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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Have you ever had the experience of laughter meditation? It is one of the most intense and beautiful experiences that you can ever have. But you have to experience it yourself. It is a mystery. It cannot be told in words by anyone to you.
When you laugh, you forget the past. You can’t bother about the future. And, you are oblivious of the surroundings. Laughter starts to flow like a fountain. There is no laugher, it’s only laughter. The laugher mingles with laughter and they become one. It is something Divine. It is pure and pristine bliss. The mind becomes serene and radiant like the full moon.
I have got my deepest fulfillment while conducting laughter meditation. The participants feel cathartic and fully liberated. All the pain and agony has gone. It feels so good and light. There is no trace of physical, mental or emotional stress anywhere near. Every molecule of the universe is tranquil. All the blockages are cleared. Consciousness flows happily and freely. You become a part of the joyous cosmic dance. A sufi inside you starts singing the most enchanting melodies.
Laughter opens a beautiful door to transcendence. Laughter meditation is a state of no mind. Complete mindlessness. But it is total existence. You have a feel of totality for the first time. It is a paradise that you can create on your own. Anytime, anywhere.
According to Dr Madan Kataria, the founder of laughter yoga, “ Laughter meditation is the purest kind of laughter and a very cathartic experience that opens up the layers of your subconscious mind and you will experience laughter from deep within.”
In some of the Zen monasteries, every monk has to start his morning with laughter, and has to end his night with laughter – the first and the last thing every day. Says Osho, “ If you become silent after your laughter, one day you will feel God also laughing, you will hear the whole existence laughing – trees and stones and stars with you!”
I recommend laughter meditation for all those who face a lot of stress at the workplace. It is also beneficial for students and homemakers.
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Posted on
Sunday, June 16, 2013
4:47:12 PM
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Posted on
Saturday, June 15, 2013
9:01:13 PM
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From
Pradeep Khare
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Posted on
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
1:52:20 PM
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Posted on
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
1:09:47 PM
Modified on
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
1:10:22 PM
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From
Ashna Anand
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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A bunch of laughter lovers from all age groups gathered at the lovely Suniket park in the midst of Indore to celebrate World Laughter Day early in the morning. The message of health, happiness and world peace was spread amongst the members through ‘rumour clinic’, an innovative act of communication. It was followed by a fun game ‘pizza-pasta’ to enhance the mental alertness of the participants.
There was the usual round of clapping, chanting, breathing exercises, childlike playfulness and a whole array of laughter exercises. On the special occasion, celebrity laughter cat walk, funny orchestra and laughter kirtan were organized by Suniket Laughter Club which meets every Sunday morning regularly at the park.
Looking to the onging IPL T20 matches, new exercises based on cricketing theme, like cricket laughter, umpire laughter and huddle together laughter, were instantly created on the spot by the laughter leaders. The four elements of joy – singing, dancing, playing and laughter – were practiced through old Bollywood melodies. ‘Follow the leader’ was great fun as always.
According to Dr Madan Kataria, the founder of laughter clubs, “When you laugh, you change and when you change, the whole world changes around you. The practice of laughter yoga causes the body to release certain feel good hormones into the blood stream related to feelings of happiness, warmth, unconditional love, bonding, tolerance, forgiveness, generosity and compassion. This precludes the production of hormones that correspond with hatred, fear, violence, jealousy, aggression and the emotions associated with war and oppression.”
Later in the evening, the giggles from Indore crossed the Indian ocean on air waves to join the entire globe in laughter. Skype laughter leaders Radhika and Jagat Bisht from Indore, laughed over skype with laughter enthusiasts from Japan, Israel, Bahrain, Finland, Denmark, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Ireland, Germany and several other countries.
“Laughter yoga has transformed my personality. I was short tempered and got annoyed easily. Now I am relaxed and enjoying life,” shared Vijaya Mahurkar, a retired school principal.
Mukesh Shivhare, a club member recently appointed as a civil judge, felt, “As an advocate, I found my job full of stress. Laughter sessions uncluttered my mind and enabled me to prepare peacefully for the examination.”
“I treat patients the whole day and feel fatigued. I look forward to Sundays to laugh with my buddies at the garden,” expressed Sai Mudaliar, a yoga therapist and reflexologist.
Arvind Deshpande, a retired professor from agricultural university, opined, “The health benefits of laughter are widely known. Leave aside all that, is it not enough that we feel good when we come together for weekly laughter? Feeling good in life is most important.”
Laughter yoga teacher and founder of Suniket Laughter Club, Radhika Bisht runs free yoga, laughter yoga and laughter meditation sessions on a daily basis for ladies. She feels, “It is a very fulfilling experience as I see before me ladies coming out of depression and becoming cheerful.”
“We are practitioners of the art of living. Every week, for a change, we come to the laughter club and feel that this is the science of living. The benefits of laughter exercises are scientifically proven,” said Vikas Samadhia who joined the celebrations with other members of the art of living foundation.
D C Rathi, income tax officer who has just retired, loves the physical exercises like Tak jhoom laughter, Calcutta laughter and Sumo wrestler laughter “because they clean up my respiratory track and I feel relieved from physical, mental and emotional stress.” Parate, an official of Bank of Baroda, adds that it makes us physically active and mirthful and we carry the laughter home to our family members.
Jagat Singh Bisht, laughter yoga teacher and founder of Chetana Laughter Club, told ToI on the occasion, “This is very difficult time indeed for our country. We have anger, despair and anguish all over. Under the circumstances, we need to smile more and relax. Unless there is inner peace and we are stress free, how can the society flourish?”
“I felt unbearable pain in my limbs and felt so bad that I never took medicines. After joining yoga and laughter sessions, the world seems much better,” disclosed.Sarita Chugh, a housemaker.
Vandana Wadhwani, owner of a reputed watch and jewellery showroom, conducted laughter sessions in New Delhi recently. She said, “ I feel like a little girl in this club though I am a grandmother. I love the exercises and owe a lot to this club. It keeps me cheerful all through the week.”
(With inputs from the Times of India, Indore)
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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India is angry and anguished.. the general mood is sad and gloomy.. it seems there is only rape, crime and corruption happening everywhere..
Can we smile and be happy?.. can we spend some time to make others happy.. can we spread a few positive vibes everyday? Can India be a bit happier?
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Posted on
Friday, May 03, 2013
12:39:55 PM
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From
Nani Manna
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Laughter is the best tonic for body, mind and soul.
World Laughter Day is customarily celebrated on the first Sunday of May every year. This year on the 5th of May, the world will once again come together to laugh and spread the word of happiness and joy.
Nowadays people face enormous stress and are at war with themselves. Laughter is a positive and powerful emotion which helps people to change themselves and to change the world in a peaceful and positive way. Laughter is a universal language which has the potential to unite humanity.
This day is a celebration of the power of laughter to change the world. According to Dr Madan Kataria, the founder of Laughter Clubs Movement, “When we laugh, we change and when we change the whole world around us changes.”
On this auspicious occasion, may we appeal to the whole of humanity to use Laughter Yoga as a means to generate goodwill and also to lessen the pain caused by human insensitivity as well as natural calamities both of which have catastrophic consequences. While Laughter Yoga exercises will bring good health and well being, the inner spirit of laughter will help us to realize the deeper meaning of life.
By understanding the ways and means of sensible living through Laughter Clubs we can bring peace within us, which in turn will bring peace in the outer world. The Laughter Clubs movement is a global initiative to unite entire mankind through unconditional love and laughter.
It is a non-religious, non-racial, non-political and non-profit organization committed to generate good health, joy and world peace through laughter. This revolutionary idea has changed the lives of hundreds and thousands of people around the world and has helped them to attain a state of complete wellness.
Please spare a few moments to laugh heartily on World Laughter Day and pray silently for world peace.
Love and Laughter..
Jagat
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Posted on
Thursday, May 02, 2013
12:29:11 PM
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From
Nani Manna
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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I am feeling deeply fulfilled. It has been an intense flow experience. I am just back from Rishikesh, said to be the world’s yoga capital and really proud to have conducted Laughter yoga there.
A bunch of laughter lovers had come over there all the way from Tashkent to undergo certified laughter yoga leader training. Most of them had some background of the traditional yoga. Some of them were yoga teachers back home in Uzbekistan. Tanya, a young German girl, serving as a volunteer in a Gandhi ashram in Kausani, also joined us. We (Radhika, my wife, and me) had met her last month when we visited the ashram for conducting laughter yoga for the inmates. She wishes to be an art therapist and feels that laughter yoga would richen her repertoire.
Ivan had come to India a few years ago to learn yoga. He has had some fleeting glimpses of laughter yoga here and there. Being a yoga teacher himself, he realized that laughter yoga had great value hidden in it. That faith motivated him to bring a whole group to India to discover Laughter Yoga. But he was stunned at what he experienced during the two day programme. He had not bargained for so much. We are especially grateful to him for taking all the trouble with great patience to translate each and every word carefully for the participants as only a few of them were conversant with English. He plans to translate the leader manual when he gets back.
We had a calming two and a half hour laughter meditation session which was an out of the world experience for all of them. Anjelika exclaimed, ”I am feeling so relaxed. I had rashes and allergy for quite some time but now everything seems to have disappeared. I will go back and first practice laughter yoga with my children and then with my yoga students.”
Regina is proud of her Indian name Ragini. She is a student of Indian dance forms. She is young but came up with mature observations, “I am feeling so light. I have laughed so much after so long. I considered laughing to be silly but now I feel that one can be silly. Gibberish meditation has fully uncluttered my mind. It has been so relaxing and cathartic. The value based laughter exercises like Guru laughter, Visa bill laughter and No money laughter are truly inspiring and leave a deep impact on the psyche. As regards the four elements of joy, I have singing and dancing all along with me but now I shall also add playing and laughter to make my life wholesome.”
Galina, fit and full of energy even at 71 years of age, retired as a school teacher in the year 1991. She felt, “When I was there with children, I was not aware of the wonders that laughter can bring about. I will go back to the school and do Laughter yoga with the students and their parents on the annual day. This has been a life changing experience for me.”
The entire group was so committed and devoted that I have no doubts whatsoever that they will go back and propagate Laughter yoga to the best of their abilities.
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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She is a sweet girl from an ancient Latin American country. Her laugh is funny and naughty. We often laugh together on Skype laughter club. On the day she joins us, we know that she will make our day with her bubbly bursts. Everyone online has to love her. She leaves no other option. She teases each and everyone there one by one addressing by individual name.
She loves to learn how to make Indian chai (tea) in between laughs. Fig is her favourite fruit and she wants to know whether it is available in India as she excitedly tells us that she is keen to visit us. She asks me like a child how long I work at my office and what do I do there. Do I go to my workplace on a car? Then, she makes a sound, “dhirr dhirr” as if driving a car and laughs loud.
She loves to teach us some Spanish: Muy Bien Muy Bien Yay! And has learned some Hindi from us: Bahut Achche Bahut Achche Yay!
One day she teased one of our skype laughter club members and said the laugh reminds her of a monkey. Then, the chat dialogue box was soon filled with monkey, chimpanzee, gorilla, etc. I asked her if she knew who a bonobo was. She replied in the negative and reverted the question back to me. I told her to google and find out. She is really quick. As soon as she googled it, she burst into a hysterical laughter repeating, “o bonobo.. bonobo.. o no.. bonobo!” and immediately replaced her profile picture with that of a beautiful bonobo.
Her laughter is extremely contagious. When she is around, all of us become silly, little kids. Playful to the hilt.
Sadly, she is suffering from anorexia – an eating disorder – due to which she had to quit her studies. She was on medication and lost a lot of weight. She felt lonely, miserable and depressed.
Then someone suggested that she should try Laughter yoga. She found a laughter teacher and also joined a laughter club. She felt much better. A few months ago she joined Skype laughter club and that’s where we discovered each other. I and my wife have become so fond of her. We are delighted when she joins us for a laugh and feel sad when we don’t find her for some days.
One day when she was very happy she told us that laughter has helped her a lot and she may go back to school soon but again disappeared for some days. These days we are not sighting her regularly. Once in a while she responds to our messages and comes over to laugh with us on Skype. She is so sweet and so naughty.
