Category: योग-साधना/Yoga

Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

(Master Teacher: Happiness & Well-Being, Laughter Yoga Master Trainer,  Author, Blogger, Educator and Speaker.)

☆ Laughter is a Universal Language☆

Laughter is a universal language. It knows no barriers.

This was proved when we conducted a two-day laughter yoga and meditation programme for a small group fromUzbekistan. The group included a child psychology teacher, fitness trainer for seniors, tour conductor, and yoga trainer.

During the first day, we focused on the four steps of laughter yoga – clapping and chanting, deep breathing, childlike playfulness and laughter exercises. After the exercises, seventy-three year old Viktorina said, “I feel light, very light. I am ready to fly in the sky like a bird!”

Sixty-six year old Valentina found great value in the inner spirit of laughter and the health benefits of laughter for the seniors. She is a fitness trainer for the old people inTashkentand would be adding laughter exercises to her repertoire when she goes back.

On the second day, the participants experienced laughter yoga meditation. Laughter flowed like a fountain. Their bodies and laughter mingled like milk and water. Zulfiya described it as an out-of-the-world experience.

They also created a number of new laughter exercises – splash splash laughter, soap bubble laughter and angry cat laughter. The chants of “Kharasho, Kharasho, Yay!!” (Very Good, Very Good, Yay!!) reverberated in the surroundings, creating positive vibes all around.

Marina, as a child psychologist, could sense the latent potential in laughter yoga for developing soft skills in children like communication skills and creativity. She loved the value based laughter exercises like appreciation laughter, argument laughter and forgiveness laughter, and found them specially valuable for the children.

Angelika, who has done the certified laughter yoga leader training with us twice at Rishikesh, expressed her gratitude for the life changing experience. She teaches laughter yoga back home inTashkentand is happy transforming many lives there.

Our special thanks to Ivan Skofenko for doing all the ground work for bringing three groups from Tashkent to Rishkesh during the last two years and helping us as an interpreter and translator of the highest caliber. He is a trained yoga teacher and has undergone certified laughter yoga leader training with us on three occasions. We appreciate Ivan’s sincere devotion to the cause and the good work he is doing in propagating yoga and laughter yoga inUzbekistan,KazakhstanandKyrgyzstan.

When the participants learned that Radhika conducts free yoga classes on a daily basis atIndore,Indiaand a number of ladies have benefitted from them, they requested her to impart lessons in traditional yoga also. She readily agreed to their request. They will be cherishing memories of the yoga sessions early in the morning in the serene surroundings of Rishikesh – the world capital of yoga – for a long, long time!

 

Radhika & Jagat Singh Bisht

Founder: LifeSkills

Seminars, Workshops & Retreats on Happiness, Laughter Yoga & Positive Psychology.
Speak to us on +91 73899 38255
lifeskills.happiness@gmail.com

Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

(Master Teacher: Happiness & Well-Being, Laughter Yoga Master Trainer, Author, Blogger, Educator and Speaker.)

☆ The Five Elements of Well-Being☆

Twenty-three hundred years ago, Aristotle concluded, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”

Everyone aspires for happiness but it remains ever elusive. After years of research, the positive psychologists claim to have discovered the elements of authentic happiness and well-being.

The first element is Positive Emotion about the past, present and future. Expressing gratitude, forgiving and forgetting, counting blessings in daily life, having faith, trust, confidence and hope, and being optimistic are some ways to generate positive feelings.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi discovered that happiness is not something that happens. It is, in fact, a condition that must be prepared for, cultivated, and defended privately by each person. He says, “People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any one of us can come to being happy.”

The second element of well-being is Engagement or Flow: being one with music, dancing, rock climbing, football, chess, or even work. It’s time stopping and self-consciousness is lost during absorbing activity. During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity and a total involvement with life.

Viktor Frankl, in his book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’, says that happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a course greater than oneself.

Meaning is the third element of well-being. Human beings want meaning and purpose in life. A meaningful life consists in belonging to and serving something that you believe is bigger than the self.

John Stuart Mill feels, “It is by being fully involved in every detail of our lives, whether good or bad, that we find happiness, not by looking for it directly.”

People pursue success, accomplishment, winning, achievement, and mastery for their own sakes. The fourth element of well-being is Accomplishment and an achieving life is a life dedicated to accomplishment.

