Greetings, fellow laughers!
Our new website is up and running and ready for visitors! On that website, you will find our new blog that will now be posted there. You are welcome to visit us any time!
This blog will remain here, but will no longer be updated, so please migrate over to LaughterIncorporated.com and pay us a visit! We'll be happy to see you!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Some Fun Laughter Quotes
I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose. ~Woody Allen
At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities. ~Jean Houston
Even if there is nothing to laugh about, laugh on credit. ~Author Unknown
Mirth is God's medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it. ~Henry Ward Beecher
The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. ~e.e. cummings
Laughter is an instant vacation. ~Milton Berle
At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities. ~Jean Houston
Even if there is nothing to laugh about, laugh on credit. ~Author Unknown
Mirth is God's medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it. ~Henry Ward Beecher
The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. ~e.e. cummings
Laughter is an instant vacation. ~Milton Berle
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
You Might As Well Laugh!
Since everything is but an apparition,
Perfect in being what it is,
Having nothing to do with good or bad,
Acceptance or rejection
You might as well burst out laughing!
LONGCHENPA
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
New Fun! Free laughter Teleconferences---11 per day!
In this Information Age, we all know how teleconferences are all the rage. They connect people in the most practical ways, especially for businesses.
Perhaps you'd be curious about radically different conference calls? If so, check this out---free laughter teleconferences! That's right---laughing online with strangers for no reason. It is hilarious! Even listening to the pre-recorded ones is enough to make just about everyone laugh. You can just laugh along whether live or with the pre-recorded conferences. It is so WONDERFULLY sillY and healthy, and makes for a real cheap date. Go ahead, call in, and laugh for no reason!
http://www.soulfulfillment.com/contactus.html
Perhaps you'd be curious about radically different conference calls? If so, check this out---free laughter teleconferences! That's right---laughing online with strangers for no reason. It is hilarious! Even listening to the pre-recorded ones is enough to make just about everyone laugh. You can just laugh along whether live or with the pre-recorded conferences. It is so WONDERFULLY sillY and healthy, and makes for a real cheap date. Go ahead, call in, and laugh for no reason!
http://www.soulfulfillment.com/contactus.html
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Skype Laughter Clubs Are Here!
Laughter clubs have spread to more than 60 countries around the world, and we are now witnessing the birth of laughter clubs on Skype and Facebook!
A recent article on the Laughter Yoga International website shares the story. To find the club on Facebook, click here or email online.laughterclub@gmail.com.
A recent article on the Laughter Yoga International website shares the story. To find the club on Facebook, click here or email online.laughterclub@gmail.com.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
United States Army to Study Laughter Yoga!
An article posted on Laughter Yoga International reports that the United States Army is implementing a study of the use of Laughter Yoga for veterans returning from Iraq with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We are excited and hopeful that the Laughter Yoga is being brought to veterans who truly need the healing power of laughter in their lives!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Laughter--The Best Medicine!
New Spring 2009 Laughter Class,
"Laughter--The Best Medicine"
This new course, being offered under the auspices of Amherst Leisure Services, is called "Laughter--The Best Medicine". It is the first time anything like this has been offered in the Pioneer Valley and it's going to be so much fun!This will be a 6-weekSpring course commencing April 14thand will be held at the Munson Library in South Amherst (which is easily accessed from Northampton and Hadley via the back roads or Rt. 116). You will need to register for the course in advance and pay a nominal fee to Amherst Leisure Services. To register, call 413-256-4065 or visit their website, for more information.
Description of the Course
In "Laughter--The Best Medicine" you will experience first-hand the joy of playfulness and the liberation of laughing for no reason in a safe, supportive environment. Laughing for no reason is a healthy activity which reduces stress, improves health, and fosters community and positive relationships! You will learn more about and directly experience the many emotional, physical and psychological benefits of laughter through Laughter Yoga which is a system of gentle yogic breathing and group laughter exercises which helps to elicit spontaneous laughter.
