Is Laughter Yoga A Joke?

Despite initial cynicism, Laura Turner Garrison comes to take it mostly seriously:

When looking through the [Laughter Yoga] YouTube channel, what’s most surprising to me is the worldwide reach of this phenomenon. Granted, laughter might be the only thing universal about humor, but how different cultures engage in laughter varies wildly. As I have written about in the past, certain cultures do not like feeling as though they are being laughed at, nor do they want to risk looking foolish in public. For others, laughing aloud and openly is considered rude. So to see these Laughter Clubs from around the world doing the same exercises and letting go of all inhibition isn’t just surprising — it’s kind of amazing.

Marcelo Gleiser looks at research on laughter's health benefits:

There have been several studies trying to measure the medical benefits of laughter. If depression and sadness can hamper your immune system, wouldn't laughter improve it? It sounds reasonable to me, although studies have been, on the whole, inconclusive and mutually contradictory. Maybe it has to do with the fairly small size of the studies, or how they are done, usually with people watching comedies like Laurel & Hardy or Abbott & Costello.