Laughter the best stretch: Free yoga sessions coming to Surf Coast

FREE laughing yoga sessions will kick off on the Surf Coast later this month, offering locals a chance to unwind, connect and tap into the feel-good energy of shared laughter.

The sessions will be run by Jules Haddock, best known as the founder of mental health charity Art of the Minds.

The beauty of laughing yoga, she said, is its suitability for people of all abilities.

“You don’t have to have this incredible, flexible body because it’s not like traditional yoga. It’s more about breath work,” Ms Haddock explained.

“The association is with increasing your lung capacity, but also releasing lots of feel-good chemicals through giggling.”

Participants can expect clapping sequences, mild stretching, a guided meditation sequence, and a safe space to laugh.

The adage “Fake it until you make it” is particularly apt for those trying laughing yoga for the first time.

“People might turn up and go ‘I don’t feel like laughing’, but when you do a fake laugh, the brain thinks it’s a real laugh, so you actually start to release all the nice chemicals, which are all feel-good chemicals and healing chemicals,” Ms Haddock said.

The practice is backed by science, can help reduce stress and anxiety, and will restore a sense of joy, she said.

“Embrace the science and let the child out to play, particularly because we know that as we get older, we don’t have opportunities to laugh as much, and we don’t feel like laughing as much.

“On average, children laugh 400 times a day; adults, on average, laugh 15 times a day — so something’s gone incredibly wrong as we mature.”

The first session will be held at The Sands in Torquay on October 22 from 9.30am and the second at the Torquay Neighbourhood House on November 18 from 11am, with more to be announced in the coming weeks.

Each session will be 45 minutes long and no mats are required.

The laughing yoga sessions have been made possible by a Torquay Community Enterprise grant.

For more information, contact Jules Haddock via email at [email protected], or for updates on more session dates, follow The Anxious Bird on Facebook and Instagram.