HAVE you noticed when something really tickles you, when the feeling builds from deep inside your belly and it just has to come out in giggles then a full-blown laugh, you feel so in the moment and so alive?

All you are aware of is what made you laugh and the feeling that has taken over your body and mind. Sometimes you struggle to breathe properly and often fall into a chair or roll around on the ground because your muscles can't support yourself standing up. Oh, what a joyous feeling to laugh until it hurts!

It seemed to happen a lot when we were children but for many adults, it happens nowhere near as often as it could or should.

Across the world for the past decade, groups have been forming with the aim of bringing out the laughter in people so they can feel all the associated benefits from this simple wondrous act.

Laughter specialist Diana Lee, who has started up the new laughter workshops in Wrexham, has been trained by leading hypnotists Paul McKenna and Richard Bandler. She is a master practitioner in neuro linguistic programming (NLP), a hypnotic practitioner, life coach and psychologist.

Diana says: "Laughter workshops were started in India in 1998 by Dr Madan Kataria, an Indian medical doctor who knew there were benefits in laughter. He designed laughter yoga, which is basically a mixture between laughter exercises and yoga. I took the yoga out of it and just do the laughter exercises."

Even without the yoga, she says laughing uses more muscles than people realise and it offers quite a good workout, burning around 500 calories an hour.

Another benefit of laughter, says Diana, is it reduces stress by taking people's minds off their worries. It also reduces the level of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol and increases the body's production of endorphins, the natural 'feel good' hormones.

Muscles relax and tension is released when people laugh, she says, and it can lower blood pressure. It also gives the lungs a clean out, helps restore a good breathing pattern, increases oxygen levels and improves circulation.

When Diana invited me to attend her new laughter class, I jumped at the chance as I have always wondered what they would be like and if it was possible for me and others to laugh for no apparent reason.

The moment Diana breaks into a laugh, which comes very easily, her face lights up and her laughter is contagious. I found it impossible not to laugh along once I decided I was going to enjoy myself, no matter how silly I may look.

Everyone was a little shy at first, however after introductions and Diana's wide range of simple exercises to make us laugh, we were soon smiling and laughing together. Once we let go of preconceived ideas and inhibitions it soon seemed like we were all old friends.

For one hour we laughed, sometimes genuinely, sometimes faking it.

Diana says to begin with, it's difficult to laugh for no reason but as the brain does not know the difference between a real laugh and a fake one, the 'feel good' chemicals in the brain are released just the same.

"You fake it until you make it," she laughs, adding it is not the humour that is important but the physical act of laughing that produces the benefits.

Workshop participant Eurwyn Astley, 57, from Wrexham says: "Laughing for no reason is something you have to practise at to get the technique right. You can't grasp it right away."

He said depending on people's upbringing, if someone was found laughing for no particular reason, they would have been told: "For goodness sake, pull yourself together." The person's sanity may also have been questioned.

So for Eurwyn to break into laughter during the exercises, he had to brush those thoughts aside. After the class, he said: "It takes some getting used to but on the happiness scale, it's pretty good."

Another participant, Jodie Carstairs, 32, from Chester, was very enthusiastic during the class and had no problems letting her guard down to get into the spirit.

She says: "No one ever gives you permission to laugh at nothing. You are taught not to and there are invisible barriers. It's amazing how conditioned we are to behaving certain ways. This type of class is very freeing."

Maggie Astley, 54, says having Diana leading the group and joining in with her naturally friendly persona, meant Maggie did not feel silly or self-conscious at all.

"It's been excellent. I did not know what to expect so I came with an open mind and it's been really enjoyable. I've used muscles I did not know I have got. It's a good stress relief."

She says there is not enough laughter in this world and she would recommend the laughter workshop to anyone as they would benefit from it.

"Something like this should be taught at schools – to be uninhibited – it's a great thing," says Maggie.

I left the class feeling happy and thought that would be all I noticed, but the next morning I am feeling very relaxed, like the tension has left my body. I have a feeling of well-being and my spirit seems lighter somehow. I cannot believe how good I feel.

The next day, Jodie says: "I am surprised. I definitely feel more relaxed and less stressed, and ready to laugh more easily. I am going again next week."

Diana is testing the water, to see if people in Wrexham, Flintshire and Chester are interested in joining the workshops for a weekly laughter work-out.

It is a fun way to burn calories and the old saying, 'laughter is the best medicine', is probably more important in today's modern world than it was in times past.

Classes are open to children and adults of all ages. The next class will be held at the Rhosddu Community Centre in Prices Lane, Wrexham on Monday night from 7-8pm. The cost is £5 per person for each one-hour class. For further information contact Diana on 077 040 13258 or email her at didoelee@hotmail.com