Finding health, happiness in humour

By Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 28, 2005


A unique program that uses laughter as a form of therapy is offered at Marlborough school this fall.

The Burnaby Laughter Club is one of 5,000 clubs around the world trying to ease the world's troubles with a little bit of humour.

"We teach people how to laugh when they need it most - when they're stressed or in pain or when things are just not going well," said course sponsor Teri McLean, a certified yoga laughter instructor.

"Laughter is so important and it has so many health benefits that we're trying to give people the tools to bring laughter into their lives," she said. "We've got what we call the 40-day formula - if you do something for 40 days, it becomes a habit."

McLean first discovered laughter as therapy almost 25 years ago, when she was suffering from severe rheumatoid arthritis. She tried all kinds of different medical treatments, until she realized that many of the natural health practitioners she was visiting were including an element of humour in their programs.

"That (humour) is what I found the most helpful, and it became my mechanism for dealing with pain and dealing with the depression that came with the chronic pain," McLean said.

But the Burnaby Laughter Club really had its start six years ago when McLean learned about the philosophies of Dr. Madan Kataria through a radio program. That led to McLean meeting the doctor at a retreat in the Okanagan, where she graduated from the program that trained her as a certified laugher yoga teacher.

Today, she uses about 100 'silliness exercises' to get her students laughing.

"People are given so many barriers. They're taught not to laugh in school or in the workplace, and most people find it difficult to laugh openly, especially if they're with strangers," McLean said. "But it's been proven scientifically that the mind or body doesn't know the difference between a real a laugh and one that you simulate.

"So, if we can get people to move and act happy, then the mind will follow," she said. "That's why we have more than 100 exercises to get people to interact have fun and be like a kid again."

McLean also teaches proper technique. "Laughter is like an aerobic exercise," she said. "If you don't do it properly, and don't get enough breath, then you won't release the stress."

The Burnaby Laughter Club hosts its free meetings every Tuesday night from 7 to 8 p.m., at Marlborough school, 6037 Marlborough Ave. For more information, visit www.laughterclub.org, or contact McLean at 604 451-1304 or at tarebare53@yahoo.ca.