Community members laugh together at laughter yoga event

Gail Trites said she became involved in laughter yoga five years ago, after the death of her husband. 

"It changed my life..." she said. "It brightened my spirits."

She was one of the participants who turned out for the Florida Weekend of Laughter Celebration, held in Sarasota from April 5 to 6. 

Held in honor of the 30th anniversary of laughter yoga, the event began at Hyatt Place Sarasota Airport on Saturday with the Florida Day of Laughter, and continued the next day with Sunday FUNDay, an event for all ages, at the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art.

Photo by Ian Swaby

Cathy Grippi, the Venice-based certified laughter yoga leader and teacher who led the event, says when she first started laughing, her laughter wasn't real.

However, she liked how it helped to relive her depression without medication, and after becoming trained, began leading a weekly session as a commitment to herself. 

"That has changed my life, and ultimately it attracts other people who want to do something weird and different and new," said Grippi.

Laughter yoga is the activity of laughing with intention or on purpose. 

However, the laughter yoga teachers and leaders in attendance at the event, who came from locations around the state and country, said the practice still needs more exposure. 

Photo by Ian Swaby

The grounds of the Ringling Museum, where visitors had the chance to join in the Sunday FUNDay event despite not being registered to do so, was one opportunity to help change that.

"I personally think one of the exposure issues is sometimes people are like, Why have I never heard of this?" said Joan Castellano, a certified laughter leader. "Because there's no laughter yoga studio. There's a yoga studio. There's a massage studio. There's a Reiki studio."

Laughter yoga began in March 1995 by physician Madan Kataria in Mumbai, India, who persuaded four people to join him in a session in a public park and soon developed a following of 50 people.

Photo by Ian Swaby

Although it does not include yoga poses, it combines laughter with playful movements that may include clapping, as well as others.

In contrast to yoga training, which requires a minimum of 200 hours, laughter yoga leader training lasts for 15 hours. 

However, leaders and teachers said the practice can still be challenging.

"You have to be vulnerable, and you have to connect with other people, and if you make it too awkward, it intimidates people, and they don't engage and they don't connect with it," Castellano said. 

Photo by Ian Swaby

Neeta Merchant, a holistic nutrition consultant and certified laughter yoga teacher, said what drew her to the program is her involvement with mental health needs and cancer healing.

"It has an overall wellness package, whether that is heart health, your immune health, your brain health, so it has everything included in it. That's what attracted me," she said. 

"It soon becomes real laughter because of the contagious factor," said Castellano. "As soon as I start laughing, you'll laugh."