Laughter really is contagious and Tauranga's Laughter Club members rely on that fact to help improve their health and wellbeing.
So how do you get a room full of people to laugh continuously at the drop of a hat?
Funnily enough, the answer is Laughter Yoga.
Tauranga Laughter Club leader Andria Goodliffe says research has proven your body can't differentiate between "pretend" and "real" laughter.
"So you gain the same benefits whether you fake it or make it," she giggles.
Laughter Clubs now exist all over the world and gather groups of people together who use laughter as a form of exercise. Once you hear everyone around you let out their belly laughs, you can't help but join in yourself, which in turn leads to natural laughter emanating all around you.
"The benefits of laughing medically have been studied - which I find very funny - and 10 minutes of continuous laughter can create the same effect within the body as up to two hours of pain relief."
Natural endorphins are released when you laugh and are the body's natural antidote to stress.
On average, adults normally laugh between one and 10 times a day, whereas children laugh between 40 to 100 times each day.
Mrs Goodliffe formed Tauranga Laughter Club last year after she first saw its benefits demonstrated at an ethnic festival in Auckland.
Every Wednesday, club members meet at the Historic Village to practice Laughter Yoga for 30 minutes to one hour depending on the class size.
"Laughter yoga concentrates on breathing exercises rather than any physically-challenging yoga poses," she says.
"After some of the exercises we get into the meditation part of the session. The aim is to get at least five minutes but hopefully 15 minutes of continuous laughter out of the group.
"It really is contagious. If you've got one or two people that are good laughers then the rest will generally join in. I've never yet had anybody come in and not been able to laugh at all."
Mrs Goodliffe describes herself as a "naturally laughy sort of person" who likes to focus on the positives in life.
"You can either choose to be happy or you can choose to see everything like Eeyore and be all 'doom and gloom'. The Laughter Club is one of the things that gives me great joy."
This year club members held an In-the-Park Laugh at Memorial Park for World Laughter Day 2011 and also held an open-air session to fundraise for the Red Cross Christchurch Earthquake Relief fund.
"The social interaction we have when we're doing it is all very beneficial, both mentally and physically.
"Perhaps we can achieve world domination through laughter? I don't know," Mrs Goodliffe giggles. "It's not a bad way to go!"
THE DETAILS
Name: Tauranga Laughter Club
Number of Members: About 40
Established: August 2010
Meeting times: Currently Wednesdays for a gold coin donation.
Contact: To confirm exact venue and class times please phone or text Andria on 021 022 55898. For more information visit www.laughteryogabop.webs.com
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