We wish her all the very best in life. May God bless her!
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Laughter Yoga is a unique exercise routine developed by Indian physician Dr Madan Kataria. It combines laughter exercises with yoga breathing (Pranayama) which brings in more oxygen to the body and brain making one feel more energetic and healthy.
According to Dr Otto Warburg, Nobel Prize Winner, “Deep breathing techniques increase oxygen to the cells and are the most important factors in living a disease-free and energetic life. When cells get enough oxygen, cancer will not and cannot occur.”
It provides an excellent cardio and mid-body workout. The heart rate increase in one minute of hearty laughter can take 10 minutes to achieve on exercise machines. Dr William Fry states that laughter is a good aerobic exercise and one minute of hearty laughter is equal to 10 minutes of rowing or jogging. Laughter is a combination of deep inhalation and full exhalation, inspiring excellent ventilation, wonderful rest and profound release.
Everyone knows laughter is the best medicine and is good for health but in this high pressure, high tension world, there are not many reasons that make us laugh. In order to get the scientifically proven benefits of laughter, one must laugh for 15 to 20 minutes a day and the laughter should be hearty and loud. This is not possible in real life as natural laughter is conditional and comes for a few seconds here and there and is not enough to bring health benefits. Through Laughter Yoga one can laugh for an extended period of time and heartily because it is being done as a physical exercise and not a mental process.
It decreases the negative effects of stress on your body which is the root cause of all illnesses. Laughter Yoga is a single exercise that deals with physical, mental and emotional stress simultaneously. It also strengthens the immune system, lowers blood pressure, controls blood sugar and keeps your heart healthy. It is a powerful antidote against depression – the number one sickness today.
Laughter can dislodge blocked emotions stored in the body. Suppressed emotions can cause ongoing physical, mental and emotional problems. Their release can be life changing. Laughter provides an excellent non-violent method for emotional release and catharsis.
Laughter Yoga is the latest Health Craze sweeping the world where anyone can laugh without any reason. It is truly a life changing experience for millions. Anyone can do it; it is scientifically proven, easy to learn and a lot of fun. People can feel the benefits right from the very first session.
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Today is the International Day of Happiness..
Wish you happiness, flow, meaning, love, gratitude, accomplishment, growth, better relationships and all that constitutes human flourishing!
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1
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Posted on
Thursday, March 21, 2013
10:15:22 PM
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From
Nani Manna
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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The first ever online Laughter Yoga Marathon organized by Skype Laughter Club, an online community of laughter lovers, was a grand success with more than 350 participants from all time zones including New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, India, Bahrain, Israel, South Africa, Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, UK, Finland, Canada, USA, Brazil and Ecuador. It lasted for a little over 24 hours during the weekend with unrelenting giggles and guffaws floating in the atmosphere all through.
It had a large number of first time laughers on the net along with Dr Madan Kataria, the founder of laughter clubs movement, and Anu Saari, who, with Ines, started the online club from Finland about 4 years ago.
The event was divided into 24 segments of half an hour each with short breaks and an experienced international crew consisting of Anu, Sean, Seva, Jagat, Radhika, Ferris, Jane, Ivo and Linda leading the sessions.
It has created a new awareness about laughter and brought in a large number of new members to the fold of Skype Laughter Club whose total membership figures soared to 1002 at the close of the laughter festival.
Jagat Singh Bisht
Skype Laughter Leader and
Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher
Indore, India
coolbisht@hotmail.com
+91 7389938255
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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What would you say about a club that grooms a hundred youngsters every week to laugh for no reason? Chetana Laughter Club has the unique distinction of taking a few thousand young officers along the pathway of self-triggered joy during the past one year. State Bank Foundation Institute (Chetana) has been set-up at Indore to groom young bank officers. During their training, the officers have a brief tryst with laughter yoga. It is used as an ice-breaker at the beginning of programme and as an energizer in between the sessions. Besides, there is a full-fledged laughter session every Wednesday evening.
Debrati Dey, probationary officer came to the institute from Kolkata unaware of what was in store for her. She says, “The laughter session was one laugh riot. Every time a new exercise for laughter was introduced, it instantly generated excitement and contemplation of the possible outcome. One of the phrases which everyone chanted after every act was ‘very good, very good, yay!’ It is a simple phrase without any actual meaning .But when you clap your hands and say it loud, the phrase brings out its actual magic. It became an instant hit and a college anthem for us. In this era of ‘survival of the fittest’, Laughter club has the guts to say ' survival of the happiest '. I didn't realize through the course of the session how it had a positive biochemical effect on my cardiovascular and nervous system. It’s only when I got back to my room that I could see myself happy, de-stressed and re-energized.”
Another probationer, Mohit Kumar says, “This laughter club is truly fascinating. It enthuses us in so simple a way. It has filled us with confidence and positivity. Hats off to chetana laughter club!”
The institute is fully laughter enabled. All faculty members are trained laughter leaders. “It has been observed that laughter yoga is conducive in creating a good environment for learning and community living. The experiment has been very valuable and fruitful for all at the institute,” feels Vijay Puri, faculty who loves to attend all laughter sessions. He tells us, “All the participants invariably imbibe the chants of ‘very good very good yay’ during their stay and it soon becomes their mantra. This is something they will never forget in life. Gradually, they realize the virtues of unconditional laughter for their health and well-being.”
“I feel that laughter yoga is suited to the Indian psyche and the participants feel relaxed after laughter session. It is a voluntary activity available to our participants and there is no compulsion“, says K K Iyer, director, state bank foundation institute (Chetana), Indore.
Laughter yoga which initially started as a social club movement has now entered the business world. By introducing laughter yoga for staff, corporates have reported happier workplace, increased efficiency, better communication, team work and reduced stress levels.
A presentation on laughter yoga was made at the local head office of SBI at Bhopal by laughter yoga professionals Radhika Bisht and Jagat Singh Bisht. The audience included the staff, senior officials and their families. They appreciated it very much. Mr S K Mishra, then chief general manager, who is now a deputy managing director of the State Bank of India, the largest bank of this country, desired that an audio track be recorded containing instructions for a brief laughter session. The track is played every morning at 11 o’clock over the public address system at the local head office and more than five hundred employees spread on five floors of the building chant ‘very good very good yay” and laugh in unison every working day.
A brief energizing session of laughter yoga was conducted by laughter yoga professionals Radhika Bisht and Jagat Singh Bisht at the beginning of bipartite meeting between state bank of india management and staff federation representatives at hotel Sayaji, Indore earlier this year. It was attended by the DMD & CDO, CGM (HR), CGM (Bhopal Circle), several senior officials of the Bank and all the top leaders of state bank staff federation from all the circles. The energizing effect of the session was felt and appreciated by everyone.
Presentations on laughter yoga have been arranged twice at the state bank academy, Gurgaon before officers from all over the country. It has also been showcased at the state bank staff college and state bank institute of information and communication management located in Hyderabad. The staff of SME credit processing centre and stressed assets recovery branch at Indore have found the laughter yoga sessions very invigorating. A laughter yoga session for bank guards, assistants, probationary officers and faculty was conducted at the state bank learning centre, Goa. It was a unique experience as all of them laughed from their being level making it absolutely difficult to distinguish differences in their grades as they laughed like kids. The laughter virus has meanwhile spread to other centres – Kanpur, Lucknow, Goa, Nagda, Nagapattinam etc. – through some well meaning trainers and officers.
The journey of laughter for the State Bank of India (SBI) started on the 13th of September, 2010 when the laughter club of state bank learning centre, Indore was inaugurated with a bunch of newly promoted officers. Whoever came to the learning centre after that had a brush with laughter yoga. They laughed every morning with a small group of willing laughers from all the groups who poured in week after week.
A good number of probationers from State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Hyderabad have also undergone basic sessions of laughter yoga at the institute in Indore.
I have had the privilege of introducing laughter yoga in the SBI and laughing with thousands of my colleagues. The bank has given me bread, butter and a respectable place in the society. Now, it is time that I give back something to this great institution. I am sure my humble contribution will bring cheer to some of the souls here. I would like to be remembered as a messenger of love and laughter when I retire from the Bank.
Jagat Singh Bisht
AGM and Faculty, State Bank Foundation Institute (Chetana), Indore;
Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher, Laughter Yoga International;
Founder, Chetana Laughter Club &
Laughter Club of State Bank Learning Centre, Indore.
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Today is International Day For Persons With Disabilities. I would like to share with the readers of Bloggers Park a story featured today in the Indore edition of the Times of India about a unique Laughter Club being run by us for the special kids.
Here is the newspaper report:
Laughter yoga brings cheers among the special kids in Indore
By Kumud Das, TNN | Dec 3, 2012, 12.33 AM IST
INDORE: Laughter Club of Rotary Paul Harris School for the Mentally Challenged Children in Indore, being run by Rotary Club of Indore, is unique in its own way. Run on a regular basis for special kids, the laughter session has brought a lot of improvement in 60odd special kids, says Neeti Billore, the director of the school.
It is very challenging to provide education to such children. The organization also imparts vocational training to help out children with their daily needs. for the daily needs of the children. It requires a lot of patience and devotion because each child needs individual attention.
For the past one year, laughter yoga teachers like Radhika Bisht and Jagat Singh Bisht have been regularly conducting a laughter yoga session every Tuesday morning on the school premises. They have included laughter yoga in their curriculum and have a session earmarked for it everyday.
"This has given us a sense of fulfillment. If we have to choose one good work that we have ever done, this would be it," Radhika Bisht said.
The members of Suniket Laughter Club and Chetana Laughter Club in the city regularly visit and spend time with the special children. They have developed special relations with them and donate for them generously on special occasions. The children also respond to them warmly.
Excerpts of an interview of a laughter yoga teacher Jagat Singh Bisht:
Why was the laughter club started among the special kids?
We had gone to the school just to give a demo of laughter yoga but looking to the kids we thought we should give them more time. They need more love, affection and care. Many of them are deprived of all these from their childhood and suffer from depression and sadness. Laughter yoga provides them joy and happiness. Laughter Club gives them a continuous platform to exercise daily for good health, wellness and mental peace.
What difference have you found among the special kids and the normal kids while responding to laughter sessions?
The special kids are simple, more childlike and hungry for love and affection. If you laugh and play with them, they are all yours. They touch you, embrace you and love you. However, they are unable to do many of the exercises due to their physical and mental deficiencies. They cannot clap in rhythm and get diverted in exercises involving movement. They love value-based laughter in sitting position like appreciation laughter, forgiveness laughter, greeting laughter, guru laughter and fun based exercises like milkshake laughter, mobile laughter and lion laughter.
What is the importance of the 03 December, on which falls the International Special Kids Day?
A major focus of the Day is practical action that would help remove barriers that limit accessibility for and participation by persons with disabilities in all aspects of society and development. Plan and organize performances everywhere to showcase - and celebrate - the contributions made by persons with disabilities as agents of change and development in the communities in which they live. Observance of the Day provides opportunities for participation by all stakeholders - Governments, the UN system, civil society and organizations of persons with disabilities - to focus on issues related to the removal of barriers to create an inclusive and accessible society that would benefit all.
What is the next, including tomorrow's event if any, that you are going to do among the special kids?
No celebrations are planned for tomorrow due to national mourning because of sad demise of our former prime minister IK Gujral. We will continue our association with the school and the laughter club is instrumental in bringing joy and financial aid to the school from world laughter community.
(Courtesy: Times of India)
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Laughter is the best medicine. Everyone is aware of that but how many of us get a good dose of laughter every day?
Skype Laughter Club is an online community of laughter lovers from all over the world who connect through laughter. They laugh from the cozy comfort of their homes or even on the move on their cell phones at timings convenient to them. Would you like to join them for good health, wellness and cheer?
It’s all very simple. Just add ‘laughterclub’ to your skype contacts once. Then log in to skype 10-15 minutes before laughter session timings whenever you wish to laugh. Those whose status is ‘online’ get an invitation from the laughter club 10 minutes prior to the session. If you respond to it, you get a call full of laughter at the stipulated time. You can also chip in with your giggles. It becomes more and more mirthful as the session progresses. A session lasts for around ten minutes usually but may be extended if the laughter is vibrant and laughers willing to continue.