In 6 energizing sessions, we'll do plenty of laughing, engage in lively discussions and experiential learning activities. We'll use Laughter Yoga, video, audio, demonstration, group activities, games, journaling, creative movement, meditations and "laughter homework". You will complete the course ready to integrate more laughter and other stress-relieving techniques into your life. Go ahead--laugh for no reason!
This class is inclusive and accessible to people 15 and over, regardless of level of physical ability. We offer our course as fragrance-free and wheelchair accessible. Please join us for 6 weeks of fun, friendship, learning and laughter!
Laughter Resources
Our Meetup site is where you can check our calendar of events, RSVP (optional), and join discussions: http://yoga.meetup.com/635
Please see our new laughter blog, Laughter Incorporated!
For many more laughter resources and to find Laughter Yoga in the USA as well as in more than 60 countries around the world, visit the international website: http://laughteryoga.org
"Laughter--The Best Medicine"
This new course, being offered under the auspices of Amherst Leisure Services, is called "Laughter--The Best Medicine". It is the first time anything like this has been offered in the Pioneer Valley and it's going to be so much fun!This will be a 6-weekSpring course commencing April 14thand will be held at the Munson Library in South Amherst (which is easily accessed from Northampton and Hadley via the back roads or Rt. 116). You will need to register for the course in advance and pay a nominal fee to Amherst Leisure Services. To register, call 413-256-4065 or visit their website, for more information.
Description of the Course
In "Laughter--The Best Medicine" you will experience first-hand the joy of playfulness and the liberation of laughing for no reason in a safe, supportive environment. Laughing for no reason is a healthy activity which reduces stress, improves health, and fosters community and positive relationships! You will learn more about and directly experience the many emotional, physical and psychological benefits of laughter through Laughter Yoga which is a system of gentle yogic breathing and group laughter exercises which helps to elicit spontaneous laughter.
In 6 energizing sessions, we'll do plenty of laughing, engage in lively discussions and experiential learning activities. We'll use Laughter Yoga, video, audio, demonstration, group activities, games, journaling, creative movement, meditations and "laughter homework". You will complete the course ready to integrate more laughter and other stress-relieving techniques into your life. Go ahead--laugh for no reason!
This class is inclusive and accessible to people 15 and over, regardless of level of physical ability. We offer our course as fragrance-free and wheelchair accessible. Please join us for 6 weeks of fun, friendship, learning and laughter!
Laughter Resources
Our Meetup site is where you can check our calendar of events, RSVP (optional), and join discussions: http://yoga.meetup.com/635
Please see our new laughter blog, Laughter Incorporated!
For many more laughter resources and to find Laughter Yoga in the USA as well as in more than 60 countries around the world, visit the international website: http://laughteryoga.org
Fun snow play, the free laughter of free spirit Robin
I wish to introduce you to a truly happy and inspiring person. I first "met" Robin while stumbling onto this Youtube video of her laughing in the snow. There is a funny follow up to it on her blog of her brother going outside to try to have a similar good time, but utterly failing! If you need a source of inspiration, check Robin and her fun, fab blog out! Ho HO ha ha HA!
Encouragement
Here is a brief reenactment of a touching true story. Enjoy!
http://www.values.com/be-inspired/tv.asp?id=4127
http://www.values.com/be-inspired/tv.asp?id=4127
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
A Boy, His Cancer, and Laughter
A recent inspiring story about a Texan boy who used laughter to overcome his cancer is a reminder of the power of love. His grandmother used her own skills as a Laughter Yoga leader to help her grandson, and the results speak for themselves.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Laughter Yoga in Austin, TX
Laughter Yoga has recently made headlines in Austin, TX. There is probably not a state in the union untouched by the magic of Laughter Yoga!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Laughter Yoga In Denver
Here's a link to a great article about Laughter Yoga in Denver, Colorado. Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Film: The Laughing Club of India
Mira Nair, the famous Indian filmmaker who brought the world Monsoon Wedding, has within her oeuvre a short documentary about Laughter Yoga and the many laughter yoga social clubs in and around Mumbai. The Laughing Club of India was released in 1997 on a DVD featuring several Full Frame Documentary Festival selections.
