Laughter Programs

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

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: 

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!"