Laughter: A Built-in Workout for Your Soul

At a recent Laughter Yoga session at Minus 1 in Beirut, instructor Lilliane Akiki was jovial and full of life, wearing a colorful “smiley face” T-shirt and a broad, contagious smile of  her own.  Lilliane is the first person to bring Laughter Yoga to Lebanon, and she loves getting people to laugh, whether it is genuine or faked.

Lilliane believes that the body cannot decipher whether a laugh is real or fake, and that laughter exercises the body and soul. We began by standing in a circle and saluting each other one-by-one with a smile and a greeting.  Then she taught us four typical ways people laugh: Hehe, Hoho, Haha, and Huhu. 

Soon the room was filled with laughter, with some people laughing uncontrollably and others laughing at their friends. At one point we lay on the ground and Lilliane told us to relax in the darkness without speaking, and that only laughter was allowed. Throughout our relaxation period, Lilliane periodically burst out laughing, which made everyone else laugh in turn.

So to put more laughter into your life, try an uplifting session with the ever-smiling Lilliane.

For more info – Minus 1