The film focuses on several members of a Mumbai laughter club, with Nair conducting interviews in their homes, which range from upper middle class Indian homes to crowded and fetid apartments which seem to house dozens of people in near-squalid conditions. The director also follows Dr. Madan Kataria, the founder of Laughter Yoga, as he leads sessions in a Mumbai high school and a corporate headquarters in New York City. Dr. Kataria is also seen visiting the home of a patient who suffered a brain injury and had been partially rehabilitated by his laughter ministrations.
While the film is quite brief, being little more than thirty minutes in length, Nair manages to give the viewer a taste of the Indian brand of Laughter Yoga and Dr. Kataria's basic approach. She also spends a fair amount of time filming actual outdoor Laughter Yoga sessions in and around Mumbai parks, giving the uninitiated viewer a very clear notion of what Laughter Yoga truly is.
For me, the most moving aspect of the film are the face to face interviews with some of the older club members who are truly inspiring in the way that they integrate the lessons of laughter into their daily lives. One walks away from this film intrigued, satisfied, and ultimately appreciative of the power of laughter to transform lives.
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(Of note: the Full Frame DVD containing this short film features a number of other excellent short documentaries well worth seeing, and can be purchased here.)
The film focuses on several members of a Mumbai laughter club, with Nair conducting interviews in their homes, which range from upper middle class Indian homes to crowded and fetid apartments which seem to house dozens of people in near-squalid conditions. The director also follows Dr. Madan Kataria, the founder of Laughter Yoga, as he leads sessions in a Mumbai high school and a corporate headquarters in New York City. Dr. Kataria is also seen visiting the home of a patient who suffered a brain injury and had been partially rehabilitated by his laughter ministrations.
While the film is quite brief, being little more than thirty minutes in length, Nair manages to give the viewer a taste of the Indian brand of Laughter Yoga and Dr. Kataria's basic approach. She also spends a fair amount of time filming actual outdoor Laughter Yoga sessions in and around Mumbai parks, giving the uninitiated viewer a very clear notion of what Laughter Yoga truly is.
For me, the most moving aspect of the film are the face to face interviews with some of the older club members who are truly inspiring in the way that they integrate the lessons of laughter into their daily lives. One walks away from this film intrigued, satisfied, and ultimately appreciative of the power of laughter to transform lives.
-----------
(Of note: the Full Frame DVD containing this short film features a number of other excellent short documentaries well worth seeing, and can be purchased here.)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Laughter Yoga: An Introduction
Laughter has long been said to be the best medicine. In the 1970's, Norman Cousins popularized the notion with his seminal book, Anatomy of an Illness in which he extolled the virtues of laughter vis-a-vis improved health and well-being.
Through scientific research, it has now been proven beyond a doubt that laughter can actually help to heal the body. Laughter has many beneficial effects, including but not limited to improved lung capacity and oxygenation, lowered blood pressure, increased immune function, decreased levels of stress hormones, increased levels of beneficial hormones such a dopamine, an improved sense of well-being, improved cardiovascular tone, and improved muscle tone. Even simply smiling can improve one's health, but laughter has been shown to be significantly more effective due to its robustly physical nature.
Further research has actually demonstrated quite clearly that your body cannot actually tell the difference between "authentic" laughter and "fake" laughter, thus you can realize the same benefits even if you have nothing to actually laugh about!
Dr. Madan Kataria, a medical doctor in Mumbai (Bombay), India, created and founded Laughter Yoga in 1995 based on the premise that anyone can laugh at any time for no reason at all. Together with his wife (a yoga teacher), Dr. Kataria developed a system of yogic breathing, clapping, movement and laughter exercises that elicit laughter in a group setting. Beginning in a Bombay park in 1995 with only four willing yet skeptical participants, there are now more than 6000 Laughter Yoga clubs in over 60 countries worldwide.
