Therapeutic laughter will fill the air as Buffalo State College launches the Western New York Laughter Club at 5 p.m., on May 21, in the Sports Arena Bengal Room (223) at the 1300 Elmwood Ave campus.

Originating in India in the mid-1990s, therapeutic laughter combines elements of group dynamics, principles of communication, sensory awareness, techniques for stress management and yoga in a form of positive physical expression. Laughter clubs bring practitioners of therapeutic laughter together as active and interactive participants in the process to make the natural and positive power of laughter accessible as a health option.

The club will be led and organized by R. Bruce Baum, Ed.D., professor of exceptional education, and a certified laughter leader. Free and open to the public, the meetings will promote laughter as a form of exercise, Baum said, adding that therapeutic laughter has the same effect, including stimulating the respiratory and immune systems, relieving stress and creating a sense of well-being.

Baum said that even though laughter during therapeutic laughter meeting is generated on purpose, as opposed to spontaneous laughter generated at something perceived as humorous, the social, emotional and physical benefits are the same. The idea, he said, is that "simulated laughter becomes stimulated laughter." And although humor is personal and subjective, laughter is universal and crosses all cultural and language realms. The clubs are non-political, non-religious, non-exploitive and open to everyone.

For additional information, contact Baum at humorconnection@msn.com.