Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Happy Birthday Laughter Yoga!



Laughter Yoga and I were born on the same date – March 13th!!!  It’s a synchronicity I love. 

Dr. Kataria gathered five brave people who were willing to try something new and different:  laughing every morning for 20 minutes in an outdoor park.

In the beginning they used jokes, each member taking turns getting in the middle of a circle and telling as many jokes as they knew that day.  It worked out fine for about a week and then started to crumble; as their jokes devolved into raunchy and rude renditions of humor.  People started to complain and Dr. Kataria knew he had to abandon the use of jokes altogether.  The next inspiration came to him at 4:00 a.m. – unconditional laughter.  “Why do we need a reason to laugh?”  Thus Laughter Yoga was born.

My story is a bit more complex but I did emerge on March 13th also, a few years prior to Laughter Yoga (ha-ha).  They say I never stopped smiling.  So there you go…

Photo:  The Founding Five/Laughter Yoga International

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