DUNEDIN Laughter echoed down the hall of the Dunedin Community Center, luring the ears of visitors. In one room stood a dozen casually clad adults, mostly women, who looked into each other's eyes, clapped their hands and roared with laughter.

"Ho ho ha ha ha ho ho ha ha ha," the group chanted in a mantra-like fashion.

This is the laughter yoga class, which was brought to the center last year by Sparky Lovejoy, a 46-year-old single mom.

"Eye contact makes laughter contagious," she said. "It feels good, and it's healthy."

How healthy? The former Hatha yoga instructor from California touts numerous health benefits such as relieving stress, improving the immune system and connecting to others purely on the basis of a good laugh.

Participants in Lovejoy's class, whose ages span six decades, attest to the benefits they have received since letting loose with some hearty laughter.

Nicole Kennedy, at 32 the youngest member of the class, is expecting her first child in August. Laughing with others relieves her anxiety.

"I have a sense of confidence that nothing can knock me down right now," she said.

Lovejoy has mapped out a number of ways to induce laughter during the 45-minute sessions.

"You want to laugh and feel silly?" she asked. "Take out your cell phone and laugh into it!"

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Laughter yoga class in Dunedin has students in stitches