Clubs show laughing matters

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- It's a tough time to be in the laughter business, but Steve Wilson is undeterred.

The 60-year-old laughter-therapy teacher has a two-day "World Laughter Tour" seminar at Lehigh University, where attendees paid up to $250 apiece to learn the finer points of hasya yoga, a kind of laughter aerobics.

Saturday's sessions at Lehigh were typical: Facing each other and moving around the room, participants laughed vigorously in spurts for about 20 minutes, switching often between different types of laughter -- from low chuckles to jubilant guffaws.

At the end of the two-day session, participants are able to form and lead their own laughter clubs -- something Wilson has been doing since 1997.

Laughter clubs got their start in India. In the mid-1990s, Bombay physician Madan Kataria became convinced that regular, vigorous laughter can lead to better health.

With the national mood shaken by terrorism, Saturday's crowd was slightly smaller than usual, Wilson said. Classes usually involve about 30 participants.