A Venice instructor explains the benefits.
By Ramon Lopez
Original Air Date: June 17, 2026
Host: Laughter yoga is no joke, as our reporter Ramon Lopez learned.
Group: (to the tune of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes) Ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha
Laughter yoga in Venice. | Photos: Ramon Lopez
Ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha
[cheering]
Ramon Lopez: To instructor Cathy Grippi and her group of students, laughter yoga is no joke. Rather, joke-telling is not required—just loud laughter during their sessions.
Grippi says 15-20 minutes of laughter yoga produces a sufficient dose of healing, or happy hormones, that help one to look and feel better.
Cathy Grippi: Traditional yoga includes a whole lot of physical posturing. In laughter yoga, we invoke the yogic breath, which is deep diaphragmatic breathing. Instead of just exhaling as you would normally do in a yoga class, we add “ha-ha’s” to the exhalation because it’s in the action of the “ha-ha” that we get our bodies to produce dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins. These are hormones that help us look better, feel better, think better and, in the end, change our mood.
RL: At this particular quiet Saturday morning post-snowbird season free workout, outside of the Venice Library, there were a handful of women and children. But men are also invited and the groups can grow to over two dozen or more.
CG: Stick out your tongue and “ha-ha.”
[laughter]
RL: Grippi says laughter yoga is both medicinal and fun.
Cathy Grippi
CG: The benefits of laughter yoga include stress reduction, it improves mood, it enhances cardiovascular health, boosts your immune system and increases lung capacity due to the deeper breathing we do. That’s the yogic part in laughter yoga.
Laughter yoga can be practiced by people of all ages and fitness levels, as it does not require any prior yoga experience. There’s no special clothing or equipment, yoga mats, can be done seated or standing and sessions can be held in various settings including fitness centers, workplaces, community centers and even outdoors.
RL: This form of yoga was invented by a physician in India in 1995 and has since spread worldwide.
Grippi offers free sessions on Zoom and in person. She also works with Parkinson patients and at nursing homes. Customized private sessions are also provided.
Grippi said she discovered the healing powers of laughter yoga a decade ago when she was in pain and teaches it to help others.
CG: That’s my gift back to the world because, in essence—in reality—laughter yoga saved my life. I’m a recovering angry, not-nice person. I developed physical problems as a result of my anxiety and my depression. When I started laughing, that was the first time I felt those great hormones rushing through my body in decades.
RL: Regular participant Joan Farrell gets a kick out of it.
Joan Farrell
Joan Farrell: It’s uplifting. It’s nice to do something simple, short, sweet, free in a group setting to help start the day.
RL: As sickness is no laughing matter, Cathy Grippi believes those with regular doses of laughter yoga can only enhance their mental and physical well-being.
To learn more about laughter yoga, go to www.laughteryogavenice.com.
This is Ramon Lopez for WSLR News.
Group: (to the tune of This Little Light of Mine) Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha
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