Ever heard of a ‘milkshake laugh’? How about a magic one? Members from over 200 clubs of Bengaluru city, mostly consisting of senior citizens, gathered at the city’s central lung space in the city to be part of a special session on World Laughter Day. From milkshake laugh to lion’s laugh to magic laugh, they not only laughed but danced, sang and did stretches and breathing exercises.
With childlike enthusiasm, the senior citizens shared their testimonials about how laughter clubs have made them healthier. Seventy-three-year-old Shankarappa, who attends a laughter session every morning at a park in Vijayanagar, explained how his neck and leg ache has “vanished” after laughing for a year. While the laughing ambassadors, who had a glow on their face, and the members of the club had a hearty laugh, new members and walkers who looked a little surprised initially joined in the laughter seeing their enthusiasm.
Many ardent advocates of laughter clubs are medical doctors, who narrated several case studies of patients who had benefited from these sessions. Pramod K.P.R., an oncologist, said the quality of life of many of his cancer patients had improved through laughing. “It improves the immune system and drastically reduces the stress levels of people,” he said.
The members say that laughing has no language and has created special bonds among them. Several popular groups such as the giggle-inducing ROMEO (Retired Old Men Eating Outside) have metamorphosed from such laughing club sessions.