You will feel the benefits right after the first session. All the stress and worries have gone. You feel good due to endorphins generated in your body. There’s a lot of oxygen inside to enhance your performance. You are merrier and relaxed.
The session timings (in GMT) available presently are:
Mon 2 am, 5 am, 9 am, 3 pm, 8 pm
Tue 2 am, 5 am, 9 am, 8 pm
Wed 2 am, 9 am, 3 pm, 8 pm
Thu 2 am, 5 am, 9 am, 8 pm
Fri 2 am, 9 am, 3 pm, 8 pm
Sat 2 am, 8 am, 8 pm
Sun 3 am, 8 am, 8 pm
These timings are subject to change. The changes are updated on our website as well as our facebook page.
There is a crew of experienced skype laughter leaders – Anu, Hanna, Marina, Anton, Sean, Donna, Linda, Radhika and Jagat - from across the globe who lead the sessions at different timings. It is great fun to laugh in the joyous company of warm, unknown friends from different time zones who eventually become good friends.
In case, you face any difficulty in getting through, please do not hesitate to send me a mail at coolbisht@hotmail.com and I will be only too happy to help you.
Keep laughing.. ha ha..
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Anurag, my son, is pursuing masters in business administration at the Auckland University Of Technology, New Zealand. He loves sports more than study. Sometimes, when a sport enters the study arena, he gets intensely involved in study too!
During the course of learning about high performance teams (HPT), they are required to go out every week in the water and improve rowing skills collectively without the fear of drowning. This way they are taught not only the management skills that are required in the workplace but with the help of the rowing club they imbibe a practical aspect to it which amplifies their learning ability.
The compelling purpose of their team is to become a legend so that they create a benchmark which will be referred to henceforth to all upcoming HPT classes. According to management experts, compelling purpose is the driving force that pushes athletes beyond limitations, enables social worker to work for betterment of society beyond their own needs and make a soldier to protect others by endangering their life.
I was more than pleasantly surprised when I discovered this mention in his assignment paper on the subject:
“My mom is a housewife and dad is working with the national bank since last 34 years. Three years back they decided to learn and teach laughter yoga. Since then my parents have not only learnt and further developed this art, but have also spread love and laughter to school children, elderly homes and organisations. Being laughter yoga teachers since last three years, I am constantly amazed by enthusiasm and effort they have put in this field of their passion along with their daily lifestyle. Since beginning their fundamental purpose was to touch human lives by the power of love and laughter which enabled them to meet and greet people from different age group, religion and nationalities. These consequential factors were clearly based on a commitment to spread their knowledge without any profit motive and provided good health and wellbeing as an end result. After earning the certificate of teaching this art, their biggest challenge was to develop an environment which encourages people to join and become a part of their journey. Identifying the opportunities in local area was the first step which enabled my parents to not only spread but develop individuals who can be potential front runners to further spread the knowledge. With the right balance of challenge and clarity they have developed a network which has now crossed Indian borders. And with a clear compelling purpose I am confident that they will make their dream of travelling the world come true by the journey of laughter.”
What better testimonial can one expect? I shall cherish and keep it as a treasure all my life!
Jagat Singh Bisht
coolbisht@hotmail.com
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Skype Laughter Club is an online community of laughter lovers from all over the world who connect through laughter.
How to join?
One time activity:
Download free Skype.
Register as a user.
Add ‘laughterclub’ to your skype contacts.
When you want to join a laughter session:
Log in to skype 10 minutes before session timing.
You will get an invitation. Please respond to the message. Do not call from your end.
At the stipulated time, you will get a call. Respond with audio. Do not use video.
Join the laughter. It lasts for about 10 minutes.
Session timings (Indian Standard Time):
Monday 7.30 am, 10.30 am, 2.30 pm, 8.30 pm and 1.30 am
Tuesday 7.30 am, 10.30 am, 2.30 pm and 1.30 am
Wednesday 7.30 am, 2.30 pm, 8.30 pm and 1.30 am
Thursday 7.30 am, 10.30 am, 2.30 pm and 1.30 am
Friday 7.30 am, 2.30 pm, 8.30 pm and 1.30 am
Saturday 7.30 am and 1.30 am
Sunday 8.30 am and 1.30 am
Benefits: Feel good hormones, joy, relief from stress, relaxation, oxygenation, etc.
Our Website: http://skypelaughterclub.org/
Facebook page: Skype laughterclub
For Skype Download: http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/home
Skype Laughter Leaders: Anu, Hanna, Marina, Anton, Sean and Jagat
For any query/ doubt, please contact: Jagat Singh Bisht
Email: coolbisht@hotmail.com Cell: +91 73899 38255
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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November 14 is observed as World Diabetes Day to spread awareness about the silent killer.
Diabetes is emerging as a major health hazard worldwide. In India, the situation is grimmer as diabetes is often coupled with hypertension and cardiac problems which make it deadly.
Japanese scientist Murakami conducted several experiments over a period of time to ascertain the effect of laughter on blood sugar levels. He reached the conclusion that laughter has a definite lowering impact on blood sugar. During the course of his research, he found that 23 genes are activated with vigorous laughter. Often the production of insulin in the pancreas is affected due to poor immune system in diabetic patients. Laughter yoga strengthens and stabilizes immune system. Laughter also reduces the stress hormone cortisol responsible for increase in blood sugar level.
Vishwamohan, a member of a laughter club in Vijaywada suffered from chronic diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, high blood pressure and cardiac problems for a long time. His pain was never ending until he joined laughter club after which he gradually started feeling good. He now celebrates the day he joined laughter club as his birthday. Aruna Kalway and D C Rathi, members of my laughter club suffered from diabetes. I am happy they are now out of it and need no medication.
Laughter Yoga does help in diabetes. If you are not able to make it to the park and join a laughter club, you can now laugh from the cozy comfort of your home or on the move on your cell phone by connecting to Skype Laughter Club and laughing with people from all over the world.
Jagat Singh Bisht
coolbisht@hotmail.com
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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You can’t find time to join a laughter club in the neighbourhood park. No problem. Now, you can laugh from the cozy comfort of your home or even on the move on your cellphone.
First, read this story that was published in the Sunday Times of India, Indore on November 11, 2012:
Online laughter catches fancy of net-savvy
Kumud Das / TNN
Indore: Online laughter is emerging as a new craze. People connect to each other through Skype globally only to laugh. The idea is to de-stress oneself. People are attracting towards online laughter as it offers them many more features, including getting friendly to people around the globe, take the session during flexi timing and above all, one can do it from anywhere. The biggest advantage with online laughter being that everyone is busy these days, still everyone is available online and they immediately contact one to join it through the session. People are using smart TVs, cell phones, laptops and even tablets for joining the new mode of laughter yoga.
A laughter teacher from Indore, Jagat Bisht who has been associated with laughter yoga since 1995, says, “There is no need for early morning rise and timings can also be adjusted as per the requirement through this mode of laughter yoga.”
One of the active members of online laughter, SS Arora, says, “Generally morning laughter sessions are quite loud and hence it may disturb the people living in the neighbourhood. However, as we attend the online laughter session while sitting in our own house, no question arises of disturbing anyone else.”
Interestingly, most of laughers have never actually met each other and still they feel the special connection that only laughter can provide to people. Anu Saari, a resident of Finland, who had started the Skype laughter club along with Ines globally some three years ago, says, “It is amazing how close you can feel with people that you only met laughing in Skype.”
The online laughter has become so popular that the people associated with it are now dreaming to have a laughter session starting 24 times a day. The idea is to give everyone a chance to laugh from home or office or one’s cell phone from the street.
A laughter professional from Indore, Radhika Bisht, says, “Everyone is busy these days, still everyone is available online and they immediately contact one to join it.”
Satish Polisetty, a banker who has recently joined the online laughter club along with his wife, Shreelatha Setty, said, “There is no need to be in a special posture to join the session. We can make smiling faces continuously through this way.”
Still, there are certainly more features to the online laughter. Currently, laughers (members of the club) connect to each other through audio link only, while keeping their video links shut. Secondly, it is being held only once in a day in the present system and the laughers are trying to make it an hourly affair.
kumud.das@timesgroup.com
It’s very simple to join Skype Laughter Club and laugh with laughter lovers from across the globe at a time convenient to you. Download ‘Skype’ if you are not using it already. Add “laughterclub” to your contacts. Just hang around 10 minutes before a laughter session is scheduled to begin and you will be invited to join the session. Just respond by saying, “I’m in.” You will soon receive a call full with laughter. Its pure laughter and nothing else. We simply laugh for 10 minutes and the feel good effect lingers for hours.
Skype Laughter Club presently has sessions at the following timings on different days of the week:
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Monday: 2 am GMT, 5 am GMT, 9am GMT, 3 pm GMT and 8 pm GMT.
Tuesday: 2 am GMT, 5 am GMT, 9 am GMT and 8 pm GMT.
Wednesday: 2 am GMT, 9 am GMT, 3 pm GMT and 8 pm GMT.
Thursday: 2 am GMT, 5 am GMT, 9 am GMT and 8 pm GMT.
Friday: 2 am GMT, 9 am GMT, 3 pm GMT and 8 pm GMT.
Saturday: 2 am GMT and 8 pm GMT.
Sunday: 3 am GMT and 8 pm GMT.
Please join the skype laughter movement soon. It would be indeed marvellousif you laugh with us.
Our website is skypelaughterclub.org and our facebook page is named “Skype laughterclub”.
Please do not hesitate to contact me in case you have any doubts or face any problem in joining us.
Love and Laughter,
Jagat Singh Bisht
Skype Laughter Club Leader
coolbisht@hotmail.com
cell: +91 73899 38255
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Nestle India arranged Laughter Yoga sessions for the staff working at their factory in Samalkha, Haryana with a view to enhance employee wellness and build a more cheerful work environment. They were fascinated by the world’s happiest workout and marveled at the concept of laughter for no reason without using jokes, comedy or humour.
Indore based laughter professor Jagat Singh Bisht conducted three laughter sessions of two hours each covering their entire office staff (approximately one hundred) and the heads of departments including the factory manager. The staff felt the positive effects on their bodies and mind immediately after the first session. The profound impact of calcutta laughter, hearty laughter and lion laughter was obvious to them. They felt fully relaxed and were full of joy after the session. They could also appreciate the benefits of laughter yoga towards improving efficiency, reducing workplace stress, team building, developing leadership skills and opening up communication skills.
Looking to the huge positive impact of the laughter sessions, it is proposed to conduct more intensive and extensive laughter yoga and meditation sessions for their workmen (approximately four hundred) in the near future to bring physical, mental and social wellbeing and create a more positive work environment with the magic mantra of ‘very good very good yay’ all the way!
It may be recalled that earlier Nestle had invited laughter professors Radhika Bisht and Jagat Singh Bisht to conduct a laughter yoga session during their safety, health and environmental sustainability (SHE) workshop for zone Asia-Oceania-Africa (AOA) at Marriott Resort & Spa, Goa. The response to the session was overwhelming and the chants of ‘very good very good yay’ echoed all through the workshop. The audience included the executive vice president from Nestle headquarters at Vevey, Switzerland and market corporate safety managers from 20 countries including Australia, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Turkey, along with factory safety heads from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.
Nestle is a well known and respected name worldwide for ‘Good Food, Good Life’. The new programme undertaken by Nestle India with the ultimate objective to spread good health, joy and happiness among its employees is a noble initiative indeed.
Jagat Singh Bisht
Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher, Indore
coolbisht@hotmail.com
Laughter Yoga Workshop With Nestle In Goa
http://www.laughteryoga.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6409:laughter-yoga-at-the-nestle-asia-oceania-africa-she-workshop-goa&catid=125:latest-&Itemid=275
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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The sparkling laughter of three young Indonesian friends is still ringing in my ears.
Lisa, Ardian and Danang work for Nestle Indonesia and have come on official duty to the Nestle India factory at Samalkha, Haryana. Incidentally I happened to be there for conducting laughter yoga sessions for the staff of Nestle. In the evening, we travelled together to Nirula’s Hotel in Panipat where we were staying.