There is no denying the profound influences that positive relationships or their absence have on well-being. Positive Relationships is the fifth element of well-being.

Is there someone in your life whom you would feel comfortable phoning at four in the morning to tell your troubles to? If your answer is yes, you will likely live longer than someone whose answer is no. George Vaillant, a Harvard Psychiatrist has discovered this fact.

Martin Seligman, in his new book ‘Flourish’, says that well-being is not a thing, like happiness, but a construct. No one element defines well-being, but each contributes to it. The way we choose our life is to maximise all five of these elements by deploying our highest strengths to meet the highest challenges that come our way.

Founder: LifeSkills

Seminars, Workshops & Retreats on Happiness, Laughter Yoga & Positive Psychology.
Speak to us on +91 73899 38255
lifeskills.happiness@gmail.com

Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

(Master Teacher: Happiness & Well-Being, Laughter Yoga Master Trainer, Author, Blogger, Educator and Speaker.)

☆ Tashkent to Rishikesh for Laughter Yoga ☆

A small group of laughter lovers – including a young fashion designer, a scientist, an engineer, a doctor, a psychologist, a teacher and two yoga teachers – flew down from Tashkent to Rishikesh, known as the world capital of yoga, to learn the basics of Laughter Yoga. All of them had a background of yoga but had come to India with an eagerness to master the happiest workout in the world – Laughter Yoga.

We conducted a 2-day certified laughter yoga leader training programme for them covering theoretical and practical aspects of Laughter Yoga including the inner spirit of laughter, laughter meditation and guided relaxation.

The programme was well appreciated by all the participants. Here are some of the feedbacks received from some of them:

“In my normal life, I do not laugh much. Here, I discovered that I have so much laughter hidden inside me. Everyone seems to have an infinite capacity to laugh. And, it feels so good. My daughter is also here with me. Now, we will go back home and it is going to be a happy, cheerful place forever!”

“I am a psychologist and have found the concept of Laughter Yoga to be very useful. Laughter can be a good tool for healing. I shall be applying in practice what I have learned here.”

“I have found a new way to engage with my grand children. We are going to sing, dance, laugh and play the whole day. The kids are going to find the fun based laughter exercises really interesting.”

“I am a yoga teacher and have included Laughter Yoga in my curriculum after I came to Rishikesh a few months ago and learned it from you. I have come along with one of my students and we have got deep insights into laughter and meditation. Laughter has enormous potential for healing depression and aches. “

“I also came here in April 2013 to undergo Certified Laughter Yoga Leader training. After going back to my country, I organized several laughter retreats in the mountains on the weekends. The retreats have got fantastic response as laughter touches the innermost core of being. I have also been to two neighbouring countries, namely Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and made presentations on Laughter Yoga before large groups. I propose to come back here for Laughter Yoga soon with a group from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.”

This was the second certified laughter yoga leader training organized in Rishikesh for nationals from Uzbekistan this year by us and three participants had come for the second time again in the programme due to their sheer love for Laughter Yoga.

Dr Madan Kataria, the founder of Laughter Yoga, who had visited Kazakhstan recently, extends best wishes to all the new certified laughter yoga leaders and appreciates the efforts made by Ivan Skofenko, Tashkent for propagating Laughter Yoga in Uzbekistan and the neighbouring countries.

Founder: LifeSkills

Seminars, Workshops & Retreats on Happiness, Laughter Yoga & Positive Psychology.
Speak to us on +91 73899 38255
lifeskills.happiness@gmail.com

Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

(Master Teacher: Happiness & Well-Being, Laughter Yoga Master Trainer, Author, Blogger, Educator and Speaker.)

☆ Laughter Yoga at the World’s Yoga Capital ☆

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. I 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.

 

Founder: LifeSkills

Seminars, Workshops & Retreats on Happiness, Laughter Yoga & Positive Psychology.
Speak to us on +91 73899 38255
lifeskills.happiness@gmail.com

Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

(Master Teacher: Happiness & Well-Being, Laughter Yoga Master Trainer, Author, Blogger, Educator and Speaker.)

☆ Laughter Yoga – A Tool For Personality Development Of Children ☆

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!

Founder: LifeSkills

Seminars, Workshops & Retreats on Happiness, Laughter Yoga & Positive Psychology.
Speak to us on +91 73899 38255
lifeskills.happiness@gmail.com