WETHERSFIELD -- Two women go to high five, purposely miss and burst out laughing.

They switch partners and repeat the exercise, filling the room with a cacophony of chuckles and guffaws.

Welcome to Laura Le's laughter yoga class.

No, Le doesn't force her students into pretzels and crack one-liners. Laughter yoga has no mirthful dog or merry corpse positions.

Instead, it is a seemingly silly series of verbal exercises intended to make you laugh, Le explained. In addition to the high fives, those exercises include laughing while shaking hands and lots of "he-he"s and "ho-ho"s. Later, people role play something that annoys them and chuckle as they do it.

"We do intentional laughing, laughing for no reason," Le of West Hartford said. "The idea is to laugh whenever you want to."

That's a good thing because research shows laughter's powerful positive effect on your body, Le said. A good guffaw relieves stress, lowers blood pressure, strengthens the immunity system and speeds healing, she said. It releases endorphins that make you feel good. Laughing 10 to 15 minutes a day burns 40 to 50 calories, so it can even help you lose weight, she said.

People will have the chance to try out laughter yoga Saturday when Le conducts an hour-long class starting at 2 p.m. at the Wethersfield Library. Would-be laughers are asked to register beforehand by calling 860-529-2665.

Le, a Yale University graduate who grew up in Middletown, said she dealt with stress back to her college days. She tried everything, exercise, yoga, tai chi, with limited success.

One day four years ago, she heard about laughter yoga and gave it a whirl. She was immediately hooked.

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Laughter Yoga Class At Wethersfield Library