Laughter Yoga on ITV Granada Reports: Natural Stress Relief and Mental Health Support

Sunny Turner shares the transformative power of Laughter Yoga for mental health on ITV Granada Reports during Mental Health Awareness Week

I’m absolutely thrilled to share some exciting news with you – on 6 November 2025, I had the honour of appearing on ITV Granada Reports during their Mental Health Activities Week. It was such a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate how Laughter Yoga can genuinely support mental wellbeing, and I’m delighted to share this experience with you.

Why This Mental Health Feature Meant So Much

Being featured on Granada Reports wasn’t just about being on television – it was about reaching people across the North West who might be looking for accessible, practical ways to support their mental health. Every day, I meet people who are struggling with depression, anxiety and stress, searching for something that might help them feel better. This appearance allowed me to connect with so many more of you.

How Laughter Yoga Works: The Science Behind Natural Stress Relief

During the ITV segment, I demonstrated how Laughter Yoga creates a wonderful physiological response in the body. Through simulated laughter with exercises, we naturally boost what I call your DOSE of feel-good chemicals – dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins. You start to feel happier within a few minutes, and you can prolong hearty laughter with pranayama yoga breathwork to naturally relieve stress.

What is Laughter Yoga? We delve deeper in this article

This isn’t just about feeling cheerful in the moment. We simulate laughter to stimulate genuine hearty laughter, thereby creating these neurochemicals with Laughter Yoga exercises to:

• Increase your energy levels naturally
• Enhance your motivation without forcing it
• Build genuine confidence from within
• Strengthen your social connections and relationships
• Provide natural stress relief
• Support mental health and emotional well-being

The real beauty of Laughter Yoga is that you don’t need to feel happy to begin. The sustained laughter exercises create real biochemical changes in your body, offering tangible benefits for your mental well-being and helping you cope more effectively with life’s challenges.

Laughter Yoga for Depression and Anxiety: You Don’t Need to Feel Happy to Laugh

This is something I’m passionate about sharing, particularly with those who might be experiencing winter blues, depression or anxiety. Laughter Yoga uses simulated laughter exercises that encourage genuine, hearty laughter without the need for jokes, comedy or humour. You can attend a session feeling low, anxious, or stressed and still benefit from the practice. Find out about Sunny Turner and her journey to Laughter Yoga.

See the statistics of mental health problems on the Mind website

Try Laughter Yoga online session here

I understand this deeply because I came into the well-being world of Laughter Yoga through my own experience with depression. I know what it’s like to feel sceptical about something that sounds unusual or different. I also know what it’s like to discover something that genuinely improves your mental health.

Natural Mental Health Support Without Medication

Many people are searching for ways to cope with depression naturally or manage anxiety without relying solely on medication. Laughter Yoga offers a complementary approach that works alongside other treatments. It’s a practical tool that empowers you to take an active role in your own well-being.

The exercises are simple, accessible, and can be practised anywhere. Whether you’re dealing with workplace stress, seasonal affective disorder, or ongoing mental health challenges, Laughter Yoga provides immediate stress relief techniques you can use whenever you need them.

Laughter Yoga: Powerful Team Building in Manchester and Beyond

Laughter Yoga is an effective team-building activity that fosters connection and a positive workplace culture. One of our team-building activity offerings is a unique collaboration combining Laughter Yoga with drumming. This immersive wellness Drum Up Happiness workshop creates something truly special – the vibrant energy of laughter combined with the rhythmic, grounding power of percussion.

The combination is particularly effective for:

• Conference ice-breakers in Manchester and across the UK
• Corporate wellness days in Cheshire and the North West
• Team building events
• Mental health awareness activities
• Workplace wellbeing programmes

A Message of Hope and Possibility for Mental Health

“Being featured on Granada Reports was a real honour,” I shared during the broadcast. “It gave us the chance to reach so many people across the region who might be struggling with their mental health. The beauty of Laughter Yoga is that anyone can do it, regardless of how they’re feeling on the day.”

Since the broadcast, I’ve received such wonderful feedback from viewers who were inspired to learn more about how Laughter Yoga could help them manage stress and improve their mental health. These messages remind me why I do this work – because everyone deserves access to tools that can support their wellbeing in practical, meaningful ways.

Mental Health Support Across Manchester, Cheshire and North Wales

This ITV appearance comes at a time when mental health support feels more vital than ever. Whether you’re facing work pressures, personal challenges, or simply the weight of daily life, having accessible stress relief techniques for managing your wellbeing is essential.

Through Serious Laughter, I deliver:

• Laughter Yoga workshops for organisations across Manchester, North Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire, and London
• Laughter For The Health of It Keynote Talks are specially designed for sceptics about the unique benefits of laughing yoga
• Workplace wellness programmes
• Community mental health activities
• Conference ice-breakers that genuinely energise teams
• Corporate stress management workshops across the UK

All sessions can be delivered in-person or online (except our special Drum Up Happiness, drumming and laughter collaboration, which requires the full in-person experience). The natural stress relief achieved is between 40-60% depending on the length and type of session, and the participants’ current mental health.

Watch the ITV Granada Reports Mental Health Feature

I’d love for you to see the Granada Reports segment for yourself. You can watch it here

Could Laughter Yoga Help Your Mental Health or Workplace Wellbeing?

Whether you’re looking for:

• Natural ways to cope with depression
• Stress relief techniques that actually work
• Anxiety management without medication
• Workplace mental health support
• Team building activities in Cheshire
• Community wellbeing workshops
• Training to become a Laughter Yoga Leader yourself

I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Laughter Yoga offers a practical, accessible approach to coping with life and work challenges. It’s a tool that anyone can use, regardless of where they are on their wellbeing journey.

Here are some of the workshops we offer to organisations and communities.

• Quick Happiness Boost to help mental health
• Stress-buster
• Reduce Burnout For Your Tired Team
• Team-Building
• Drum Up Happiness Team-Building
• Confidence-Building Boost
• Serious Stress Relief Masterclass
• Presentation / Interactive Talk on Laughter For The Health Of It

Get in Touch for Laughter Yoga in Manchester, Cheshire and North Wales

Contact Serious Laughter:

• Email: happy@seriouslaughter.co.uk
• Serving: Manchester, Cheshire, North Wales, and across the UK
• Enquiry form

Laughter Yoga is an effective well-being activity to support you, your team, or your community. Because everyone deserves the opportunity to feel better, cope more effectively with stress and anxiety, and discover the transformative power of laughter for mental health.

Scientific evidence to show that Laughter Yoga helps stress relief through using salivary samples https://bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13104-025-07505-8

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About Sunny Turner – FHT Accredited Laughter Yoga Teacher

Sunny Turner is the founder of Serious Laughter and an FHT-accredited Laughter Yoga Teacher, Motivator and Museum of Happiness Facilitator. Based in the North West, Sunny delivers mental health workshops, corporate wellness programmes, and Laughter Yoga Leader Training across Manchester, Cheshire, North Wales, and throughout the UK.