Class Clown

If you can't remember the last time you and your students shared a good laugh, humor may be the next step to your best class ever.

By Melissa Garvey

Yoga is serious, especially for instructors. We study, we practice, we teach.

But according to Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of Hasya (Laughter) Yoga and author of Laugh for No Reason, it's important to lighten up class with a healthy dose of laughter.

"In yoga, people tend to become serious and go inward," explains Dr. Kataria. "What is missing in yoga practice is joy."

Phil Milgrom, certified Laughter Yoga leader and codirector of the Centered Place Yoga Studio in Warren, Massachusetts, agrees. "When we take ourselves too seriously, we lose interest, we lose dedication, and we get discouraged," he says.

The two teachers claim that laughter is the antidote for more than a joyless practice. It tones the abdominal muscles, decreases stress, boosts immunity, improves circulation, and acts like a sneeze for the lungs.

But not everybody comes to class looking for a stand-up comedy routine, and most instructors don't want to perform one either.

Build a Yogic Repertoire

Fortunately, there are practical ways to go about the business of laughter, whether you're serious-minded or just plain silly.

Machiko Yoshida, certified Laughter Yoga teacher in Monterey Park, California, and former stand-up comedian, uses the warm-up portion of class to introduce a childlike sense of humor--or, in yogic terms, humor with a sattvic nature: pure, innocent, and nourishing.

"I start with the hands, feet, neck, and shoulders," she explains, "and while I'm doing that I talk about something funny to relieve the weight of thinking."

Milgrom has been building his collection of yogic jokes since 1995. "I only teach Headstand in groups of two," he teases. "That way students can take turns standing on each other's heads."

Of course he doesn't instigate laughter during a delicate asana such as Sirsasana (Headstand). "I like to do it during a safe pose that [students] are less inclined to enjoy, to help them loosen up and get out of their old frame of mind about the pose," he says.

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