A man throws his hands in the air, giggling like a small child. Two women stand face-to-face laughing at each other. An elderly man claps his hands and dances around the room.

No, this isn’t sketch comedy — it’s a laughter yoga class. 

Laughter yoga, a relatively new form of yoga exercise, combines laughter with yoga style breathing called pranyama, said Phi Truong, owner of Baton Rouge’s Agame Yoga and Meditation Center. Laughter yoga is as simple as its name suggests — you only have to laugh to achieve the full effects.

Agame’s laughter yoga instructor Jenny Norris described her class as “really, really silly.”

“I think the reason I was drawn to it is because I take life a bit too seriously, and it’s definitely a good release valve for seriousness,” Norris said.

Following an icebreaker, Norris leads what seems to be a typical yoga class. Everyone is quiet and seems to be deep in meditation, following her breathing. Then, the giggles begin.

Norris commands the class to act in different scenarios, like walking around the room or lying down while laughing; giggling like a child or adopting toddler-esque movements.

All of these movements culminate into experience that “instills happy hormones so perspective can improve,” Truong said. “It can be a roller coaster effect where everyone is laughing.”

Psychology senior Alyse Adams said laughter yoga is one of her favorite ways to unwind.

Adams began her yoga routine as a way to lose the infamous freshman 15 after a former roommate recommended the class. The 21-year-old continues to practice yoga and has sampled almost every form.

“I took my first laughter yoga class at a local [recreation] center,” she said. “And now I do yoga every week.”

Adams said yoga can be serious, but laughter yoga is lax. Unlike other forms of yoga, this playful activity brings the person participating to a different place in their meditation, she said. Instead of reaching a place of peace, laughter yoga participants experience joyful, stressless moments with more energy. 

Norris believes this yoga addresses life inside and outside of class.

“Yoga is said to mean ‘to be in union with,’” she said. “I take that to mean being in union with life in every moment that it’s happening.”

Despite being silly, laughter yoga has many health benefits, especially for the cardiovascular system, Troung added.

Laughing during yoga “actually activates the parasympathetic nervous system, changing the balance of hormones in our bodies,” Truong said. 

Though what the laughter participants experience at first isn’t natural, the brain cannot tell any difference and still will gain the benefit of laughter.

Laughing releases endorphins, and calms the body in a way that only hearty laughter can.

“The mind feeds off the body, and the body feeds off the mind,” Truong said. “Laughing connects these two.”

But the health benefits are simply a perk. Laughter yoga is an aerobic workout but one everyone can enjoy. Who thinks about burning calories when you’re having a great time?

Adams said most people can’t just let go and experience childlike, stress-free fun, and laughter yoga provides this opportunity.

Participants breathlessly relax and giggle as the class draws to a close instead of a typical mantra repeated like most yoga sessions at Agame.

Norris knows how to make a crowd chuckle in her class, saying she can see a definite shift in participant’s attitudes after a 30-minute session. 

“Everyone, I think, feels better after a good laugh.”