On the way, we talked about Laughter Yoga. They were curious and found the concept interesting. I invited them to my room later in the evening for a brief tryst with laughter yoga.
We had one of the most enjoyable laughter sessions in the hotel room that evening. They were rolling in their chairs!
They were fascinated by milk shake laughter, sumo wrestler laughter and forgiveness laughter. But they loved penguin laughter the most. For some time giggling penguins were moving all over the room. It was sheer joy!
It is said that the more the merrier. But sometimes less is more. We went on to discuss the physiological and psychological benefits of laughter and also the inner spirit of laughter.
We then enjoyed our dinner together.
I am going to cherish those lovely moments for a long time.
Jagat Singh Bisht
coolbisht@hotmail.com
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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‘India’s New GDP: Grossly Depressed People’ – this headline screamed on the front page of a leading financial newspaper recently. Thousands of corporate executives have become victims of stress triggered by an economic slowdown that has been raging for a year now. Concerns about the looming threats of layoffs, salaries that are either cut or delayed and pressure to meet higher targets are conspiring to create a tempest of uncertainty that executives are finding it difficult to cope with. According to estimates by PPC Worldwide, a global provider of employee assistance programmes (EAP), more than 62% of health concerns in India Inc in the year to October 2012 were due to work stress.
Stress is the number one killer today. Most illnesses are stress related. When under a state of stress, the biochemical changes alter the breathing pattern making it shallow and irregular. According to Dr Madan Kataria, the illness arising out of stress include cardiovascular problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease and heart attacks; arthritis, asthma and other allergic conditions, diabetes, cancer, chronic fatigue, anxiety attacks, mood swings, psychological distress, depression, sleep problems, eating disorders, peptic ulcers, poor immune function, chronic pain, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), cold, flu, headaches and migraines, alcoholism and drug abuse and more.
Dr Kataria believes that stress in the workplace can be divided into three types. Physical stress results from working beyond one’s physical capacity. Working continuously without sufficient rest or recharge makes one physically tired and exhausted. Mental stress stems largely from heavy workloads and tight deadlines, fear of loosing one’s job or pushing too hard to fulfill basic needs. Competing with others or yourself to improve performance also leads to mental stress. Emotional stress is deep rooted and more difficult to cope up with than physical and mental stress. One needs to deal with emotional stress by increasing one’s ability to release pent-up emotions and developing skills to express emotions freely without fear.
Laughter Yoga is an instant stress buster. It has been scientifically proven that laughter reduces the level of stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine and enhances positive emotions. A study on a group of IT professionals in Bangalore showed that the cortisol levels dropped significantly after laughter yoga sessions. The study also showed a significant drop in blood pressure following the laughter sessions.
Laughter Yoga helps to develop emotional expression through physical playfulness and a playful mental attitude. While playing you focus entirely on the play process and one’s personality takes a back seat. One is creative, dynamic and playful. Most people spend a lot of time and energy holding on to their masks and personalities. Physical playfulness helps to shed these masks and enables free expression of emotions without fear. Suppressed emotions cause ongoing physical and mental pain and reduce physical and mental performance. Laughter Yoga provides a simple, painless and effective release mechanism to help rid the subconscious mind of pent-up emotions through catharsis during intense laughter. Such release helps to build performance and improve one’s emotional intelligence and communication skills.
Business people are very busy and have no time to exercise. Dr William Fry of Stanford University proved that 10 minutes of hearty laughter is equal to 30 minutes on the rowing machine in terms of cardio pulmonary endurance. Laughter Yoga is the latest health craze sweeping the world where anyone can laugh without any reason. Any one can do it; it is scientifically proven; easy to learn and lot of fun. Why not give it a try?
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Let us begin with a story about the club that appeared in the Hindustan Times. Here it is:
LAUGH OUT LOUD
INDOREANS TEACH THE WORLD HOW TO LAUGH YOUR WORRIES AWAY
By Amrita U Kadam, amrita.kadam@hindustantimes.com
INDORE: For the last 104 weeks, the residents near Suniket park Saket have been looking forward to waking up early on Sundays for the ‘laughter get- together’. Neither rain nor cold or heat have interrupted these sessions as ‘Suniket Laughter Club’ completed two years on October 17.
With the crème de- la crème of Indore opting for this lighter way of exercise, the club has become a close knit family with over 40 permanent members, including income tax officers, managers, builders, industrialists, businessmen, school principals and their kin.
Certified laughter yoga professors, assistant general manager (training), of SBI Jagat Singh Bisht and his wife Radhika Bisht started the club for the residents of the Suniket apartment.
Later, as the word spread, people started joining from the other areas as well. “We now have people coming from all parts of the city. Nearly 30- 40 members come every Sunday. In fact the punctuality of this club is what makes it stand apart,” says Jagat who has plans to cut the ‘laughter cake’ on Sunday to mark the club’s birthday.
As the family grew, the members did not limit the meetings to laughter exercises only but also began sharing the happy moments. “A few of our members have opened new businesses in the city. They invite the club members on such occasions. We visit their families during a fest,” says Jagat. He adds that laughter yoga helps in relieving stress and the members have seen a change in their way of working, their take on their routine activities and now feel healthy, both physically and mentally.
This year, the club members would have a special laughter session during which they would celebrate with its members aged between 3 to 90 years.
“We have members of all age groups. We have grandparents, grandchildren coming together and many working class people and housewives,” says Jagat.
The female club members also have yoga sessions everyday with Radhika and then have a get together on the last Friday of every month.
“Our club believes in spreading happiness. Most importantly these members have been attached with us for a long time for they have felt the benefits of laugher yoga and hence the number of members has been increasing ever since its inception,” Jagat added.
(Courtesy: Hindustan Times, Indore, 21st October 2012)
This story is superbly done and almost covers what we would have wanted to share on this occasion. We are, however, tempted to share something more about our club:
We stick to the basics of Laughter Yoga, begin and finish sessions on time, and add a couple of new laughter exercises picked-up from all over the world every week to our repertoire. We include a lot of follow-the-leader and singing-dancing-playing and laughter. We devote time to create new laughter exercises from time to time.
The highlights of our club include:
• One week laughter meditation camp
• Personality Development Thru Fun workshop for children
• Celebration of World Laughter Day
• Visit of Laughter Leaders from Eltham Laughter Club, Australia under Laughter Yoga Exchange Programme
• Visit of Gulyora Shermatova, Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher from Tashkent under Laughter Yoga Exchange Programme
• Celebration of birthday of club
• Yoga and Laughter Yoga for ladies (Monday-Friday)
• 3 certified laughter yoga teachers and more than a dozen certified laughter yoga leaders among our club members
On this occasion we would like to express our gratitude to Dr Madan Kataria, founder of laughter clubs movement, for encouraging us on a regular basis. Many laughter teachers and leaders from all over the world appreciate our efforts from time to time and inspire us by their brilliant work. Last but not the least, we thank all our members and laughter lovers of Indore who have contributed to the success story of our club.
Suniket Laughter Club rocks!
Radhika Bisht and
Jagat Singh Bisht
Founders
Suniket Laughter Club
Indore, India
coolbisht@hotmail.com
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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My fondest memories are from my school days. I had my primary schooling at St. Joseph's Convent, Ranjhi, Jabalpur. We were innocent kids then. I cried while being taken to school initially. I don' have many memories of my primary school but I vividly remember that one morning during assembly, my classmate Subir was called to the front after prayer. His hair had grown long. Sr Jude made him sit on a chair in front of all, called for scissors and cut his hair. It looked as if a mouse had run over his head!
After our primary schooling, we moved on to St. Gabriel's School, Ranjhi, Jabalpur which was almost adjacent, with only a small church standing between these two schools. The year was 1965. Even before we had gone there, we had all heard about Dinkar Sir. You could have loved him or hated him but no one could ignore him. And, he wouldn't leave you alone either. He was just like an omnipresent policeman. You took one small wrong step and you would find him staring down upon you!
If I were to name one person from the school who has impacted my life, it would be Bro. Frederick, my Chemistry teacher. He had a unique way of teaching Chemistry and spreading the message of Chemistry to one and all. We organized a Science Club, a Magic Club and a Photography Club. We learned science by doing real experiments. I remember assembling a telescope, a small radio transmitter and a substitute for the Kipp's Apparatus. We became soulmates while at school and I kept in touch with him till he passed away recently. I reverred him and he was always proud of me. When he was transferred from Jabalpur to Patna, we had gone to see him off at the railway station and I still remember that when the train started moving I bid him good bye and then started running on the platform after the train and waving madly with tears in my eyes. By his blessings, I was selected as a National Science Talent Scholar and got meritorious position in the Board examination.
The other teachers whom I remember with a lot of respect are Mrs Prem Kheda, Bro John Bosco, Bro Joseph, Bro David, Mrs O D'Souza, Mrs Kulkarni, Mr Khare, Sharma Sir, Shukla Sir, Chaudhary Sir, Mehra Sir, Lazarus Sir and Shrivastav Sir. We had, on one hand, a teacher with a dhoti who taught us Sanskrit whom we called Pandit Sir and, on the other hand, a suited Englishman John Peak who came to our school every year for a few months all the way from England to teach us English Grammar. The standard and commitment to academics was of the highest level.
We also played a lot of games in the evenings - football, cricket, volleyball, badminton, table tennis and what not. I was good at athletics - enjoyed the 100 metres dash, football and cricket - a medium pacer. May be because of my overall performance in academics and sports, I was elected as the School Leader in the year 1970.
Recently, many of us from the Class of 1971 visited our Alma Mater and had a re-union at the Kanha National Park. The school was gracious to arrange a beautiful cultural programme and friendly cricket match for us. Some of my classmates are Ainsley Niblett, Avinash Gaikwad, , Barkat Singh, Bijoy Mukherji, Cashmere Fernandez, Chandra Babu, Hardit Singh, Kumud Chakrapani, Rebecca Mullick, Richard Hendricks, Rita Basak, Rita Bhambani, Shanta Murthy, Samuel Walker, Shobha Pawar, K S Rajan, Mahendra Parmar, Mukundan Menon, Prabir Mitra, Soumen DasGupta, Subir Bhattacharya, Tapas Mukherji and Vijay Nair.
I re-visited the school in the year 1976 in my new avatar as a Chemistry teacher which I remained till I joined the State Bank of India in October 1979. My colleagues were Mr O P Mehra, Chaudhary Sir, Dinkar Sir, Madam Tobin, Madam Pushpa, Bro Barnabas, Bro Philips and Bro William. I am touch with many of my students of those golden days through social networking sites.
This is just a beginning. I will write more about my days at the school soon. Meanwhile, I introduce you to one my talented students, Shashwati SenGupta, whom I adore and who is in regular touch with many of her schoolmates. She has been after me to start writing this fast and has been pressing me hard. She has also promised to write me a testimonial and be my official biographer! I am requesting her to add some more pages to the sweet memories of our school. I also invite other Gabrielites to freely contribute to this blog. I may be reached at coolbisht@hotmail.com. Bye for the moment!
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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I share my birthday with the Big B. He has gone ahead to conquer the world; I am still yearning to be explored by a Rekha.
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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What would you say about a club that grooms a hundred youngsters every week to laugh for no reason? Chetana Laughter Club has the unique distinction of taking a few thousand young pilgrims along the pathway of self-triggered joy during the past one year. And, the journey continues..
State Bank Foundation Institute (Chetana) has been set-up at Indore (India) to groom young bank officers. During their training, the officers have a brief tryst with Laughter Yoga. It is used as an ice-breaker at the beginning of programme and as an energizer in between the sessions as and when required. Besides, there is a full-fledged laughter session every Wednesday evening.
All the participants invariably imbibe the chants of ‘Very Good Very Good Yay’ during their stay and it soon becomes their mantra. This is something they will never forget in life. Gradually, they realize the virtues of unconditional laughter.
Here is a testimonial from one of our participants:
Survival of the Happiest
Laughter is something that comes naturally to people and it is the most contagious thing on earth. No one has to teach a baby to laugh.
I came to State Bank Foundation Institute (Chetana), Indore unaware of what was in store for me. After my tryst with the laughter yoga club, the laugh has never stopped.
