Forty Laughter Exercises

Dr. Kataria considers the following 40 laughter exercises as a firm foundation of basic laughter exercises.

(For over 300 creative ideas on clapping, breathing, and laughter exercises both alone and in a group we strongly recommend the very comprehensive exercise manual "Laughter FUN-damentals")

General Exercises

• Aloha laughter: Shout alooooooooooooooooha ha ha ha to the top of your lungs as you swing your hips side to side and hands above your head, extending the "o" as long and as loudly as you can. You can do a milder version of this exercise by just saying “Aloha ha ha”.
• Appreciation laughter: Appreciate whoever (or whatever) you want, however you want, in laughter language.
• Argument laughter: Argue laughing with everything you see. Be vocal and mean it! You can point fingers but you can’t touch.
• Cell phone laughter: Hold an imaginary cell phone to your ear and laugh. Move around, keep eye contact with as many people as you can, silently using your free hand to excuse yourself for not being available.
• Crowded elevator laughter: Stand all in a clump as if in a crowded elevator and laugh.
• Crying laughter: Fake sad crying as you lean forward, laugh as you come back up.
• Electric shock laughter: Imagine that everything and everybody you touch gives you a shock of static electricity. Jump backward and laugh each time it happens (make it happen a lot).
• Find your laughter center: Probe your head with one finger as if looking for your laughter center. Imagine that each spot you push on triggers a different laughter sound. Walk around and compare findings with other participants.
• Flying bird laughter: flap your wings and fly around laughing!
• Forgiveness laughter: Laugh and behave however you would like to behave if you were truly apologizing to someone or asking for forgiveness.
• Gradient laughter: Fake a smile; giggle, then laugh slowly and gradually increase in tempo and volume.
• Greeting laughter: Greet everybody the way you normally greet (e.g. shake hands) and replace words with laughter.
• Hearty laughter: Spread the arms up, pointed to the sky, with head tilted a little back or with chin raised; laugh heartily. Direct your laughter to come straight from your heart. One should not keep the arms stretched up all the time during a hearty laugh. Keep the arms up for a while and bring them down and again raise them up.
• Hot soup laughter: Breathe heavily while fanning yourself with your hands as if you had just badly burned your tongue drinking a soup unexpectedly VERY hot.
• Hugging laughter: hug and laugh!
• Jackpot laughter: Invite all to come very close together because you want to tell them a secret. What the “secret” is you have to decide and we suggest you make it something of no importance at all (my personal favorite is “Today is [today’s week day]”). Instruct the group to imagine that your secret is the best news they have heard in a long time, and immediately rejoice, cheer, give high fives, jump around and otherwise celebrate as soon as they hear it. Rejoicing at will over something insignificant or irrelevant highlights the point that life really has no meaning except that which we give it. Choose to be joyful!
• Just laugh: Shrug your shoulders, make a big smile, and walk around laughing as if saying “I don’t know why I am laughing and I certainly don’t know why you are laughing either”
• Laugh at yourself: Acknowledge a mistake and laugh at yourself pointing your index or thumb at your chest as if saying “I messed up!” Mistakes happen and nobody is perfect. Be humble and acknowledge what you have done incorrectly, learn from it and try again.
• Laughter cream: Rub your hands together rapidly for a few seconds until you start feeling some heat. You are preparing some powerful and healing laughter cream. When ready apply the cream all over you as if nobody was watching and laugh as you do so!
• Lion laughter: Open your mouth wide, stick your tongue out fully, use your hands as if they were paws and roar laughing like a lion.
• Mental floss laughter: Move your hands sideways on either side of your head as if you were flossing your brain (why not?) and laugh as you do so.
• Milk shake laughter: Hold two imaginary glasses in front of you, one in each hand. Pour one glass into another while making the extended sound “aeee”... (Do it as a group.) Then pour it back into the first glass making the same extended sound again: “aeee”... (Do it as a group.) Next raise it high and pour into your mouth while laughing. (Do it as a group.) Repeat 3 times.
• Motorboat (or lawnmower) laughter: Let’s start an old gas engine lawnmower. Put one foot on the machine to hold it still and grab the pull cord. We are going to pull crank it in 4 powerful laughs. Move around and keep laughing once your engine is started. Ready? Go! HA! / HA HA! / HA HA HA! / Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…
• No money laughter: There is no more money in your pockets. Walk around and laugh as you show your empty pockets to everybody in the room.
• Shy laughter: Hide your face behind your palms and look sheepishly left and right towards other people, then laugh as if you are a shy person and you don’t want to draw attention to yourself or take up any space.
• Silent laughter (gradient style): laugh silently (mouth open or mouth closed). Start slow then build it up!
• Touch the sky laughter: Let’s all make a big circle and hold hands. If anybody has a restricted range of motion in either your shoulder joints tell it to your neighbor now and ask him/her to be gentle. We are going to run towards the center of this circle while shouting and extending the sound “aeee”. We will then let our laughter burst out looking up when we reach that center. Ready? Go!

Themed Exercises

• Airport laughter: carry imaginary bags in both hands and run laughing as if you were very late for your plane!
• Airline safety instruction laughter: Imagine your are a flight attendant and laugh as you give each of the following airline safety instructions. Ready? Go!
• Point at the exit doors to the sides, the front and the rear.
• Demonstrate how to put on an oxygen mask.
• Demonstrate how to put on a life preserver jacket.
• Demonstrate how to use the emergency whistle.
• Demonstrate how to tighten your seatbelt.
• Household chores laughter – Laugh as you wash imaginary dishes, clean the floor, vacuum, clean windows, hang clothes, etc.
• Laughter Revival: Revive an unconscious person with laughter.
• Regal Laughter: Walk like a king or queen between two rows of applauding subjects

Floor Exercises

• Bulls eye laughter: lie down in a circle with head towards the center and start laughing.
• Centipede laughter exercises: Create two rows of people laying on the floor. Invite all to squeeze as much as possible so that are almost ear to ear with someone on both side of their head (the closer they are one to another, the better.) Once ready invite them all to fake laughter and look left and right as they do so (don’t say when to stop!) You may want to invite all to sprinkle lots of laughter blessings with their hands above their heads and/or shake their legs up in the air as they laugh.
• Head on belly laughter: Have each participant put their head on the abdomen of the person behind them. When all are in position invite them to try to bounce the head on their abdomen laughing.
• Rowing laughter: Have participants sit on the floor and wrap their legs around the waist of the person in front of them. Be very close! Next have all row an imaginary boat in synchronicity as they laugh

(For over 300 creative ideas on clapping, breathing, and laughter exercises both alone and in a group we strongly recommend the very comprehensive exercise manual "Laughter FUN-damentals")