Walk by Lisa Berman’s yoga class in New York City, and the first thing you’ll notice is the sounds. There’s no calming music, no gentle swoosh of two dozen sets of hips simultaneously pushing skyward into a Downward Dog. Instead, you’ll hear laughter. Lots and lots of laughter.
Berman isn’t a comedian. But she teaches what’s known as laughter yoga, a class dedicated to… cracking up. “You laugh as an exercise,” she explains. “There are no jokes, you just laugh. You do yogic breathing, you do stretching, and you laugh.”