The Laughter session conducted by Jagat Bisht Sir was one laugh riot. Every time sir introduced a new exercise for laughter, it instantly generated excitement and contemplation of the possible outcome.
My favorite act was the small role-play where if someone asked "What’s the time?"; one replied "It’s time to laugh " and everyone broke out into laughter.
One of the phrases which everyone chanted after every act was - "Very good, Very Good, Yay!" It’s a simple phrase without any actual meaning .But when you clap your hands and say it loud the phrase brings out its actual magic. It became an instant hit and a college anthem for us.
I didn't realize through the course of the session how it had a positive biochemical effect on my cardiovascular and nervous system. It’s only when I got back to my room that I could see myself happy, de-stressed and re-energized. In this era of ‘survival of the fittest’, Laughter club has the guts to say ' survival of the happiest '.
-Debrati Dey
Probationary Officer, 2011 Batch,
State Bank of India,
Kolkata Circle
The institute is fully laughter enabled. All faculty here are trained laughter leaders. Laughter Yoga creates a conducive environment for learning and community living. The experiment has been very valuable and fruitful for all of us here.
Jagat Singh Bisht
Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher and Assistant General Manager (Faculty)
State Bank Foundation Institute (Chetana), Indore (India)
Chetana Laughter Club on Facebook: Link
http://www.facebook.com/groups/312314582117823/
Mobile Laughter@Chetana: Video Links
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC8i9qXS0yY&feature=BFa&list=ULkC8i9qXS0yY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC8i9qXS0yY&feature=autoplay&list=ULOygH6rEz7Gs&playnext=1
Hoho Hahaha: Video Link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJKNvMNPe5M&feature=autoplay&list=UUyO4p7O4H9orYrHYIfPtiPA&playnext=1
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Enough is enough; she decided, and began to laugh. Lo! The whole world changed.
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Laughter Yoga is the happiest workout in the world. It promotes a healthy heart by massaging it as one giggles gently from the diaphragm.
Amrita Kadam did a brief interview with me which has been published in the Hindustan Times, Indore on the occasion of World Heart Day:
LAUGH FOR A HEALTHY HEART
Amrita Kadam
The release of physical, emotional and mental stress can help one have a healthy heart. You can do this with a good laugh. Certified laughter professor and assistant general manager (training) of State Bank of India Jagat Singh Bisht says, “Stress is the root cause of many heart problems. Laughing gives oxygen to the body and is a powerful cardio workout. Ten minutes of hearty laughter is equal to 30 minutes on treadmill.”
Laughter yoga is done under proper guidance and can help a person in maintaining the blood pressure level. It also helps in proper circulation of blood and its dilation.
Sharing an experience Bisht says, “About nine years ago, my wife Radhika used to pop BP pills every day. She started laughter yoga and according to doctors’ advice she gradually stopped taking the pills and we used to monitor her BP at regular intervals. Now, she is completely off the pills and laughter yoga has helped her a lot.”
Daily dose of laughter can help in opening the arteries and helps those who have cholesterol problem. It also manages the sugar level in the body. But there is a word of caution here from the trainer. “Laughter yoga is not a complete cure but is a preventive method. Those with high BP and complicated heart problems are advised not to go for laughter yoga. However, a person can surely remain fit if laughter yoga is practiced regularly.”
amrita.kadam@hindustantimes.com
Laughter Yoga is the best cardio-vascular exercise. Anyone can do it. It is scientifically proven, easy to learn and a lot of fun. You can feel the benefits right from the very first session.
Laughter Yoga is the latest health craze sweeping the world where anyone can laugh without any reason. It is truly a life changing experience because when you laugh, you change and when you change, the whole world changes.
Wish you a healthy heart on World Heart Day!
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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She gazes from a distance. His heart starts beating faster. Wrinkles dissolve. They revisit adolescence.
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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The bed-ridden child, suffering from a rare disease, is the darling of everyone in the hospital. He is keen to go back to his school and play harder than ever with his friends.
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Born with the heart of a Krishna but destined to shoulder the responsibilities of a Rama, I find it amusing to do the balancing act on a tight rope.
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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I love to spend time in my balcony. It’s my window to the world. My wife has her own doubts..
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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We feel happy to share with you the inspiring stories of three self sustaining laughter clubs. These are not formally formed and run laughter clubs. Nevertheless, they meet on all working days and have a hearty laugh!
For the past one year, we have been regularly conducting a laughter yoga session every Tuesday morning at the Rotary Paul Harris School for the mentally challenged children at Indore. They have included Laughter Yoga in their curriculum and have a session earmarked for it every day in the time table, thanks to Rotarian Radhe Shyam Maheshwari and Rotarian Rajesh Singh Parmar. The principal, Neeti Billore, and all teachers of the school conduct the sessions with great dedication. And, the students simply love it! This is probably a unique example where students and their teachers have discovered deep value in laughter yoga and adopted it on their own! This has given us fulfillment as nothing else in our lives. If we have to choose one good work that we have ever done, this would be it.
We had made a presentation on Laughter Yoga at the Local Head Office of State Bank of India at Bhopal on 26th January, 2012 – the Republic Day of India. The audience included the staff, senior officials and their families. They appreciated it very much. Mr S K Mishra, then Chief General Manager, who is now a Deputy Managing Director of the state Bank of India, the largest bank of this country, desired that we record an audio track containing instructions for a brief laughter session. The track is played over public address system every morning at 11 o’clock at the Local Head Office and more than five hundred employees spread on five floors of the building chant ‘Very Good Very Good Yay” and laugh in unison every working day. This is another unique self sustaining laughter club. Mr Rajesh Gupta, Assistant General Manager, Human Resources deserves special kudos for ensuring the success of this club on an ongoing basis.
Iram Ahmad happened to visit Suniket Laughter Club, Indore one fine Sunday morning and enjoyed the laughter session so much that she just had to tell her boss Akshay Jain about it the next morning. Lo and behold! They asked us to conduct a laughter session at their office on Saturday. We presented Laughter Yoga before the staff of Viscus Infotech, Indore and laughter reverberated as we had never heard before. That was it. Next day onwards, they started laughter sessions on their own in their office. They have one in the morning around 11o’clock and the second one in the evening at 4 o’clock. Their CEO, Akshay Jain, one of the finest laughers on this planet, inspires and leads them from the front.
We take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation and heartfelt gratitude to all those who have made it possible to carry forward these clubs by their enthusiasm and love for laughter. We are sure there would be many more such self sustaining laughter clubs across the globe which have not been reported or documented. Please share if you know of any one. Love and Laughter!
Radhika and Jagat Singh Bisht
Certified Laughter Yoga Teachers
Indore, India
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Stephen Covey said, " We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey."
I feel that we are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are also not spiritual beings on a human journey. We are sexual beings on a human - spiritual journey!
What do you say?
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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The news about High Court banning a laughter club in Mumbai has caused quite a stir and is likely to create a lot of confusion.
It is true that laughter club or other such activities should not be a nuisance to others. Laughter professionals, duly trained, are aware of this fact and are taught to take care of the venue and timings of laughter sessions in a way that they don't disturb peace and tranquility. Others, who are self-styled laughter blasters and oblivious of the feelings of fellow citizens, should be more understanding and exercise constraint.
I feel sad that this news piece has brought discredit to genuine laughter lovers who practice Laughter Yoga scientifically and spiritually for wellness and healing. One should not forget that laughter clubs are bringing good health and cheer to millions of people across the globe.
What do you feel? Please share your thoughts.
Love, Laughter and Peace,
- Jagat Singh Bisht
Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher,
(Laughter Yoga International)
244, Suniket Apartments,
72-79, Shrinagar Extension,
Khajrana Road, Indore (M.P.)
coolbisht@hotmail.com
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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a robe-less sadhu was passing by the park along with his disciples when we were doing our laughter yoga session this sunday morning.. he stopped for a while and watched us laughing..
raising his arms high in the air, he blessed the group from a distance..
one of the disciples is our club member.. the sadhu told her.. what they are doing is noble.. being joyous and spreading happiness is divine.. tell them, they have Lord's Blessings..
suniket laughter club, indore feels blessed.. :)))
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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i feel happy to share with you a wonderful story 'indoreans beat the blues, laugh away stress' by amrita kadam in today's indore edition of the hindustan times.. it is about our laughter meditation camp.. please spare a few moments to go through it.. it will be worth your while.. love and laughter..
~jagat singh bisht
Indoreans beat the blues, laugh away stress..
By Amrita U Kadam
amrita.kadam@hindustantimes.com
Indoreans gather at a park early in the morning to participate in the laughter meditation camp at Suniket Park near Khajrana Square on Wednesday.
Atanu Sen Gupta, a marketing executive in a multinational company now greets people with a smile, doesn’t feel the work stress and is all set for his next business trip. His better half Tannistha, doesn’t crib anymore, even when her maid is on leave.
Sounds unusual, doesn’t it? But it is true going by the experiences of this couple and many others who participate in ‘laughter meditation’ camp, which began last Monday at the Suniket Park near Khajrana Square.
Certified laughter professors, assistant general manager (training) of State Bank of India Jagat Singh Bisht and his wife, Radhika, have been instrumental in gathering Indoreans at the park early morning and helping them have a hearty laugh.
“Laughter is a serious job. It needs to be done with proper guidance. We tell people to forget the past, avoid thinking about the future, just be in present and laugh,” said Bisht.
This is the first time that a camp of this sort has been organised and would continue till Saturday.
GS Narang, who attended the first day of the camp alone, now gets his entire family along. “I just felt healthy and relaxed after the session, so I got my wife and son along too. I even asked my father-in-law and mother-in-law, who have come down from Jabalpur, to join me.”
Another participant Bindu Patel, an active practitioner of art of living, encouraged a group of youngsters to attend the session. “We all are preparing for civil exams and hence, we thought that this was the best way to deal with the stress,” said Patel.
The morning sessions with loud ‘Ho Ho Ha Ha Ha’ have attracted the regular morning walkers and those in the locality.
“I have arthritis for last few years and used to think of joining them for a long time but I just used to sit in my balcony and look. Now, I finally gathered courage to come down from my apartment and be a part of it. I would suggest people not to delay joining the laughter sessions,” said Sarita Chugh.
For ten- year- old Advait Pradhan, laughter yoga helps him perform better in studies and other activities. Another housewife Anita Punjabi says that it has helped her deal with the headache. Looking at their glowing faces, a morning walker Vilas Chandwaskar says, “I have been coming to this park for last so many years but I have never seen it get as lively as it is has after the laughter session.”
hindustan times, indore, 25th may 2012
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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We have just concluded a personality development workshop for 30 children in the age group of 5 – 20 years using Laughter Yoga as a tool. The children really liked it. We feel Laughter Yoga is a powerful tool for personality development which enhances communication skills, leadership qualities, team building, creativity and self-confidence in children.
The workshop was held in Suniket Park, Indore, India. We spent about two-and-a-half hours each on Saturday and Sunday evenings. For the initial ice-breaking, we had pizza-pasta game at the beginning of the programme. It was followed by a brief session of Laughter Yoga. The children were then asked to conduct one exercise each of their choice for the group laying special emphasis on their communication and presenting skills.
On the second day, we again had a quick round of pizza-pasta game and a short session of Laughter Yoga. Then, we formed six groups of five children each and asked them to create new laughter exercises as a group work. The results were astonishing! They came out with some novel exercises like Joke Book Laughter, Basket Ball Laughter, Boxing Laughter, Snake Dance Laughter and modified versions of Milkshake Laughter and Mobile Bill Laughter. Their creative talents were further displayed in ‘Follow The Leader’ game. They were awarded certificates at the end of the programme.
Laughter Yoga can be extensively used as a tool for personality development of children in schools as colleges. We have been practicing Laughter Yoga regularly with mentally challenged children at Rotary Paul Harris School here for almost a year now and find a perceptible change in the personality of children and their levels of joy. Now, a daily session of Laughter Yoga is included in their schedule and the Teachers conduct it with deep devotion as they witness the impact continuously.
