Open Heart Laughter
Laughter Therapy: Laugh Yourself Well
with Pamela Venus, Laughologist
Certified Laughter Yoga Instructor
What is Laughter Yoga?
Laughter Yoga also known as Haysa Yoga is a body/mind practice that incorporates deep breathing, gentle stretching and laughter exercises. It is fun, easy and everyone can do it. Laughter Yoga is a path to joy and wellbeing.
In traditional exercise, you exercise the muscles of the body. In Laughter Yoga, you are exercising your muscles (especially your laughter muscles) and your internal organs. Laughter Yoga takes you into the right side of the brain--the area of creativity and imagination. You "lose your mind" (left brain thinking) temporarily to widen your perspective and resources (creative thinking, problem solving, etc.) It is a workout for the mind, body and spirit. As with all exercise programs--please check with your doctor before beginning.
Incorporated into the practice are yogic deep breathing and stretching. The word Yoga means union. The personal goal of laughter yoga is to unite and bring into balance the mind, body and spirit. Also, to create balance in the connection you have with others, your environment, etc. The universal goal of laughter yoga is to create world peace--one laffer at a time! The way to create peace is to cultivate it first within yourself. This will affect how you see and interact with all around you. You will act from an open heart, filled with joy and love.
We see the world not as it is, but as we are. Be the wave.
Be the change you want to see in the world. ~Ghandi
The History of Laughter Yoga In 1995, Dr. Madan Kataria and his wife, Madhuri Kataria, developed the technique of Laughter Yoga. Dr. Kataria came up with the idea of Laughter Yoga Clubs after writing an article on the health benefits of laughter The next day, he started his first Laughter Yoga Club in Mumbai, India with four members. Initially, jokes were used to elicit laughter. Within several days, the jokes began to be at the expense of others and two group members became offended. Dr. Kataria went back to the laughter research and discovered that you can laugh for no reason and simulated laughter will give all the same benefits to the body, mind and spirit as spontaneous laughter. He developed the laughter exercises and his wife Madhuri, a yoga instructor, suggested including deep breathing and stretching to make them even more effective. The rest is laughter history! Now there are over 6,000 Laughter Yoga Clubs worldwide in 60 different countries. “I am so excited to find laughter yoga—a process that is so effective, so immediate and creates more joy for myself and others! This is an easy, fun and powerful technique that shifts mood and energy and supports emotional and physical health. Laughter Yoga is my passion! I love what works—and this works!” Laughter is the difference between life as comedy or tragedy. ~Pamela Venus “I ordered all the training materials and started a Laughter Club right away. I registered for the Certified Laughter Yoga Leader Training with Jeffrey Briar and it was an incredible experience. I want to continue to share the healing laughter and joy with others.” One of our greatest gifts...is the ability to heal through laughter. ~Soleil Moon Frye Pamela Venus Med, LSW is also a Master’s level therapist with 19 years experience providing individual and couples therapy (working under supervision) utilizing a holistic approach to facilitate awareness and self transformation for many life issues/challenges as well as several forms of energy work. Breathe~Laugh~Love
Photo by LY Institute
Pamela Venus, Laughologist
Pamela Venus, Med, LSW is a Certified Laughter Yoga Leader through Dr. Kataria’s School of Laughter Yoga (trained with Jeffrey Briar). Pamela Venus is the Laughologist and creator of the Open Heart Laughter, Laughter Therapy Program.
“My father-in-law, Amos Campbell (aka Jupie), tried a Laughter Club a while ago when in Florida and loved it! He kept urging me to do it. When I came across the You Tube videos of Laughter Yoga I was immediately drawn in by the joy and positive energy. I began using it myself and experienced fantastic results: release of stored emotion, reduction of stress, raising of mood and energy and increased ability to laugh--including at life’s stressors.”
For more information contact:
Pamela Venus
pvenus@openheartlaughter.com
(216) 221-3137
