Welcome to the Iowa School of Laughter Yoga
Laughter Yoga is an exercise form, which is blazing a happy laughter trail across the globe. In over 60 countries, people gather to laugh with one another for health and joyfulness. You, too, can join this laughter movement and find greater vibrancy, connection and well-being.
Up until 2007, Iowans had to head out of state to join a laughter club or train as a Laughter Yoga Leader. Now, the Iowa School of Laughter Yoga is a comprehensive Laughter Yoga resource in the heart of the Midwest.
Up until 2007, Iowans had to head out of state to join a laughter club or train as a Laughter Yoga Leader. Now, the Iowa School of Laughter Yoga is a comprehensive Laughter Yoga resource in the heart of the Midwest.
We offer Laughter Yoga Leader seminars, laughter retreats,
motivational speaking, wellness programs, stress reduction workshops, corporate services and much
more.
Thank you for visiting! We are delighted to have you here. Please bookmark this Web site as it is updated regularly and you'll find new laughter opportunities to explore.
Thank you for visiting! We are delighted to have you here. Please bookmark this Web site as it is updated regularly and you'll find new laughter opportunities to explore.
Laughter as Exercise
Madan Kataria, a physician from India, wanted to prescribe laughter to his patients. So he formed a laughter club where people could come to increase their merriment. They began with jokes but quickly ran out. Drawing upon research that says our bodies don’t know the difference between real laughter and fake, Dr. Kataria tried simulating laughter in a group. The giggles quickly become real, he found, because laughter is extremely contagious.
Madhuri Kataria, Madan’s wife, is a yoga teacher. She suggested that deep yoga breathing be added to the laughter workout routine. They realized this was an excellent combination and called the method they’d developed “Laughter Yoga.” This term signifies that it is more than laughter—it is an exercise form we ought to take seriously.
What started as one happy club in 1995 has literally exploded in just a few years! Laughter clubs are now in over 60 countries, including the USA, and the joy keeps growing.
The basic premise of Laughter Yoga is that anyone can laugh! We don’t need jokes, or comedy, or even a sense of humor, just the desire to laugh, to open up our hearts and let the joy and laughter flow. Laughter Yoga combines laughter exercises with deep breathing, stretching, and relaxation. When it is practiced in a group, it becomes absolutely contagious. Not only do people laugh, but they joyfully connect with one another and cultivate their own childlike playfulness.
As the old saying goes, laughter is the best medicine. It is fun and has been proven to reduce stress and bring a host of other health benefits. Laughter Yoga can also increase creativity, physical vitality and improve your sense of well being. How exciting is that? Just from laughing!
Madhuri Kataria, Madan’s wife, is a yoga teacher. She suggested that deep yoga breathing be added to the laughter workout routine. They realized this was an excellent combination and called the method they’d developed “Laughter Yoga.” This term signifies that it is more than laughter—it is an exercise form we ought to take seriously.
What started as one happy club in 1995 has literally exploded in just a few years! Laughter clubs are now in over 60 countries, including the USA, and the joy keeps growing.
How Laughter Yoga Works
The basic premise of Laughter Yoga is that anyone can laugh! We don’t need jokes, or comedy, or even a sense of humor, just the desire to laugh, to open up our hearts and let the joy and laughter flow. Laughter Yoga combines laughter exercises with deep breathing, stretching, and relaxation. When it is practiced in a group, it becomes absolutely contagious. Not only do people laugh, but they joyfully connect with one another and cultivate their own childlike playfulness.
As the old saying goes, laughter is the best medicine. It is fun and has been proven to reduce stress and bring a host of other health benefits. Laughter Yoga can also increase creativity, physical vitality and improve your sense of well being. How exciting is that? Just from laughing!
Calling all Kids & Kids at Heart!
Join Laughing Laura and her laughter friends in this fun, easy-to-follow Laughter Yoga workout on DVD! Laugh your way through dozens of delightful laughter exercises and deep breathing techniques to help make you healthier and happier while you sing and dance along with toe-tapping laughter songs. The more laughter friends, the better, so invite your family and friends to join you in the laughter fun! To purchase Laughter Friends for $14.95 plus shipping, click the Paypal button below (USA and Canada orders only, international orders can be placed at the official Laughter Friends Web site).
About Laughter Clubs
Laughter clubs are independent, non-political, non-religious and non-competitive community-based associations of diverse people where all are welcome regardless of gender, age, physical abilities, social or economic backgrounds. Many laughter clubs are not-for-profit. Some clubs ask for a small donation, but for many it's a way many give back to their communities.
Laughter clubs come together regularly to practice Laughter Yoga. They laugh, play and breathe together. This helps create a strong, yet calm nervous system. It purifies the mind and brings mental health and happiness. In 1995, there was just one laughter club in Mumbai, India. Today, laughter clubs are all over the world! There are well over 6,000 clubs.
Here in Iowa, laughter clubs are just beginning to catch on. The Lansing Laughter Club meets each week at Our Savior's Lutheran Church Lansing, Iowa. As more laughter clubs are established in Iowa, they'll be listed here. To report an Iowa laughter club, e-mail the laughing webmaster.
Laughter clubs come together regularly to practice Laughter Yoga. They laugh, play and breathe together. This helps create a strong, yet calm nervous system. It purifies the mind and brings mental health and happiness. In 1995, there was just one laughter club in Mumbai, India. Today, laughter clubs are all over the world! There are well over 6,000 clubs.Here in Iowa, laughter clubs are just beginning to catch on. The Lansing Laughter Club meets each week at Our Savior's Lutheran Church Lansing, Iowa. As more laughter clubs are established in Iowa, they'll be listed here. To report an Iowa laughter club, e-mail the laughing webmaster.