About a year back, we were with the girls of Laxmi Ashram, Kausani, Uttarakhand and had long sessions of Laughter Yoga, Follow The Leader and Singing-Dancing-Playing and laughter for three consecutive days. The Principal there and the Teachers were quick to realize the inherent value and power of Laughter Yoga.
We plan to conduct more such workshops for children. It is a fulfilling experience indeed!
Radhika Bisht and Jagat Singh Bisht
Certified Laughter Yoga Teachers
Laughter Yoga International
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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The benefits of Laughter Yoga are amazing. Laughter Yoga is a unique exercise routine that combines laughter exercises with yogic breathing which brings in more oxygen to the body and brain making one feel more energetic and healthy. It is a powerful cardio workout. In fact, 10 minutes of hearty laughter is equal to 30 minutes on a rowing machine. The foremost benefit of laughing is that one remains cheerful throughout the day. This sense of wellbeing comes from the release of feel good hormones called endorphins.
It decreases the negative effects of stress on your body which is the root cause of all illness. Laughter Yoga is a single exercise that deals with physical, mental and emotional stress simultaneously. It also strengthens the immune system, lowers blood pressure, controls blood sugar and keeps your heart healthy. It is a powerful antidote against depression – the number one sickness today.
Laughing promotes a healthy heart. In a good bout of laughter, there is a dilation of blood vessels all over the body. We’ve all seen or experienced this as a flushed appearance and feeling of warmth. Pulse rate and blood pressure rise as the circulatory system is stimulated before settling down, below the original levels. In a nutshell, laughter helps tone the circulatory system of the body.
Laughter and breathing exercises help to increase the breathing capacity of the lungs and increase the net supply of oxygen to the body. Laughter sessions, along with deep breathing, are like chest physiotherapy – especially for those who smoke and suffer from bronchitis and respiratory airway obstruction.
A weak immune system is a major cause for almost all sickness and ill health. Laughter boosts immune system. Oxygen is one of the primary catalysts for all metabolic reactions in the human body. Ongoing scientific studies show that lack of oxygen is the major cause of most diseases. Laughter Yoga flushes the lungs and fully oxygenates the blood and major organs leaving one bursting with energy and vitality and free from disease.
Diabetes is emerging as a major health hazard worldwide. Japanese scientist Murakami’s experiment to ascertain the effect of laughter on the blood sugar levels has affirmed that laughter has a lowering impact on blood sugar. Murakami indentified 23 genes that can be activated with laughter. In addition, it also reduces the stress hormone cortisol responsible for increase in sugar levels and stabilizes the immune system, which if weakened, can affect the production of insulin in the pancreas.
Laughter has a profound positive impact on allergies, with many practitioners reporting complete disappearance of all symptoms of asthma, skin and other allergies. Though not an intervention for countering physical causes of allergies; Laughter Yoga is a definite tool to remedy stress. It helps to reduce the risk factors by boosting the immune system, encouraging deep breathing and flushing the lungs of stale air and generating a feeling of wellness.
Those suffering from life threatening diseases not only go through physical pain; they also face immense psychological trauma. Not just the patient, but family, friends and care givers all need positive reinforcement. Having a positive mental attitude greatly influences the course of the disease. We have had many members suffering from cancer, immune disorders, multiple sclerosis and other chronic diseases who have reported relief from their symptoms, thereby reducing their medications.
Depression is often associated with physical pain, feelings of despair, loss of appetite, immobility, insomnia and other cardiovascular problems. Practicing Laughter Yoga regularly helps to resolve most of these ailments as it is one of the fastest ways of boosting heart rate, reducing blood pressure, providing an excellent cardio workout and alleviating pain. Extended hearty laughter is a body exercise with powerful body-mind healing effects.
The combination of natural pain killers with movements in laughter exercises makes Laughter Yoga a powerful tool for physiotherapy. Many practitioners have reported reversal of frozen shoulder and other movement limitations due to stroke, arthritis, and injury. Endorphins released as a result of laughter help in reducing the intensity of pain in those suffering from arthritis, spondylitis and muscular spasms of the body.
Scientific studies have proved that a few days of laughter exercises and deep breathing lowers blood pressure thus reducing the risk of a heart attack. Having too much cholesterol in the blood can lead to the hardening and narrowing of the arteries in the major vascular systems. A daily dose of laughter opens the arteries and allows the blood to flow freely to all parts of the body thus preventing a cardiac failure.
Stress is the number one killer today, and most illnesses are stress related. Laughter Yoga is an instant stress buster which takes care of physical, mental and emotional stress simultaneously. It has been scientifically proven that laughter reduces the level of stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine and enhances positive emotions.
Laughter exercises are short and easy and can be added to your existing fitness programme. It can be a value addition to Yoga groups, Tai-Chi groups, aerobic centres, meditation centres, health clubs, sports and fun activities. Laughter Yoga is the latest health craze sweeping the world where anyone can laugh without any reason. It is truly a life changing experience for millions. It is scientifically proven and a lot of fun. People can feel the benefits right from the very first session.
coolbisht@hotmail.com
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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We were delighted to have with us Gulyora Shermatova, Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher (CLYT) from Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She is the sweetest person we have ever met. Her laughter is amazing. She can laugh anytime, anywhere for no reason. What surprised us was the effortlessness of her laughter. She could continue laughing for hours together. We have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that she is one of the finest laughers in the world!
Ever since we did our CLYT training together at Bangalore, we kept in regular touch and planned to visit each other’s home. She teaches Hindi at the Institute of Oriental Studies, Tashkent and was invited by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations to New Delhi recently. She took an early morning flight from Delhi to Indore.
The members of Suniket Laughter Club were eagerly waiting for her arrival. She greeted them in chaste Hindi and won hearts instantly. After exchanging pleasantries, we started an unforgettable laughter session. Our club is specially known for doing the four steps of laughter yoga – clapping, deep breathing, childlike playfulness and laughter exercises – in a structured and meticulous way. But her very special and infectious laughter intermittently left the members bewildered and spellbound. Her laughter is so unique and spontaneous indeed! People could not believe what they were witnessing.
After affirming ‘very good very good yay’ a few times, we chanted ‘bahut achche bahut achche yay’ in Hindi, followed by ‘horosho horosho yay’ in Uzbeki. Suddenly the air acquired the fragrance of joy. She conducted greeting laughter and milkshake laughter in her inimitable style. She watched with deep interest as our members performed tak-jhoom laughter, cricket laughter and NTR laughter. She was amused by ‘follow the leader’ game played by the club members. This was followed by singing-dancing-playing and laughter. The lyrics chosen were old melodies from Bollywood – mera joota hai Japani, sajan re jhoot mat bolo and bambai se aaya mera dost. It was undoubtedly one of the most memorable sessions we have ever had! All those who were present in the Suniket Park that Sunday morning will cherish the memories for a long time.
In the evening, we went to the regional park and had a fantastic time. We would sit on a bench and laugh incessantly oblivious of bewilderment on the faces of onlookers who found it difficult to decipher what was so hilarious around that made us go nuts.
The next morning we remained at home to spend some quality time together. We sat in our balcony with the morning cuppa of tea. Lo and behold, Gulyora started laughing. How could we refrain? We also joined her. Many rounds of laughter followed during the day. We laughed and laughed and laughed.
Her husband’s name is Kakramon (which means Hero). She has named him ‘Mahaveer’ in Hindi. He is an introvert and previously worked for the army. But now he is also bitten by the laughter bug. He takes a CD containing 40 laughter exercises to his office and plays it for the staff. And then, he gives a command in true military style, “Kulila!” (That is, “Laugh!”) And, surprisingly, it works!
In the evening, she conducted an exclusive session of laughter yoga for ladies at Suniket Community Hall. Upon their asking, she explained to them how one can laugh from the diaphragm effortlessly and continuously. The ladies enjoyed her laughter and felt inspired.
Next morning, we went to Rotary Paul Harris School for the Mentally Challenged Children. She was touched by their simplicity and warmth. Tears started flowing from her eyes and rolled over her cheeks. She addressed them after gaining composure and then we had a fun-filled laughter session with the special kids. They gifted a decorative art piece of ‘natkhat’ (naughty) Krishna which they had made especially for her. She was touched by their gesture.
We visited Chokhi Dhani in the evening. It is a resort on the outskirts of city in Rajasthani style with folk dancers, singers and magicians. She simply loved it and enjoyed dancing with them.
Gulyora is such a noble soul. She is unbelievably good hearted and positive. We feel privileged to have spent precious moments in her enchanting company. The laughter still lingers on.
We shared with some of our friends that Gulyora visited us and we had great fun. Our good friend Duncan Cook, Laughter Ontario had this to say, “In Guelph, where I live, the laughter club members are visiting each others homes now. Bless this house with laughter...haha!”
Our home has been blessed with laughter! Thank you so much, Gulyora.
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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The experience of Laughter Yoga with mentally challenged children at Rotary Paul Harris School, Indore, India has touched the core of our hearts and has given us the fulfillment of bringing cheer in the lives of sweet little kids.
While returning from my office one evening, I took a slightly different route to avoid heavy traffic. On the way, I discovered Rotary Paul Harris School for the mentally challenged children. Next day, I visited the school. There I met Rotarian Radheyshyam Maheshwari.
He told me that it is very challenging to provide education to children with mental challenge. In addition, they impart vocational training and training for the daily needs of the children. This requires a lot of patience and devotion because each child needs individual attention. They have 60 students but the average daily attendance is only 50-60 percent. These students are taken care by specially trained staff. They also engage them in sports, music and extra-curricular activities.
It was in the year 1964 that Rotary Club of Indore started this school. After passing through initial teething problems, the school is now on a better footing. It is one of the finest institutes of its type in the Malwa region of Central India.
I shared the concept of Laughter Yoga with him briefly. His response was very positive and we fixed a day and time for our first laughter session with the special kids. The kids responded to our first session with great enthusiasm and energy. We were taken by surprise by the positivity generated by the affirmation VeryGoodVeryGoodYay. They loved milkshake laughter, mobile laughter, argument laughter and hearty laughter. But we realized that they could not clap in rhythm, chant hohohahaha or follow the deep breathing exercises.
I had along discussion with my wife Radhika, who is also a Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher, in the matter. We decided to focus initially on simple clapping, VGVGY and the laughter exercises which the kids liked. Radhika worked hard with the kids on Tuesday mornings week after week and gradually the kids started picking up. A weekly session on Laughter Yoga was included in their time table. Mrs Neeti Billore, the Principal, and her team of Teachers were always with us during the sessions. On the occasion of New Year, we visited the school with members of Suniket Laughter Club, Indore and shared sweets with them.
The school authorities told us that they propose to showcase the progress in laughter sessions in front of the parents of the kids and members of Rotary Club during their Annual Day celebrations. The kids were all prepared for the event and laughed coherently to the surprise of all present. We felt satisfied as our efforts had borne fruits. Everyone could sense how close the kids felt to us. The effect of joy cocktail was more than evident on the faces of the kids.
On the annual day, we also conducted a laughter session for the families of Rotary Club members which was appreciated by one and all. Prior to that, we had given a presentation of Laughter Yoga in one of their club meetings. Looking to the good effect that laughter is having on the emotional well-being of the kids, we propose to continue with our sessions in the school. The warm welcome that is accorded to us by the kids every time we visit is too valuable for us to loose. We would like to continue to work with them to completely erase the mental and emotional scars and deprivation of their early childhood. It would be really fulfilling if their lives get the missing rhythm through hohohahaha and verygoodverygoodyay.
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Are you stressed, sad or depressed? Do you want to add more joy and laughter to your life? Try Laughter Yoga. It is simple to learn and a lot of fun.
Laughter Yoga is the latest health craze sweeping the globe where anyone can laugh without any reason. It has been a life changing experience for millions including me and my wife.
The Laughter Clubs Movement started with just five persons in a Mumbai park in the year 1995. At the outset, it was envisaged to combine laughter exercises based on yogic breathing and stretching techniques to provide the benefits of laughter to people in a structured way. But soon after, a whole new significance of laughter was discovered.
According to Dr Madan Kataria, the Founder of Laughter Clubs Movement, “We realized that laughter is not about amusement and entertainment, giggling or chuckling; instead it has a great deal to do with our inner self – it has to come from deep within, straight from the soul, and one can experience this laughter from the soul only when the heart is pure, full of love, compassion and kindness.
