Most people wonder if they will look or feel silly and embarrassed when participating in Laughter Yoga.
It’s absolutely natural to feel self conscious initially when practicing Laughter Yoga.
I liken it to an actor being on stage. Even the most experienced actor can feel some degree of stage fright and self consciousness when they are on stage and suddenly they experience a shift from that uncomfortable feeling, to deeply grounded and engaged, when they are fully present in the moment in their own character no longer observing themselves with a critical eye.
Laughter Yoga sessions are designed to ease participants in gently. We do this by starting out with very simple exercises that don’t trigger a fear of being seen as silly. Then as the participants laugh, relax and begin to feel safe in the group environment we slowly introduce exercises that might seem a little silly right up to the most goofy exercises.
Usually a safe rapport is built within the group and if you feel silly for a short moment it passes quickly because the act of laughing distracts you out of being self conscious or uncomfortable and you very quickly end up just enjoying the laughter.
Participants are never forced to act outside their own comfort zone. This is very important to note.
In a separate blog I discuss the reason why participants must always have full choice over their engagement in the session.
So don’t worry, at most you may feel a minor discomfort just as you would with party games, public speaking, performing arts such as acting, dance, music etc. But it’s usually much milder as you’re in a group of people, there’s no wrong way to participate and the laughter and movement soon dissolves any self consciousness..
