A few Hollister residents take laughing very seriously.
This was not a Berkeley drum circle. These people were not
getting up at 7am to attend an AA meeting. It was Hollister’s one
and only Laughter Club. Founder Robin Pollard decided the Laughter
Club would be a great way to help brighten one of Hollister’s many
forgotten parks.
A few Hollister residents take laughing very seriously.
This was not a Berkeley drum circle. These people were not getting up at 7am to attend an AA meeting. It was Hollister’s one and only Laughter Club. Founder Robin Pollard decided the Laughter Club would be a great way to help brighten one of Hollister’s many forgotten parks.
“To bring people to Vista Park Hill,” Pollard said. “To expose Vista Park Hill to positive energy.”
Laughter yoga was started in the public parks of India by Dr. Madan and Madhuri Kataria in 1996 and is a form of Hasya yoga, Pollard said. Laughter yoga uses deep breathing and stretching exercises. It helps practitioners begin their day on the right foot, longtime Laughter Club member Dave Bulman Jr. said.
“It gives us a little lift,” Bulman said.
The club meets for 20 minutes every Saturday and Tuesday at 7:30am. The group has a number of laughter yoga exercises used to induce laughter and stretch muscles. Pollard leads members through a laughing routine. Members occasionally chime in with suggestions and jokes.
The official Laughter Yoga Web site links to articles claiming laughter has many health benefits. One claim is that laughing lowers blood pressure, increases vascular flow, boosts the immune system and releases natural endorphins, which are natural pain killers, on the brain.
Pollard first heard about laughter yoga in a “US News and World” report. Pollard, a yoga instructor at the YMCA, had to fly to Ohio for training to start the club.
The Hollister Laughter Club was the first such club introduced in California in January, 2000. There are 13 Laughter Clubs in California and 300 across the nation.
Pollard said the club is free to anyone interested. The group will not even ask for a name.
“There are no forms to fill out,” Pollard said.
The club has been featured on the local television show “Bay Area Backroads.” Dr. Kataria has flown in from India to visit with the Hollister Laughter Club.
In addition to starting the Laughter Club, Pollard also started the community garden at Vista Park Hill in 1999 with $1,000 from the San Benito Foundation, fertilizer donated Z-Best and sprinkler pipes donated by Rain for Rent Inc. in an effort to keep the park green and help restore its reputation.
“A lot of people think (Vista Park Hill) is a bad place,” Pollard said.
Pollard, Bulman and his father, Dave Bulman Sr., usually show for the Laughter Club rain or shine. The club can have as many as eight people in attendance. Several weeks ago three out-of-town Laughter Club members showed for the morning routine, Pollard said.
But Bulman cannot always make it.
“It’s acceptable to miss,” Bulman said.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 637-5566 ext. 335, or [email protected]