“Laughter becomes more meaningful when it is intended not only to make ourselves happy but also to make others happy. This in Laughter Clubs is known as the Inner Spirit of Laughter.”
Laughter Clubs are instrumental in bringing about attitudinal changes in people and provide an ideal platform to help people connect through love and laughter. During the course of my journey of Laughter Yoga, I have seen a lady who was always full of anger become a warm, jovial person; I have been a witness to an introvert converting to a full fledged extrovert and a quarrelsome person change to a caring and sharing one.
Laughter Yoga goes beyond just the physical and physiological dimension of laughing. It not only fosters a feeling of physical well being by generating endorphins in the body, it also enhances the spirit and touches the emotional core. It cultivates positive thinking and promotes understanding.
Many of the laughter exercises focus on forgiveness, appreciation, anger management, gratitude and helpfulness. Laughter Yoga provides an opportunity to the practitioners to actively enhance the life of others.
Those who practice Laughter Yoga on a regular basis understand that it has the power to change the selfish state of mind to an altruistic state of mind. It has been proven that people who laugh are likely to be more generous and have more empathy than those who don’t laugh.
This inner spirit of laughter becomes apparent to the seekers as they develop a state of internal peace – the worries and intense goals that have driven their lives become less important. These people become aware that true happiness comes from giving unconditional love, caring for others and sharing with each other.
Laughter Yoga inspires members to make the world a better place not only for themselves but for everyone. Dr Kataria goes beyond this in his book ‘Laugh for no reason’ to say that the ultimate objective of Laughter Yoga is to spread good health, joy and achieve world peace through laughter.
Jagat Singh Bisht
coolbisht@hotmail.com
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Sun demands no reason to shine;
Water demands no reason to flow;
A child demands no reason to smile;
Why do we need a reason to laugh?
Laughter Yoga is a Life Changing Experience. According to Dr Madan Kataria, Founder of Laughter Clubs Movement, “When you laugh, you change and when you change, the whole world changes.”
Laughter Yoga combines unconditional laughter with yogic breathing (Pranayama). Anyone can laugh for no reason, without relying upon humour, jokes or comedy. In a session, laughter is simulated as a body exercise in a group. The group maintains eye contact and childlike playfulness, and laughter soon turns real and contagious. The concept of Laughter Yoga is based on the scientific fact that the body cannot differentiate between fake and real laughter.
According to a study by Dr Michael Titze, a German Psychologist, people used to laugh 18 minutes a day in the 1950s, but today we laugh not more than 6 minutes per day, despite the huge increase in the standard of living. Children can laugh up to 300-400 times in a day, but as adults this frequency drops to barely 10-15 times a day.
Adults use their cognitive ability to first comprehend humour and then laugh. This is called the Mind-To-Body Model or the Humour Model. The other model is the Childlike Model or the Body-To-Mind Model. Children laugh the most while playing. Their laughter comes straight from the body and does not make use of any intellectual capacity of the brain.
Laughter Yoga makes a clear distinction between happiness and joyfulness. Happiness is a conditional response. It is dependent on the fulfillment of certain desires of the mind and is related to happenings in the past and the future and hardly ever deals with the present. Do you remember how long you stayed happy after getting that diploma, car, job, or new house that you had worked for so long?
In contrast, joyfulness is unconditional commitment to be happy for the moment and to have fun despite life’s problems. Joyfulness is easily triggered by joyful activities like laughing, dancing, singing and playing. It is purely a physical phenomenon while happiness is a concept of the mind.
In order to get scientifically proven benefits of laughter, we need to laugh continuously for at least 10 to 15 minutes. To reap the health benefits of laughter, laughter has to be loud and deep, coming from the diaphragm. Natural laughter that courses through our life depends on many reasons and conditions, but there are not many reasons which make us laugh.
Dr Madan Kataria, a medical doctor from Mumbai, is the founder of Laughter Yoga Clubs movement. Started with just five people in a public park in Mumbai in 1995, it has grown into a worldwide movement of thousands of laughter clubs in more than 65 countries.
The most frequently asked question is, “How do you laugh when you are in no mood to laugh or you don’t have any reason to laugh?” The answer is quite simple. Motion creates emotion, and vice versa.
Did you know that we can actually learn to laugh? Our body and mind can be trained to laugh at will. It’s like learning to ride a bicycle. It’s like muscle memory; once you learn it, you never forget it.
The most important factor in Laughter Clubs is the willingness of the participants to laugh. The members laugh voluntarily, with full commitment. All you need to do is to give yourself permission to laugh – and nobody can stop you.
Laughter Yoga goes beyond just laughing. It not only fosters a feeling of physical well being, it enhances the spirit and touches the emotional core. It cultivates positive thinking and promotes understanding. Laughter Yoga gives participants the opportunity to actively enhance the lives of others.
Even when one exhales completely, there is some amount of air left in the lungs, called residual air. During inhalation we breathe in 500 to 700 ml of air and almost the same amount is exhaled. This 500-700ml constitutes only 25% of our lung capacity. But there is a huge volume of residual stale air in our lungs that has more carbon dioxide.
Both laughter and yogic breathing exercises are intended to stimulate the movement of the diaphragm and the abdominal muscles which helps to activate the parasympathetic system – the calming branch of the autonomic nervous system. This is opposite to the sympathetic system – the stress arousal system. One can turn off the stress arousal system by simply learning to move the diaphragm.
Dr Otto Warburg, Nobel Laureate said,”Deep breathing techniques increase oxygen to the cells and are the most important factors in living a disease-free and energetic life. When cells get enough oxygen, cancer will not and cannot occur.”
Laughter Yoga goes beyond laughter and physical wellbeing. It enhances the inner spirit and makes people change for the better. Unconditional laughter connects people from different cultures, countries, no matter what language they speak or how they live.
In Laughter Clubs, we have different styles of belly laughter that exercise the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm simultaneously. Scientists have referred to laughter as internal jogging. Regular laughter exercise strengthens the abdominal muscles and gives a constant massage.
Laughing promotes a healthy heart. In a good bout of laughter, there is a dilation of blood vessels all over the body. We’ve all seen or experienced this as a flushed appearance and feeling of warmth. Pulse rate and blood pressure rise as the circulatory system is stimulated before settling down, below the original levels. In a nutshell, laughter helps tone the circulatory system of the body.
Laughter and breathing exercises help to increase the breathing capacity of the lungs and increase the net supply of oxygen to the body. Laughter sessions, along with deep breathing, are like chest physiotherapy – especially for those who smoke and suffer from bronchitis and respiratory airway obstruction.
The foremost benefit of laughing is that one remains cheerful throughout the day. This sense of wellbeing comes from the release of feel good hormones called endorphins. One also develops the ability to laugh at small things. Laughter Yoga helps to develop sense of humour and bring more childlike playfulness.
According to Dr William Fry, 10 minutes of hearty laughter is equal to 30 minutes on the rowing machine. This is in respect of cardiopulmonary endurance. Laughter Yoga is ideally suited for busy professionals who have very little time to exercise. 20 minutes of Laughter Yoga can give you similar results as those of going to gym for one hour.
Stress is the number one killer today, and most illnesses are stress related. Laughter Yoga is an instant stress buster which takes care of physical, mental and emotional stress simultaneously. It has been scientifically proven that laughter reduces the level of stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine and enhances positive emotions.
The practice of using unconditional laughter to prepare for stressful events is known as Laughter Boosting and is gaining popularity with speakers, actors and other performers to prepare themselves for presentations to audiences of all sizes.
Laughter Yoga has proved to be very effective as a personal development tool. It enhances mental skills and abilities that help a person to improve their performance in every sphere of life. It is a powerful means for self confidence as it helps to overcome inhibition and shyness and eases out awkwardness.
Laughter has an infinite potential to enhance right brain functionality, which is the seat of creativity, intuition, imagination, inventions, music, art, meditation and healing. Laughter is an excellent exercise for toning facial muscles and improving expressions. Laughter enhances communication skills and cultivates positive emotions.
A weak immune system is a major cause for almost all sickness and ill health. Laughter boosts immune system. Oxygen is one of the primary catalysts for all metabolic reactions in the human body. Ongoing scientific studies show that lack of oxygen is the major cause of most diseases. Laughter Yoga flushes the lungs and fully oxygenates the blood and major organs leaving one bursting with energy and vitality and free from disease.
Scientific studies have proved that a few days of laughter exercises and deep breathing lowers blood pressure thus reducing the risk of a heart attack. Having too much cholesterol in the blood can lead to the hardening and narrowing of the arteries in the major vascular systems. A daily dose of laughter opens the arteries and allows the blood to flow freely to all parts of the body thus preventing a cardiac failure.
Diabetes is emerging as a major health hazard worldwide. Japanese scientist Murakami’s experiment to ascertain the effect of laughter on the blood sugar levels has affirmed that laughter has a lowering impact on blood sugar. Murakami indentified 23 genes that can be activated with laughter. In addition, it also reduces the stress hormone cortisol responsible for increase in sugar levels and stabilizes the immune system, which if weakened, can affect the production of insulin in the pancreas.
Laughter has a profound positive impact on allergies, with many practitioners reporting complete disappearance of all symptoms of asthma, skin and other allergies. Though not an intervention for countering physical causes of allergies; Laughter Yoga is a definite tool to remedy stress. It helps to reduce the risk factors by boosting the immune system, encouraging deep breathing and flushing the lungs of stale air and generating a feeling of wellness.
Those suffering from life threatening diseases not only go through physical pain; they also face immense psychological trauma. Not just the patient, but family, friends and care givers all need positive reinforcement. Having a positive mental attitude greatly influences the course of the disease. We have had many members suffering from cancer, immune disorders, multiple sclerosis and other chronic diseases who have reported relief from their symptoms, thereby reducing their medications.
Depression is often associated with physical pain, feelings of despair, loss of appetite, immobility, insomnia and other cardiovascular problems. Practicing Laughter Yoga regularly helps to resolve most of these ailments as it is one of the fastest ways of boosting heart rate, reducing blood pressure, providing an excellent cardio workout and alleviating pain. Extended hearty laughter is a body exercise with powerful body-mind healing effects.
The combination of natural pain killers with movements in laughter exercises makes Laughter Yoga a powerful tool for physiotherapy. Many practitioners have reported reversal of frozen shoulder and other movement limitations due to stroke, arthritis, and injury. Endorphins released as a result of laughter help in reducing the intensity of pain in those suffering from arthritis, spondylitis and muscular spasms of the body.
Members of Laughter Clubs are engaged as active and interactive participants, and not as passive audience being entertained. It has been proved that people who actively participate in any humour and laughter activity get more benefits, than those who inertly receive humour and laughter. The source of laughter is within the body, and one can generate laughter with conscious effort and commitment, anytime he or she wants to.
Laughter exercises are short and easy and can be added to your existing fitness programme. It can be a value addition to Yoga groups, Tai-Chi groups, aerobic centres, meditation centres, health clubs, sports and fun activities.
The whole world is an extended family. Let us join through Love and Laughter.
(Excerpts from 'LAUGH For No Reason' by Dr Madan Kataria.)
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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We (Radhika and me) are just back from a short vacation to our native village Naula in the Uttarakhand hills of India. To reach our place, one has to pass through the famous Corbett National Park. It is named after a British Jungle enthusiast, Jim Corbett, who penned ‘The Man Eaters of Kumaon’.
There is a small school, named Shikhar Public School, in the village. My nephew, Bittu, studies there. We visited the school and explained the concept and benefits of Laughter Yoga to the Principal and teachers. Instantly, a laughter yoga session was arranged for the kids. Some of them were very young, just three or four years old in the Nursery class, and the older ones were about twelve years old in their Eighth standard.
We started the session as usual with clapping and chanting. There were guffaws all around as they chanted ‘Hoho Hahaha’ and moved around. They relished Milkshake Laughter, may be because it was close to lunch time. Radhika did the Laughter Zoo with them comprising of various laughters from the animal kingdom like Lion, Elephant, Kangaroo, Penguin, Bird and Monkey Laughter. It touched the core of their hearts and they yearned for more laughter as they had never imagined of such variety in laughter. We did Age Laughter and Swinging Laughter.
