People have
forgotten how to laugh
FACT: Children can laugh
up to 300-400 times a day
FACT:
Adults laugh less than 15 times a day, if at
all
FACT: In the 1950’s people
used to laugh 18 minutes a day, but today we laugh not more than 6
minutes a day, despite the huge rise in the standard of
living.
(Study by Dr. Michael Titze, a German
psychologist)
Laughter is a necessary component of human
happiness and its absence contributes to anxiety, depression and
illness
Ask yourself: How often do you laugh each day?
Monitor this for a day or two.
Also ask yourself: When you do laugh, what
makes you laugh?
Why has laughter
declined?
Stress: we live in a fast and stressful world,
dominated by fear
A failure to take responsibility: eg. By living
in the past, feeling guilty or resentful, or worrying about the
future
A fear and rule-based society: a belief that
things must be dealt with seriously rather than lightly; so we
believe we must suppress the natural urge to laugh
Happiness is perceived as conditional on external
factors: the desire to gain certain things in order to be
happy, resulting in a cycle of immediate fulfilment followed by
dissatisfaction and a renewed wanting, with a lingering feeling
that what you have is not enough
Laughter is seen as dependent on a “sense of
humour”: we believe we must have a reason to laugh, that
laughter is about laughing “at” something or somebody else, that it
only happens on certain occasions, that it depends on “one’s sense
of humour”; ie. it is dependent on external stimuli or a belief you
have about your personality
Would you believe
that you can laugh for no reason at all?
Well, you can. Authentic laughter is an energy
that wells up from within. It is something that occurs
spontaneously, without a reason, resulting in the experience often
called joyfulness.
You might have lost it but we can help you get it
back!
We teach people to laugh for no
reason, to discover their own innate capacity to
experience their own well-spring of laughter and joy
At our Laughter Events, you do not have to be happy or have a
“sense of humour” or even have a reason to laugh. You do not have
to be constrained by your social conditioning.
The laughter we teach is a simple
technique that has proved so powerful that it has
become a world-wide phenomenon, after being introduced in
India by a medical doctor, Dr. Madan Kataria, to help people manage
the stress of life in Mumbai (see http://www.laughteryoga.org/). He called it Laughter
Yoga becaude he used a simple breathing technique derived
from Yoga.
It is successful
because:
It is easy. Anybody can do
it.
The Laughter Yoga technique belongs to
all and has no hidden agenda
It is socially and emotionally
safe
It is the doing of it that
creates the benefit. No thinking is required.
Laughter is infectious: as the
techniques are done in groups, acted laughter becomes real
laughter
It is a simple but effective form of
aerobic exercise that makes you feel good and is
great for your cardio-vascular system
It's a GREAT stress
buster!
It is based on the practice of “acting silliness”, thus
contacting the childlike and natural fun side of us, and is a
physical technique developed by practical exercises rather that a
mind activity. It aims to by-pass the mind which holds the beliefs
we have described above. It also makes use of simple breathing
techniques.
Laughter truly is
the best medicine
Physical benefits
It is scientifically proven* that, even if you pretend to laugh
or act happy, your body produces “happiness” chemicals. Our bodies
do not know the difference between thinking about doing something
and actually doing it. Whatever the source of laughter, it leads to
the same set of physiological changes in the body. Laughter
generates the release of positive chemicals, thus
- Counteracting harmful stress chemicals
- Enriching the blood with plentiful supplies of oxygen
- Boosting the immune system and bringing relaxation
- Releasing endorphins, the body’s pain-killer hormone, and
giving a sense of well-being
- Counteracting depression, anxiety and psychosomatic
problems
- Ensures good sleep
- Brings a happy glow to your face and makes your eyes
shine
*See the work of Dr. William Fry of Stanford
University, and Dr. Lee Berk at Loma Linda University Medical
Center, both California, USA
Mental and Emotional Benefits
Laughter makes it easier to handle life and its challenges,
because it
- Puts us intensely “in the moment”
- Puts us at our ease: People who laugh don’t worry as much as
those who don’t
- Helps us handle challenges because it gives us a better
perspective
- Defuses three of the most painful emotions (fear, anger and
boredom)
- Relaxes and opens us up so that we respond to problems
better
- Develops joyfulness
- Builds self-confidence and helps us drop our inhibitions
- Helps communication because laughter is an important social
skill that keeps communication fun
- Develops our innate sense of humour and helps us find more
laughter in our lives
- Opens us up to more of our potential
- Changes our perception of who we are for the better
The 3 hour
Laughter Event has widespread application
Organisations have
successfully used it for.....
- Stress reduction
- Enhanced communication
- Effective team building
- Raising EQ
- Innovation and creativity
- Peak performance
It has also been
used
- With seniors
- With children
- In tourism
- For cancer self-help groups
- Associations dealing with depression
- Hospitals and other medical settings (Patch Adams is a great
example: see www.patchadams.org)
Laughter Clubs have also been set up all around
the world for the general public
Learning to use
Laughter
For details of our
next popular open Laughter Event
click
here
HOWEVER, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ONE OF A
GROWING NUMBER OF ORGANISATIONS TO BENEFIT FROM THIS
GREAT EVENT,THEN CONTACT US TODAY TO DISCUSS OUR IN-HOUSE
PROGRAM.
E-mail: akasha@empoweringpartnership.com
ALTERNATIVELY WHY NOT VISIT OUR SISTER
SITE:
THE LAUGHTER
SCHOOL
WHICH
CARRIES A WEALTH OF INFORMATION AND ARTICLES.
"Seven days
without laughter makes one weak!"
|