Laughter Yoga has been covered by media outlets around the world, including a visit to India by John Cleese (of Monty Python fame) to investigate Dr. Kataria's work.
Studies have shown that the effects of stress take a devastating toll on the human body. Deecreased immune function, increased levels of stress hormones like cortisol, and decreased oxygenation can all reap a sorrowful harvest on the physiology of homo sapiens. We live in a complicated world, and laughter is a inexpensive and portable stress reduction tool that so many of us---myself included---often forget to utilize.
Children laugh an average of 400 times per day, whereas adults tend to laugh approximately 15 times per day. As we age, we lose our sense of the absurd, and we lose the ability to see humor in the stressors of everyday life. Cultivating laughter for no reason is a relatively easy practice that, with time, can bring many rewards and benefits.
If you would like to find a laughter yoga club near you, please visit Laughter Yoga's international website and search for clubs in your area. If you would like some homework, try laughing by yourself for 30-60 seconds every day, whether in front of the bathroom mirror, in the shower, or perhaps in the car while stopped at a red light or stuck in traffic. You can also simply visit YouTube and type "Laughter Yoga" in the search bar and watch several videos about Laughter Yoga, or type in "laughing baby" and simply delight in the natural laughter of children, unencumbered by the cares of the world.
Laughter truly is the best medicine, and as Dr. Kataria says, it is also a vehicle for world peace. If everyone was laughing rather than fighting, who would have time for war?
Through scientific research, it has now been proven beyond a doubt that laughter can actually help to heal the body. Laughter has many beneficial effects, including but not limited to improved lung capacity and oxygenation, lowered blood pressure, increased immune function, decreased levels of stress hormones, increased levels of beneficial hormones such a dopamine, an improved sense of well-being, improved cardiovascular tone, and improved muscle tone. Even simply smiling can improve one's health, but laughter has been shown to be significantly more effective due to its robustly physical nature.
Further research has actually demonstrated quite clearly that your body cannot actually tell the difference between "authentic" laughter and "fake" laughter, thus you can realize the same benefits even if you have nothing to actually laugh about!
Dr. Madan Kataria, a medical doctor in Mumbai (Bombay), India, created and founded Laughter Yoga in 1995 based on the premise that anyone can laugh at any time for no reason at all. Together with his wife (a yoga teacher), Dr. Kataria developed a system of yogic breathing, clapping, movement and laughter exercises that elicit laughter in a group setting. Beginning in a Bombay park in 1995 with only four willing yet skeptical participants, there are now more than 6000 Laughter Yoga clubs in over 60 countries worldwide.
Laughter Yoga has been covered by media outlets around the world, including a visit to India by John Cleese (of Monty Python fame) to investigate Dr. Kataria's work.
Studies have shown that the effects of stress take a devastating toll on the human body. Deecreased immune function, increased levels of stress hormones like cortisol, and decreased oxygenation can all reap a sorrowful harvest on the physiology of homo sapiens. We live in a complicated world, and laughter is a inexpensive and portable stress reduction tool that so many of us---myself included---often forget to utilize.
Children laugh an average of 400 times per day, whereas adults tend to laugh approximately 15 times per day. As we age, we lose our sense of the absurd, and we lose the ability to see humor in the stressors of everyday life. Cultivating laughter for no reason is a relatively easy practice that, with time, can bring many rewards and benefits.
If you would like to find a laughter yoga club near you, please visit Laughter Yoga's international website and search for clubs in your area. If you would like some homework, try laughing by yourself for 30-60 seconds every day, whether in front of the bathroom mirror, in the shower, or perhaps in the car while stopped at a red light or stuck in traffic. You can also simply visit YouTube and type "Laughter Yoga" in the search bar and watch several videos about Laughter Yoga, or type in "laughing baby" and simply delight in the natural laughter of children, unencumbered by the cares of the world.
Laughter truly is the best medicine, and as Dr. Kataria says, it is also a vehicle for world peace. If everyone was laughing rather than fighting, who would have time for war?
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