Every first Sunday of May, the world comes together to celebrate World Laughter Day. The day aims to raise awareness about the power of laughter for health and well-being. From reducing stress to boosting the immune system, laughter is a natural medicine we should all embrace. One of the first people to leverage laughter for its medical benefits was Mumbai-resident Dr Madan Kataria.

“Laughter Yoga is a concept where anyone can laugh without jokes or using any humour. This was founded by Dr Madan Kataria, a medical doctor from Mumbai in 1995. His first laughter yoga club was started in a park in Lokhandwala, Mumbai with a small group of five people including him and his wife. Soon enough, this concept became popular throughout the world not only in parks, but also in corporations, senior citizen centres, schools, colleges, universities and even in prisons,” reveals yoga expert Pooja Nidadavolu, master at JetSynthesys’ Thinkright.me.