There's a group of six women, university students to grandmothers, standing on a stage, eating imaginary ice cream cones and laughing. People walking, rollerblading, and biking by the Pier 8 Hamilton Waterfront are exchanging very confused looks.

 

Some stop to try and figure out what on earth they're doing. Others walk by very fast and try not to make eye contact with the crazy people.

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The group of women are participating in laughter yoga. There was a man participating, but he snuck away after five minutes. Apparently he just wasn't feeling up to giggling today.  

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Every Sunday, certified laughter yoga teacher, Kathryn Kimmins, laughs alongside a small group of strangers in an effort to promote healthy living. A few of the ladies have even become friends.

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Today, Kimmins wears an animal print dress, a straw hat adorned with a flower, and a huge smile. She greets the class with a bellowing laugh and short introduction. She's been teaching laughter yoga for six years now. 

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"I've always been a laugher and I'm always the loudest one to laugh," she says.

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Laughter is the key ingredient to this yoga class. Rather than stretching and lying on a yoga mat, participants stand in a small circle and engage in various laughing exercises.

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Eating imaginary ice cream and laughing. Laughing like lions with their tongues out. Sticking their fingers in their ears and laughing. Pretending to cradle babies and laughing. Laughing the vowel sounds of the alphabet. Pretending to fly kites and laughing. 

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Nothing seems off limits. And nothing seems "too silly." This isn't your average yoga class, that's for sure.

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"Other types of yoga are quiet. We're not. We're moving around all over the place, making eye contact, laughing out loud and making different laughter sounds. There's no poses in laughter yoga as there are in other types," says Kimmins. 

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The two youngest girls, 24 and 26-years-old admit to watching YouTube videos before the class to prepare. Another first-time laugher shares the same apprehension. 

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"I started questioning it and wondering, 'Is this really for me and what am I doing here?' But as the instructor proceeded, I really allowed myself to let it go and embrace whatever it was," says Maria DaCosta, 54. "I was very surprised that I was going to stay and I wanted to continue to do this. And it became about me. So it came full circle."

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As someone who is used to doing more traditional types of flexibility yoga, DaCosta realized she needed to adjust her routine as she ages.

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"It's more about not learning the moves but really flowing with the moves and getting in touch with my internal self. I do have a stressful job and I just had a health scare in February so I've made some changes in my life," she says. "Now it's more about getting different types of yoga into my life that work to restore my internal versus, 'Look what I can do and look how I can bend! I can put my leg to the back of my head!'"

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Kimmins says that ten minutes of laughing is equivalent to 30 minutes on a treadmill. But the focus of laughter yoga isn't physical endurance—It's mental wellbeing.

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"It releases the chemicals in our brain that allow us to reduce the cortisol levels. So the cortisol levels, when they're high because of stress, can cause disease. So when we laugh, we reduce the cortisol levels," says the instructor. "The endorphins that we release through laughter helps us to change our mood instantly. So people who have suffered from depression, it can help them as well as long as they're willing to laugh."

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And as surprising as it may seem, many people need a little help laughing. Kimmins mentions she once had a 20-something-year-old man come to her class at the request of his mother because he hadn't laughed since he was a child.

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"I have people calling me saying I'm looking for more laughter, I'm not laughing enough. People come because they're depressed; their health is compromised. Meet new people. Meet new friends—it's a social community when you're together," she says. "For me, it's just bringing laughter to people's lives. There's just so much sadness and disconnection between people so just to connect people."

 

Luckily for Kimmins, no one looks sad in today's class. Everyone is smiling and laughing—even if it's a fake laugh, it seems to transform into real laughter out of pure embarrassment over how ridiculous they feel.

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The first-time laughers seem uncomfortable. The seasoned laughers smile and exchange looks and smiles of encouragement. 

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"My favourite part of the classes is seeing the connection between people. Seeing the smiles," says Kimmins. "When people smile and laugh openly, the whole room just fills with this powerful energy and I just love the way people interact with one another"

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