It’s a laughing matter
– and no joke
Robin Pollard wanted to improve Vista Park Hill physically when
another, less traditional way of fixing up the park occurred to
her. She would introduce peels of laughter.
After attending a Laughter Yoga workshop in Ohio, she decided it
was just what people in Hollister needed. She started Hollister’s
Laughter Club in Jan. 2002.
It’s a laughing matter – and no joke
Robin Pollard wanted to improve Vista Park Hill physically when another, less traditional way of fixing up the park occurred to her. She would introduce peels of laughter.
After attending a Laughter Yoga workshop in Ohio, she decided it was just what people in Hollister needed. She started Hollister’s Laughter Club in Jan.2002.
Madan Kataria of India started Laughter Yoga 11 years ago after writing a paper on laughter as medicine for a medical journal, according to his Web site. Kataria started with one club, and now there are 3,500 worldwide, Pollard said.
Hollister’s club meets each Tuesday and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. until 7:50 a.m.
“In India, where they started, they do it at 6 a.m.,” Pollard said.
“I thought we’d get no one to show up if we do it at 6 a.m., so I opted for 7:30,” she said.
The group starts each meeting with three affirmations, Pollard said.
“We are the happiest people on the earth. We are the healthiest people on the earth. We are the Hollister Laughter Club,” she said.
Five or six people usually show up most days, though sometimes they have had as many as 13 people, Pollard said.
“We have a small group that is dedicated,” she said.
Two of the most loyal members of the club are David Bulman, Sr., 74, and his son, David Bulman, Jr., 45.
The Bulmans live across the street from Robin. Bulman, Sr., thought the club would be a lot of fun when he heard about it. He and his son have both been attending since it began. He has attended just about every meeting, he said.
Unlike a comedy club, no jokes are told. Instead specific laugh exercises are done, Pollard said.
“We laugh about 15-20 seconds at most [per laugh], she said.
Each laugh involves a specific motion. The butterfly laugh involves waving your arms and laughing “tee hee hee,” Pollard said.
For the recent Valentine’s Day holiday, they did the cupid laugh in which you pretend you have a quiver and when you release your arrow you release your laughter. As holidays approach, they often do related laughs, she said.
“The lion laugh is my favorite,” Bulman, Sr. said. “You spread your fingers and make a claw out of both hands, stick your tongue out, and make a roar like a lion,” he said.
But he enjoys the other laughs, too.
“They’re all kind of fun,” Bulman, Sr. said. “It’s a form of exercise, and just feeling good.”
The laughter with the motions is at first simulated laughter, Pollard said.
“Eye contact is important,” she said. “You are making eye contact with others when you are simulating laughter.”
Soon the laughs become real.
“I don’t know if it’s the absurdity factor or what, but when you look at other people who are laughing your laughter becomes genuine,” Pollard said.
The exercise motions, and the laughter itself, are forms of exercise.
“Your internal organs don’t know if you are faking laughter or not,” she said.
Laughter has many health benefits, Pollard said.
“If you laugh for 10 minutes, you can lower your blood pressure for three to four hours,” she said. “It helps diabetics process sugar better.”
“There are all kinds of science coming behind the medical benefits of laughter,” Pollard said. “It’s the cheapest exercise equipment you’ll ever carry around.”
As with other forms of exercise, people should practice laughter yoga with caution, Pollard said.
“People who have heart disease with chest pains, recent eye surgery, have had a recent cold or flu, or who are pregnant, would need to talk to a doctor first,” she said.
Another goal of the club is to get people to see the silliness and absurdity all around them, Pollard said.
The club has attracted tourists coming to the area. A couple from North Carolina came to visit Monterey, and made sure to come to the Hollister Laughter Club. People have planned vacations with this as one stop, Pollard said.
“We could use some new members,” Bulman, Sr. said. “Anyone who wants to feel better about themselves, and the world should come up and join us.”
Pollard is certain the club will continue to bring laughter to Hollister for many years.
“There has only been three weeks in five years that no one has shown up,” she said.