Benefits of Laughter Yoga
Practicing Laughter Yoga brings a host of health benefits, both physical and emotional. Research is currently being conducted to discover even more about how laughter heals us. For now, this is what we know Laughter Yoga does:
• Improves overall sense of well being
• Improves overall sense of well being• Boosts happiness
• Strengthens and balances the immune system
• Releases endorphins to naturally relieve pain
• Decreases the level of stress hormone cortical
• Lowers blood pressure
• Nurtures creativity
• Reduces risk of heart disease
• Floods the body with the "happy hormone" serotonin
• Helps manage and overcome depression
• Deepens inner peace
• Breaks social isolation and fosters new friendships
• Develops self-confidence
• Alleviates the discomfort of specific physical challenges
• Cultivates your childlike playfulness for a happier you
• Strengthens and balances the immune system
• Releases endorphins to naturally relieve pain
• Decreases the level of stress hormone cortical
• Lowers blood pressure
• Nurtures creativity
• Reduces risk of heart disease
• Floods the body with the "happy hormone" serotonin
• Helps manage and overcome depression
• Deepens inner peace
• Breaks social isolation and fosters new friendships
• Develops self-confidence
• Alleviates the discomfort of specific physical challenges
• Cultivates your childlike playfulness for a happier you
Connection between Yoga and Laughter Yoga
Yoga
means union—union between the left and right brain, the masculine and
the feminine, the mind and the body. Yoga seeks to create balance and
harmony in all aspect of human life. Laugher Yoga shares that same goal.
Laughter puts us intensely in the moment. The ability to fully live and experience the “now” is of utmost importance because it is the only moment where we can experience happiness. Being in the now frees us from the regrets of the past and the anxieties of the future and enables us to enjoy simply being.
Yoga teaches that the mind and body mirror one another, and that breathing is the link between the two. In Laughter Yoga, laughter is used as a form of breath work—an excuse to breathe deeper into the abdomen—all while having fun. It gently expands the lung capacity by increasing abdominal breathing. It effectively flushes the 2/3 of "stale air" that most people unknowingly keep inside. Repeated practice teaches us to become more and more consciously aware of our own breathing pattern, bringing us into the fearless, trusting and loving here and now.
Awareness is the first step to improvement. Mastery of the breath—in due time—is effectively mastery of the mind, and the body.
Laughter puts us intensely in the moment. The ability to fully live and experience the “now” is of utmost importance because it is the only moment where we can experience happiness. Being in the now frees us from the regrets of the past and the anxieties of the future and enables us to enjoy simply being.
Yoga teaches that the mind and body mirror one another, and that breathing is the link between the two. In Laughter Yoga, laughter is used as a form of breath work—an excuse to breathe deeper into the abdomen—all while having fun. It gently expands the lung capacity by increasing abdominal breathing. It effectively flushes the 2/3 of "stale air" that most people unknowingly keep inside. Repeated practice teaches us to become more and more consciously aware of our own breathing pattern, bringing us into the fearless, trusting and loving here and now.
Awareness is the first step to improvement. Mastery of the breath—in due time—is effectively mastery of the mind, and the body.
About the Director
Laura Gentry, Director of the Iowa School of Laughter Yoga, is passionate about laughter! During her college years, she was healed of an ulcer by laughing with friends. At that point, she made a life decision to be a laughter. So when she heard about the worldwide laughter movement, she knew it was something with which she had to get involved.
In 2006, Laura flew to California to study with Sebastien Gendry at the American School of Laughter Yoga. Revved up with laughter, she returned and started Iowa's first laughter club in Lansing. The club was an immediate success and drew national media attention. This sparked her interest in becoming a Laughter Yoga teacher.
Laura, then, studied with Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of Laughter Yoga. As a certified Laughter Yoga teacher, she founded Iowa's School of Laughter Yoga. She has trained over 60 Laughter Yoga leaders and has been on a laughter speaking circuit, offering levity to medical conventions, church gatherings, support groups, wellness events and more. She has written a number of articles and a chapter for an upcoming book on Laughter Yoga edited by Jeffrey Briar. She produced a Laughter Yoga film for children, a Laughter Yoga workout CD for commuters and is working on an album of laughter songs. Dr. Kataria will be awarding Laura the title of "Laughter Ambassador" in September for her creative contributions to world laughter. Best of all, Laura's joy has grown enormously as a result of her Laughter Yoga practice! She is, therefore, zealous to spread the laughter movement here in the Midwest.
In 2006, Laura flew to California to study with Sebastien Gendry at the American School of Laughter Yoga. Revved up with laughter, she returned and started Iowa's first laughter club in Lansing. The club was an immediate success and drew national media attention. This sparked her interest in becoming a Laughter Yoga teacher.
Laura, then, studied with Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of Laughter Yoga. As a certified Laughter Yoga teacher, she founded Iowa's School of Laughter Yoga. She has trained over 60 Laughter Yoga leaders and has been on a laughter speaking circuit, offering levity to medical conventions, church gatherings, support groups, wellness events and more. She has written a number of articles and a chapter for an upcoming book on Laughter Yoga edited by Jeffrey Briar. She produced a Laughter Yoga film for children, a Laughter Yoga workout CD for commuters and is working on an album of laughter songs. Dr. Kataria will be awarding Laura the title of "Laughter Ambassador" in September for her creative contributions to world laughter. Best of all, Laura's joy has grown enormously as a result of her Laughter Yoga practice! She is, therefore, zealous to spread the laughter movement here in the Midwest.
"At the height of laughter the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of possibilities."
~ Jean Houston
In the video clip above, Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of laughter yoga, discusses Laura Gentry's
groundbreaking work to introduce laughter yoga in church.