quote Elmer Fudd.

What do you think?

Jason Peck

Jason Peck, is an award-winning English humorist, actor and comedian based in Chicago, IL. As a comedian, he performed stand-up on the London comedy circuit, worked as an improviser, wrote and performed material for Newsrevue and contributed material to The Treason Show.

2 comments

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    • Melissa on March 19, 2009 at 3:26 pm
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    Ok. First I have to say that the image of all those folks sticking their tongues out will now haunt my dreams. Secondly, I was thinking about this practice and how people could POSSIBLY derive benefits from all this silliness. Then it struck me- they’re PLAYING. Like CHILDREN. They’re making funny faces, chanting nonsense and egging each other on. When was the last time you played tag or swung on a swing-set? Perhaps it’s not the actual laughter that provides the relief in this case, it’s the freedom to PLAY.

    Perhaps it’s this playfulness that is missing from our lives, and we could benefit from loosening up a little and pulling the sticks out, so to speak.

    That said, a good hardy-har-har sure does feel great, and I hear it burns a lot of calories too… so it’s still something for the daily to-do list, I think!

  2. Hey Melissa

    Thanks for your post, your comments are interesting to me. It’s interesting that you mention play because this is going to be the topic of my next post. Whilst it seems to deviate from laughter and the benefits therein, there is something to be said about the benefits of play.

    Not only that but as we know from children, play often involves laughter. The two are closely related.

    A good laugh certainly does feel great and I was only half-joking when I suggested that psychiatrists prescribe us comedy.

    With regards to when I last played, well let me see… I think I last got ona swing a couple of years ago. Along with my mother. We didn’t know why, but we were at a playground with my sister and her kids and we all just arsed about on the swings.

    Cheers

    Jase

  1. […] it’s all done? His time would be better spent doing that, I think, than getting involved with Laughter Yoga […]

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