✉ shareen@laughtercoaching.com  ·  ☎ +27 82 337 3777  ·  Johannesburg Request a corporate proposal
What it is

Laughter coaching, laughter yoga & laughter therapy, explained

Three names, one idea: a safe, structured way to use laughter, breath and movement to shift the body out of stress mode, fast. No jokes required. No performance. No pressure.

How it works

You don't have to feel like laughing for it to work

We begin gently, breath, simple movement, eye contact, playful prompts. Structured laughter starts as an exercise and, almost always, tips into the real thing. The body doesn't need a joke; it responds to the act of laughing itself.

Within minutes the room softens. Shoulders drop. People who arrived braced are wiping their eyes. That's the felt shift, and it's the whole point.

  • Guided laughter & breath
  • Gentle movement & play
  • Simple connection, no sharing required
  • Practical reset tools to take away
A corporate group laughing together in a laughter yoga and laughter coaching session
The science

It really is more than fun

Laughter is one of the most studied, most accessible ways to shift the body's stress response. Here's what the research actually shows, honestly, without the hype.

+4.3 vs +6.8 mmol/L

People with type 2 diabetes had a smaller blood-sugar rise after a meal following a comedy show than after a dull lecture.

Hayashi & Murakami, Univ. of Tsukuba · Diabetes Care, 2003
+22% blood flow

Blood vessels relaxed and blood flow rose during laughter, and dropped during mental stress.

Michael Miller, Univ. of Maryland · 2005
~10% more pain tolerance

About 15 minutes of laughing together raised the pain threshold, a sign of bonding endorphins.

Dunbar et al., Univ. of Oxford · Royal Society B, 2011
Lower cortisol

Across many trials, laughter significantly reduced the stress hormone cortisol.

Systematic review & meta-analysis · PLOS ONE, 2023
Immune activity ↑

Mirthful laughter has been linked to a short-term rise in natural-killer-cell activity.

Bennett et al., 2003 · Berk, Loma Linda
Calmer kids

Trained medical clowns measurably reduce children's anxiety before procedures.

Dionigi 2014; Golan 2009 · randomised trials

Honest line, always: laughter supports stress, mood, connection and wellbeing. It is not a cure or treatment for diabetes, depression or any medical condition, and never replaces medication or professional care.

Shareen Richter facilitating a corporate laughter therapy session
Safe for the room

Built for the sceptic, the introvert and the exhausted

No one is put on the spot. No one has to be funny, share a feeling, or perform. It's safe for mixed groups, different cultures and different energy levels, especially good for the person who thinks this kind of thing isn't for them.

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Good to know

Frequently asked questions

What happens in a laughter coaching session?

You begin gently with breath, movement and playful prompts. Structured (intentional) laughter starts as an exercise and almost always tips into real laughter. Within minutes the room softens and people who arrived braced are wiping their eyes, that's the felt shift.

Do I need a sense of humour or have to be funny?

No. You don't have to feel like laughing for it to work, and nobody has to be funny, perform or share anything. The body responds to the act of laughing itself.

Is laughter therapy scientifically proven?

Research links laughter to lower cortisol, improved blood flow, higher pain tolerance and short-term immune changes. It supports wellbeing, it is not a medical treatment.

Come in tired. Leave lighter.

Let's plan a reset your team can actually feel.

Tell me what you're planning, team building, a wellness day, a conference keynote, a year-end or a school session. I read every enquiry myself.

Not sure it’s right for your team? Start with a low-risk 30-minute taster.

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Need the full, measured corporate programme?

Laughter Coaching is Shareen's signature laughter and keynote work. For a multi-week reset with an anonymous, board-ready before-and-after for your ExCo, the venue and the Felt Shift Method, that lives at HappiSpace, built on the same science.

Visit HappiSpace →
HappiSpace
Same founder. Same science.
Two doors, one philosophy.
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