Then, we realized that the sun was straight over our heads and it had got somewhat hot. We tried to wrap up but the kids wanted more. So, we decided to come back to the school again in the evening.
To our utter surprise, all the kids were there in the evening. We did a quick recap of the warm-up steps and some laughter exercises. Then we played the games ‘Follow the Leader’ and ‘Pizza Pasta’ with them. They were simply delighted.
By this time, a word had spread in the village that children in the school were having some real fun. When we looked around towards the end, the entire school was surrounded by spectators from the village who were shouting in chorus ‘Very Good Very Good Yay’.
It was quite a fulfilling experience as kids there don’t have equipments to play any games and this could be very handy. Some of the villagers expressed that well meaning citizens like us should regularly visit the remote village to encourage and guide the local kids.
Last night, I telephoned my mother to tell her that we have reached back Indore safely. She seemed very happy and said, “Radhika and you have left permanent footprints in the village. The chants of ‘Very good Very Good Yay’ by the kids can be heard anytime, anywhere in the neighbourhood. Now, you are not away. You are always right here!”
coolbisht@hotmail.com
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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One of the best decisions we (Radhika and me) have ever made in life was to enroll for the Laughter Yoga Teacher’s training in Bangalore in October 2010. It has been the sweetest, richest and most wonderful experience of our life. We were 23 of us there, coming from Sweden, Austria, United Kingdom, Iran, United States, Malaysia, South Africa, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and, of course, India. We were privileged to have Dr Madan Kataria, the Giggle Guru and founder of Laughter Clubs Movement, as our Trainer in the serene settings of an ashram just outside the city.
When we landed there, none of us had even imagined that the course of our lives is going to change forever. It was not just another programme that we were attending. It was an intense experience, as intense as it can get. Within no time, all of us got so close to each other that we felt we had been familiar for ages. It was the warmest and most cheerful bonding. We became dearest friends forever during our stay there. It is such a nice feeling that you have close friends all around the globe who would be only too happy to receive you when you visit them.
After returning to our town, we formed a laughter club in the neighbourhood and got instantly connected to loads of people. It was not a casual hello-hi relationship but had a lot of intrinsic warmth embedded in it. There was no place at all for any negativity or gossip. We were also fortunate to laugh with a fresh batch of around a hundred bank employees every week that came for various trainings to the learning centre where I am posted. It was an instant connect with each one of them at the being level. In general, official interactions are mostly at the functional level and it is rather difficult to relate at the being level.
By God’s grace, we also had opportunities to present Laughter Yoga in schools, ashrams, naturopathy centres and many other forums. Each occasion brought us close to a huge number of people with whom we would have never interacted otherwise. The laughter connect is instant as well as long lasting. We develop close, warm and assuring relations of mutual respect and deep trust as there are no expectations from each other but only joy to share.
Positive Psychologists, after years of research, have come to the conclusion that we experience authentic happiness if we have some close, dependable and intimate friends. Happiness comes from warm bonding and intimate sharing at the being level. Laughter Yoga opens frontiers of personal bonding. We are now proud to have several warm hearts beating in resonance with us in our neighbourhood, workplace and all over the world. We are deeply connected and inter-connected.
And, yes, we are really, really happy!
coolbisht@hotmail.com
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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The compliment that I cherish most came from Anurag, my 24-year old son. He loves adventure sports and takes care of fire and safety hazards at Nestle. I was visiting Gurgaon, the town where he works, and was suddenly asked to do a presentation on Laughter Yoga. When I told him about it, he remarked, “Papa, this is a unique life skill you have acquired. You can do it anytime, anywhere, for anyone. Now, you have the heavenly gift of giving joy to other beings. That is really wonderful.”
This insight coming from a youngster is amazing. I had gone to attend a workshop on leadership skills at the State Bank Academy. It was an awfully cold morning – the earlier day was the coldest in the last 46 years. There were 44 participants, all senior officials of the Bank, in the workshop. When the Principal of the Academy came to address the participants, he observed, “The energy level appears to be low. I have never witnessed something like this at the beginning of any programme. What’s the reason?”
One of us responded,” It is terribly cold and foggy, sir. We are not used to such a climate. Our flights landed very late in the night. It was chilling cold and windy. We have not had enough sleep. Moreover, we carry a lot of stress in our roles as such.”
As the class didn’t appear to take-off convincingly, I requested for a 5-minute slot and assured that the class would cheer up in a while. The Principal was magnanimous enough. I asked everyone to clap and chant ‘hoho-hahaha’ and ‘very good very good yay’ and followed it up with a few laughter exercises. The atmosphere brightened instantly and there was warmth all around.
Thereafter, we did some laughter exercises every morning before the start of sessions and everyone relished it. I also did a presentation on Laughter Yoga in the auditorium where several officers of the Bank, senior and junior, from all over India were present. The presentation was well received. After a few months, I went there again with my wife, Radhika, to give one more presentation before a much bigger audience.
We have done sessions for school children, housewives and elders. Everyone loves it. We are regularly invited to a reputed yoga and naturopathy centre in our town for laughter therapy. The feedback from patients is very positive.
One of the members of our laughter club told us that her parents stayed at a remote place far away and felt lonely. She learned the steps of laughter yoga from us and jotted down some exercises which would be more suitable for them. Now, she has gone to them and would be spreading some good cheer in the neighbourhood.
Laughter Yoga can be done for those in the orphanages, hospitals and prisons. The educational institutions are very conducive to Laughter Yoga. It takes stress out of workplaces and makes life vibrant for those who feel lonely.
We were curiously watching sunrise with many tourists in a hill station recently. As the sun came up, everyone was thrilled and clicked their cameras vigorously. Then, after introducing ourselves as Laughter Yoga trainers to the crowd, we requested them to join us for a brief session of laughter exercises before moving back. All agreed readily. A short but sweet session followed and the joy of watching the sun rise was enhanced manifold.
Laughter Yoga is truly an invaluable life skill which we can use to bring joy to all around us anytime, anywhere. It is Divine!
coolbisht@hotmail.com
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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Laughter is the best tonic for body, mind and soul.
World Laughter Day is customarily celebrated on the first Sunday of May every year. This year on the 1st of May, the world will once again come together to laugh and spread the word of happiness and joy.
Nowadays people face enormous stress and are at war with themselves. Laughter is a positive and powerful emotion which helps people to change themselves and to change the world in a peaceful and positive way. Laughter is a universal language which has the potential to unite humanity.
This day is a celebration of the power of laughter to change the world. According to Dr Madan Kataria, the founder of Laughter Clubs Movement, “When we laugh, we change and when we change the whole world around us changes.”
On this auspicious occasion, may we appeal to the whole of humanity to use Laughter Yoga as a means to generate goodwill and also to lessen the pain caused by human insensitivity as well as natural calamities both of which have catastrophic consequences. While Laughter Yoga exercises will bring good health and well being, the inner spirit of laughter will help us to realize the deeper meaning of life.
By understanding the ways and means of sensible living through Laughter Clubs we can bring peace within us, which in turn will bring peace in the outer world. The Laughter Clubs movement is a global initiative to unite entire mankind through unconditional love and laughter.
It is a non-religious, non-racial, non-political and non-profit organization committed to generate good health, joy and world peace through laughter. This revolutionary idea has changed the lives of hundreds and thousands of people around the world and has helped them to attain a state of complete wellness.
Please spare a few moments to laugh heartily on World Laughter Day and pray silently for world peace.
Jagat Singh Bisht, Indore
coolbisht@hotmail.com
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From
Jagat Singh Bisht
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I feel proud to share with you this out-of-the-world experience we had with school girls and their mentors in Gandhi Ashram. We (Radhika and me) have been blessed with several fulfilling experiences in the journey of Laughter Yoga but this one simply astounded us. We could never have even dreamed of such ecstasy and inner fruits. Our sincere gratitude to the God Almighty for blessing us with this Heavenly experience and hats off to Giggle Guru, Dr Madan Kataria, who propounded such a profound concept which has enabled us to serve humanity in such a wonderful manner.
We recently visited Kausani at the foothills of Himalayas in north India. It is one of the most picturesque and tranquil places we have ever been to. Mahatma Gandhi called it the Switzerland of India. He complied the Gujarati translation ‘Anasakti Yoga’ of the Bhagavad Geeta while staying at an ashram, now named as Anasakti Ashram, here.
Sarla Ben, fondly remembered as Gandhi’s British daughter, established Lakshmi Ashram here in 1946. It was set up as a basic education program where girls would receive academic education along Gandhian lines and get trained to become social activists. So that they would in turn, work to become self reliant to uplift their village sisters of remote Uttarakhand.
Most of the students at the ashram today are from poor, rural families. Others are from particularly remote villages where access to post primary school is still s problem, especially for girls. Most of them come from small, off-road villages and relatively uneducated families. The school considers it very important that everone at the ashram lives and works together irrespective of caste and other social differences.
We reached the ashram, after a steep climb, in the afternoon. Two little girls guided us to Kanti Didi, affectionately called Odee by all in the ashram, a devoted Gandhian and in-charge of the school activities. She was very warm and loving and bonded with us in no time. We told her about Laughter Yoga and she could see the deep value hidden it for her school girls.
Odee summoned a girl and asked her to ring the ashram bell. All the girls assembled in a jiffy and were told to proceed to the Shanti Bhavan, their community hall for prayers and cultural activities. In her simple, yet sincere and effective way, Odee announced that we had something valuable to share with them and everyone should pay apt attention.
There were about 60-70 lovely, little girls there. We told them how much we loved children and how sweet each one of them was. Then, we explained the concept of Laughter Yoga in a simple manner very briefly. A laughter session followed after that. Oh, what an amazing session it was! We had never experienced anything like that before. It was joy, cheers and energy all around. Odee, probably in her seventies, was as ecstatic as the kids. The session lasted for one and a half hours! Pure joy, nothing else. Towards the end, everyone was lying down, facing upwards, meditating laughingly as if in a trance.
They offered us Kaadha, a drink prepared from a concoction of Himalayan herbs, and requested us to stay back for the evening play time with the girls. We felt happy and privileged and obliged readily.
In the evening, we went to a lush green play field, surrounded by beautiful trees, and all the girls, clutching our hands tightly with heartfelt affection, took us many years back, right into our own childhood days. We ran and played with them like mad kids. First, we formed a laughter train and ran around the entire field and then marched like soldiers with loud shouts of hoho haha. Towards the end, we performed a laughter orchestra. We had slipped into super consciousness!
All the girls are richly talented in their own way – some are super atheletes, some good at games and almost everyone can sing and dance well. We are sure that many of them can compete at the national level with a bit of coaching and opportunity. Everyone of them is wonderful soul.
There were some volunteers with us there: Michelle (from Denmark), Alexandra (U.K.), Leo (Germany), David (U.K.), Pramila(Italy) and Uma (Hyderabad). It was an awesome evening.
By now, we were like a family and the girls wouldn’t let us go back. We promised that we would come back the next day, stay and laugh whole day and have lunch with them. And, we did.
We were there with them on the next evening also and joined them for their evening prayers in Gandhian manner. Thereafter, they arranged an impromptu cultural evening and farewell for us. It was singing+dancing+playing+laughter=joy all the way.What terrific talent those girls possess! Unbelievable. It was a marvelous night brimming with emotions. By now, we were all theirs and they were all ours. We would be going there again and again. It is a home for us now.
Next time, when we go there, we are going to stay at the ashram itself. Odee has been benevolent to accept us as their family members. The girls surrounded us and held our hands with so much warmth that Radhika had tears in her eyes. It was really difficult to depart. Two girls, with torches, came down the hills to escort us back to our hotel in the pitch darkness of the mountain slopes.
As we were preparing to leave Kausani with a heavy heart early in the morning, we saw Odee knocking at our hotel room door to bid adieu. How thoughtful of her! She assured us that they will do Laughter Yoga regularly in their ashram and they find immense value in it and appreciate the philosophy underlying it. Had it not been for Laughter Yoga, we would never have had such a soul stirring experience ever!
coolbisht@hotmail.com
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