Here are five Laughter Yoga exercises you can try at home. World Laughter Day falls on the first Sunday of May every year, and it is the perfect excuse to do something a little different for your well-being. You can try these Laughter Yoga exercises any day or every day, though, not just on World Laughter Day!

You do not need to feel happy. You do not need to be funny. You do not even need to be in a good mood. Laughter Yoga works because the body cannot tell the difference between simulated laughter and the real thing – so the benefits kick in either way.

If you have never tried it before, take a look at this Laughter Yoga video. Below are five Laughter Yoga exercises you can try at home, with a friend, or in a group – starting today.

How Laughter Yoga Exercises Work

Laughter Yoga was created in 1995 by Dr Madan Kataria, a physician from India who noticed that laughter – even when started deliberately – produces real physiological benefits. It lowers cortisol, releases endorphins, and supports the immune system.

These Laughter Yoga exercises combine simulated laughter with gentle movement and breathing. They might feel a little unusual at first. That is completely normal. Most people find that within a minute or two, the simulated laughter starts to become genuine – because laughter is contagious, even when you are on your own.

1. Ho Ho Ha Ha Ha – The Foundation Exercise

This is where almost every Laughter Yoga session begins, and it is a wonderful way to warm up your body and create energy

Clap your hands together using flat palms – this is intentional. Clapping with flat palms stimulates acupressure points in the hands, helping to activate energy through the body and get your circulation moving right from the start.

Clap rhythmically and chant “Ho, Ho, Ha, Ha, Ha” in time with the claps. Keep your posture open, your shoulders relaxed, and your chest lifted. Do this for around 30 seconds, then let it build naturally into open laughter if it wants to.

Try it for: 30 to 60 seconds, or longer if it feels good.

2. Greeting Laughter

This one works beautifully with another person, though you can adapt it if you are on your own.

Walk towards someone – or imagine walking towards someone – with open, friendly body language. Make eye contact, extend your hands as though welcoming an old friend, and laugh warmly as you meet them. There is no script. Just the energy of a cheerful hello.

Eye contact is a surprisingly powerful trigger for genuine laughter in this exercise. If you are doing this with a partner, it quickly stops feeling simulated.

Try it for: A short round of greetings – 30 seconds to a minute. If you are in a group, move around and greet as many people as you can.

Watch greeting laughing yoga exercise on YouTube

3. Milkshake Laughter

A firm favourite in sessions, created in 1995 by Dr Madan Kataria, and is a Laughter Yoga exercise that tends to get people going almost immediately.

Hold out both hands as though you are holding a large glass in each one. Imagine pouring the contents of one glass into the other – “Aaaa…” – then swap and pour back – “Aaaa…” – then raise one glass to your lips and drink with a big laugh: “Aha ha ha ha ha!”

The physical action, the playfulness, and the shared experience make this one particularly good at breaking the ice. It is a wonderful one to try with children, too.

Try it for: Three or four rounds, then move on while the energy is still high.

Look at the milkshake laughing yoga exercise on YouTube

4. Silent Laughter

This one surprises people every time – and that surprise is part of why it works so well.

Open your mouth wide and laugh – but make no sound at all. Just the movement, the breath, the expression. Hold it for 10 seconds.

Silent Laughter is deep, hearty, and quick-acting. It engages the whole body and lifts your mood almost immediately. It also tends to tip over into genuine laughter very quickly, because the sight of other people doing it is impossible to resist.

Try it for: 10 seconds, repeated two or three times.

Watch an example of silent laughing yoga on YouTube

5. Laughter Shower

A favourite to close a session with – and one you can genuinely try at home in the shower tomorrow morning.

Pretend to squeeze some shower cream into your hands and rub it into your arms, shoulders, and chest – saying “ho ho ho, ha ha ha, he he he” as you go. Then speed it up. Keep going, faster and faster, letting the laughter build with the pace.

It wakes the nerve endings throughout the body, and the simulated laughter quickly becomes real. It is a joyful way to start the day.

Try it for: 30 to 60 seconds, building speed as you go.

Have a laughter shower with Sunny Turner on YouTube

What to Expect Afterwards

A few minutes of Laughter Yoga exercises will not fix everything. You might feel lighter from stress. Some people notice a warm, calm feeling that lasts, creating a sense of resilience to cope with challenges. Laughing together strengthens relationships and friendships, creating a feeling of belonging.

That is not a coincidence. Laughter activates your parasympathetic nervous system – the rest-and-digest response that counterbalances the stress and anxiety so many of us carry around day to day.

A few minutes of Laughter Yoga will not fix everything. But it can genuinely shift your state, even on a difficult day.

Want to Try More Laughter Yoga Exercises?

These five exercises are just a taster. A full Laughter Yoga session starts from just 30 minutes and takes you through a whole sequence of exercises, breathing, and connection. Sessions are available online and face to face across Manchester, Cheshire, and the wider UK – so wherever you are, there is a way to join in. Take a look at our events page to book a public Laughter Yoga session in Manchester or an online Laughter Yoga.

If you are curious about bringing Laughter Yoga to your team, your community group, or your organisation, you can download the Serious Laughter Services Pack for full details – no sign-up required:

Download the Serious Laughter Services Pack

Or drop me a line at happy@seriouslaughter.co.uk – I would love to hear from you

How Laughter Yoga Exercises Help

Laughter Yoga is a unique concept: we laugh on purpose and create new muscle memory to use laughter as a well-being tool. You can choose to practise it, just as you might choose to go for a walk or take a few deep breaths.

World Laughter Day is a reminder that this skill belongs to all of us – regardless of mood, circumstance, or whether we feel we have anything to laugh about right now.

You do not need to feel happy to laugh. But you might just feel a little happier once you do.

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Ready to Explore Laughter Yoga Further?

Discover what’s coming up in the Events section here. If you’d like to bring a session to your workplace or community group, drop me a line and we can chat about what would work best.

For more information, contact Sunny Turner at happy@seriouslaughter.co.uk or call or WhatsApp +44 7974 778091.

Sunny Turner is the founder of Serious Laughter, an FHT-accredited Laughter Yoga business serving Manchester, Cheshire, London and the wider UK. Having discovered Laughter Yoga during her own experience with depression, she delivers wellness workshops to corporate teams, schools, NHS organisations, and community groups – helping people discover the transformative power of unconditional joy.