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LAUGHTER YOGA (Hasya Yoga): Yoga is ancient. Laughter practices are ancient. A simple definition of yoga: Any practice that helps balance, integrate, or harmonize mind, body and spirit; a practice that also incorporates self-awareness for self-regulation purposes. HISTORY OF LAUGHTER GROUPS - The idea came to Steve Wilson during a 1998 lecture tour to India, after he participated in the Juhu Beach laughter club at the Arabian seaside in Mumbai (Bombay) where, laughter clubs were referred to as “Hasya Yoga”. With certain adaptations to suit the Western mentality, certain laughter and attitudinal practices could be systematized and taught in order to influence both health and peace. The clubs were popular in India and were attracting attention in other parts of the world. - India became the birthplace of laugh clubs after Dr. Madan Kataria, a Bombay physician, started the laughter yoga movement there in the 1990’s. - “People call it new age but I tell them it’s age-old,” says Wilson. “Tibetan monks were prescribing laughter 5,000 years ago.” - Dr. Kataria toured the United States with Wilson in the late 1990’s to see if laugh clubs would jibe with Western mentality. “We wanted to see if people would take laughter seriously,” Wilson quipped. - It’s hard to say exactly how many clubs are meeting regularly in offices, libraries, churches, hospitals, nursing homes and schools across the countrywide but Wilson estimates at least 600. |
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The human race has only one really effective weapon, and that’s laughter. The moment it arises, all our hardnesses yield, all our irritations and resentments slip away, and a sunny spirit takes their place. (Mark Twain) |
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Certified Laughter Leader GRADUATING CLASS The World Laughter Tour has trained over 4,000 leaders across the globe and there are clubs in over 40 countries. |
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CONTACT INFORMATION: |
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Phone: 416-259-48413
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