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How laughter meditation can bring you peace and joy

Want to get in touch with your inner giggler? Try Dhyan Sutorius’ laughing meditation.

Dhyan Sutorius

Photograph: Pieter de Swart

Laughing is a group activity. "It gives you a feeling of solidarity," Dhyan Sutorius had already explained to me on the phone. That’s why he asked if I was interested in doing a short laughing meditation with the staff during his upcoming visit to Ode’s Dutch editorial offices in Rotterdam. Three of us were there that day, so it was intimate, which was fine with Sutorius. The point is to experience laughing together. "Laughing is extremely conducive to cooperation," according to Sutorius’ Dutch-language website, which features a link to a brochure in English. That got all three of us chuckling.

A few days later, the 70-year-old founder of the Center for the Promotion of Laughter appeared, surprisingly spry as he climbed the three flights to Ode’s waterfront offices. Our interview couldn’t take place until we had completed his exercise, so Sutorius went to work as soon as he walked through the door. "Are your bladders empty, ladies?" he asked my co-workers. "That is an absolute must for an effective meditation." An empty stomach is also advisable. As my two colleagues hurried to the bathroom, giggling, Sutorius pushed four chairs into a small circle and quickly drank two glasses of water. "A good laughing session makes you lose a lot of fluid," he remarked, with evident confidence in the strength of his own bladder. He then asked us to focus our attention on his area of specialization for 30 years: the laughing meditation.

Just like regular meditation, laughing meditation has a calming effect on the meditator. But laughing adds an extra dimension—along with inner peace, it elicits joy. When you laugh, your brain releases endorphins, which produce sensations of pleasure. At the same time, laughing cleanses your body of the stress hormone cortisol. Because the sessions often take place in groups, there’s a social aspect as well; laughing is something best done with others. Laughing meditation sessions have become Sutorius’ mission. Says the doctor of preventive medicine: "You feel undeniably better if laugh a lot and hard. Something special happens to you. Your heart beats faster; you get warm. It is extremely healthy." He has written two books in Dutch on the subject. Sutorius gives lectures and laughing meditation workshops that last between 75 minutes and two hours, which he calls "laughshops."

As our 15-minute laughing meditation begins, I sit in the circle with my two co-workers. The doors are closed; the telephone is off. No one can disturb us. We look expectantly at the large, bearded Sutorius. It’s a challenge for him, since we’re starting off with a degree of awkwardness. After all, how far should we go in exposing ourselves? Sutorius barely gives us time to consider this. He demands our attention in a slightly dominating yet charming way. With a mixture of curiosity and diffidence, we listen to his instructions.

Every session, says Sutorius, is like the first time. He considers this essential to the experience. For the three of us, it really is the first time. "If you feel a little shy, laugh with your shyness," Sutorius directs. "And respect your limits. We don’t have to achieve anything at all."

He takes us on this journey with calm decisiveness. First, the preparation. We start by standing to stretch, legs planted solidly next to one another. We use our right arm to pull the left over our ear, and vice versa. Then we loosen our fingers without cracking them. Finally, we make a variety of silly faces to get our facial muscles ready. We’re not allowed to laugh yet, which proves difficult.

"Every second of your attention should be directed to whatever presents itself to you at that moment, whatever it may be; laugh or cry with it, or be silent," Sutorius directs. "The essence is acceptance, letting go and being aware. The moment you totally accept the situation, the other person or yourself, you can laugh with it."

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