Laughter Yoga is a body-mind exercise practice, combining simulated laughter, creative play and yogic breathing to effect genuine laughter. It is interactive, oxygenating, uplifting, and so much fun! Cultivate connection, community, deep release, and body-mind wellness with Laughter Yoga.
“When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.” ~ Buddha
“It is never too late
to have a happy childhood.”
~Tom Robbins
“What is soap to the body, laughter is to the soul.”
~Yiddish Proverb
“Practice laughter daily: free up your inner muse.”
“Even if there is nothing to laugh about, laugh on credit.”
~Author Unknown
“At the height of laughter the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of possibilities.”~Jean Houston
“Laughter is a holy thing. It is as sacred as music and silence and solemnity, maybe more sacred. Laughter is like a prayer, like a bridge over which creatures tiptoe to meet each other. Laughter is like mercy, it heals. When you can laugh at yourself you are free.”
Divine Laughter is the sound of grace, singing its celebration of joy, peace and acceptance: It is the song of love. This kind of laughter doesn’t always happen out loud. Sometimes it is the inner smile of our awareness and acceptance of what is. Sometimes it is a stillness inside in response to outer unrest. And sometimes it bubbles forth like a song of enthusiasm, gratitude and celebration of Being. We may laugh inside, in celebration of our infinite immortal Spirit, while we respond compassionately to the world’s pain through whatever form of action we are inspired to take. Throughout that compassionate action and service, however, if we remember ourSelf, we laugh inside, allowing Grace to pour through us to enable and strengthen our actions with Love and Peace.
“God and I have become like two giant fat people living in a tiny boat.
We keep bumping into each other and laughing.”
~ Hafiz
Laughter is incredibly healing. When we laugh, we are in the present moment, our mind is not engaged in past guilt or future fear. We simply Are. In laughter, the doorway that allows Grace’s ever givingness to be received is wide open. Resistance releases when we laugh. We can not laugh and hold on to fear, anger, resentment, resistance or any other thoughts that hold back Grace. Laughter says Yes! to Grace, Yes to Life!
“Sing because this is a food our starving world needs. Laugh because that is the purest sound.”
~Hafiz
“What is this precious love and laughter budding in our hearts? It is the glorious sound of a soul waking up!”
~Hafiz
“Time spent laughing is time spent with the Gods.”
~Japanese proverb
“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.”
~Victor Borg
“Laughter on one’s lips is a sign that the person
has a pretty good grasp of life.”
~Hugh Sidey
“We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh.”
~Agnes Repplier
“Laugh and your life will be lengthened,
for this is the great secret of long life.”
~Og Mandino
Laughter is the Best Medicine. Humans were designed to laugh. Laughter is nature’s stressbuster. It lifts our spirits with a happy high that makes us feel good and improves our behavior towards others.
Just a few generations ago happy healthy humans spent 20 minutes a day or more in laughter. Now adult daily laughtime is down to 5 minutes or less in many countries. This is one of the worst aspects of ‘modern life’.
Laugh yourself healthy. We all know that laughter makes us feel good. A regular 20 minute laughter session can have a profound impact on our health and wellbeing. Laughter is gentle exercise. It fill your lungs and body with oxygen, deep-clears your breathing passages and exercises your lungs. This is really important for people who don’t get regular aerobic exercise.
When we laugh our bodies release a cocktail of hormones & chemicals that have startling positive effects on our system. Stress is reduced, blood pressure drops, depression is lifted, your immune system is boosted & more. Western science is just starting to discover the great effects of laughter.
Why Laughter Yoga? (Do you really need a reason?!) Eleven years ago Dr Madan Kataria, an Indian doctor and student of Yoga was writing a paper for a medical journal titled ‘Laughter is the best medicine’.
Convinced of the medical benefits of laughter and Yogic breathing exercises, Doctor Kataria was searching for a way to bring these benefits to modern man. You can’t prescribe 20 minutes of laughter a day, and for best effect a range of different types of laughter should be combined.
In a flash of inspiration Laughter Yoga was born. Thanks to Doctor Kataria, countless people all over the world today enjoy the benefits of a daily dose of laughter practicing Laughter Yoga at laughter clubs or at their workplace.
Anyone can laugh without reason. Laughter Yoga combines laughter exercises and yoga breathing to give you the health benefits of hearty laughter.
Laughter exercises almost always lead to real laughter, especially when practiced in a group.
Today, many people fear widespread international terrorism. The world has never faced so much unrest before. People are at war within themselves.
Laughter Yoga™ is a worldwide social movement (non religious, non sectarian, non political) that aims to promote world peace through laughter. It is based on the philosophy of “acting happiness” and is a physically-oriented technique, not a mental practice. In Laughter Yoga™, you don’t need to be happy, have a sense of humor, or even have a reason in order to laugh. Laughter is a tremendously efficient way to express and release tension in a positive manner, and is proven to relieve stress, improve blood flow and digestion, and strengthen the immune system. There are currently over 5000 Laughter Clubs worldwide counting over 250,000 members, and growing.
Here are 10 good reasons to laugh for no reason
- Laughter is a stress buster. It reduces the levels of stress hormones epinephrine and cortisol.
- Laughter strengthens the immune system and helps maintain good health.
- Laughter is anti-aging. It increases blood supply to the face, nourishing the skin and making it glow.
- Laughter is an aerobic exercise equivalent to any other standard aerobic exercise.
- Laughter increases the levels of endorphins – the body’s natural pain killers.
- Laughter helps control high blood pressure by reducing the release of stress-related hormones.
- Laughter helps dump depression, anxiety and psychosomatic disorders.
- Laughter Yoga™ makes us more creative and imaginative. It improves our sense of humor.
- Laughter shrinks the hurts of everyday life to a smaller, if not inconsequential size. It interrupts the power struggle and defuses anger by releasing it.
- Laughter helps individuals be more self-confident and self-expressive.