Category: योग-साधना/Yoga

Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

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

☆ Department of Happiness, Government of Madhya Pradesh, India☆

Madhya Pradesh has become the first state in India to get a ‘Happiness Department’ (‘Anand Vibhaag’ in Hindi) within the state government apparatus, according to a report in the Times of India. The objective of the department is to measure prosperity by gauging citizens’ happiness quotient and not the gross domestic product.

Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the former chief minister of the state, has penned his thoughts by way of a blog on this occasion. He says, “I often wonder why despite unprecedented growth in material prosperity and means of comfort, happiness continues to elude and what explains the ever growing intolerance, violence despair and depression.”

The concept of happiness that the government aspires to pursue in Madhya Pradesh, as per the Former Chief Minister, will primarily be based on time tested India wisdom.Former

He realizes that the government apparatus has its own strength and limitations. And, rightly goes on to say, “using it for spreading joy in society has its own challenges”.

The initiative to bring cheers to the life of common man is welcome and deserves kudos. Madhya Pradesh can now claim to be in the same league as Bhutan, Venezuela and the UAE.

As the outline of the department of happiness is being formulated, I have a few humble points to make.

Yoga and Meditation, no doubt, are vital pillars of happiness and peace. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Psychologist, in his well-known classic work on happiness, Flow, agrees, “The similarities between Yoga and flow are extremely strong; in fact it makes sense to think of Yoga as a very thoroughly planned flow activity. Both try to achieve a joyous, self-forgetful involvement through concentration, which in turn is made possible by a discipline of the body.”

A gargantuan work has been done in the field of ‘Happiness and Well-Being’ after Martin Seligman, in 1998, as president of the American Psychological Association, urged “psychology to supplement its venerable goal with a new goal: exploring what makes life worth living and building the enabling conditions of a life worth living”.

Positive Psychology should be a strong pillar of any modern day happiness programme anywhere in the world.

Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The field is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.

Likewise, positive education and positive health merit mention.

Positive education is defined as education for both traditional skills and for happiness. The high prevalence worldwide of depression among young people, the small rise in life satisfaction, and the synergy between learning and positive emotion all argue that the skills for happiness should be taught in school. There is substantial evidence from well controlled studies that skills that increase resilience, positive emotion, engagement and meaning can be taught to school children.

The field of medicine has long focused on the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of disease. But health is more than the mere absence of disease. The emerging concept of Positive Health takes an innovative approach to health and well-being that focuses on promoting people’s positive health assets, which might include biological factors, such as high heart rate variability; subjective factors, such as optimism; and functional factors, such as a stable marriage—strengths that can contribute to a healthier, longer life.

Last, but not the least, Laughter Yoga, one of the most effective tools for creating instant joy, should be an integral part of any happiness curriculum.

Laughter Yoga is a combination of laughter exercises and yogic breathing that strengthens our immune system and generates feel good hormones in the body. Laughter is triggered with the help of exercises which soon turns into real and contagious laughter with eye contact and childlike playfulness. It is a simple yet profound method of busting physical, mental and emotional stress in one go.

I am citizen of this state and offer myself, with all humility, as a volunteer consultant, happiness and well-being. Shall be happy to offer my services to the state without any expectation and reward.

Wishing the Happiness Department in Madhya Pradesh all the happiness and a grand success!

Jagat Singh Bisht

Founder: LifeSkills

Seminars, Workshops & Retreats on Happiness, Laughter Yoga & Positive Psychology.
Speak to us on +91 73899 38255
[email protected]

Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

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

☆ Happiness and Well-Being☆

Each one of us seeks happiness.

Happiness and well-being is not a thing. The modern science of happiness and well-being describes it as a ‘construct’.

For example, ‘weather’ is a construct. Ask any meteorologist, and he will tell you: weather is not a thing, it is a construct – a construct of temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and a host of other factors.

The elements of well-being include positive emotion, engagement or flow, positive relationships, meaning and accomplishment.

A couple of additional features from out of self-esteem, optimism, resilience, vitality and self-determination are required to really flourish.

This means you have to dig a bit deeper to understand fully what is happiness and well-being. It’s not as simplistic as saying: happiness is within us.

Happiness does not come to you on its own. You have to act in order to achieve it.

The good news is that we can learn to enhance our levels of happiness and well-being.

Please stay tuned as we unfold more and more on the subject.

Jagat Singh Bisht

Founder: LifeSkills

Seminars, Workshops & Retreats on Happiness, Laughter Yoga & Positive Psychology.
Speak to us on +91 73899 38255
[email protected]

Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

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

☆ Life Skills Worth Learning ☆

I share with you some skills that will make your life happier, fulfilling and meaningful:

Laughter Yoga is a unique concept where you can laugh for no reason. It combines laughter exercises with yogic breathing. When we laugh, our body generates feel good hormones called endorphins which improve our mood and general outlook. During laughter exercises, all the stale air inside the lungs is expelled and our system gets more oxygen which enhances the immune system. In the long run, the inner spirit of laughter helps you build more caring and sharing social relationships, and laugh even when the going in not good.

Surya Namaskara is a well-known and vital technique within the yogic repertoire. It is almost a complete sadhana in itself, containing asana, pranayama and meditational techniques within the main structure of the practice. Surya namaskara is more than just a series of physical exercises. Of course, it stretches, massages, tones and stimulates all the muscles, vital organs and physical parts by alternatively flexing the body backwards and forwards, but it also has the depth and completeness of a spiritual practice.

Yoga Nidra is a powerful technique in which you learn to relax consciously. It is a systematic method of inducing complete physical, mental and emotional relaxation. During the practice of yoga nidra, one appears to be asleep, but the consciousness is functioning at a deeper level of awareness. The total systematic relaxation of a yoga nidra session is equivalent to hours of ordinary sleep without awareness. A single hour of yoga nidra is as restful as four hours of conventional sleep.

Meditation is something that most people have heard about, few have any true conception about and even fewer have actually experienced. Like all other subjective experiences, it cannot really be described in words. Meditation implies relaxation, both physical and mental, at a level which few of us experience even during sleep. It is a most powerful way of controlling physiological processes and also of controlling physiological reactions to psychological events. One of the most profound changes that takes place in the body during meditation is the slowing down of the metabolism, the rate of breaking down and building up the body, for there is a sharp reduction in oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide output.

Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The field is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.Top of Form Positive Psychology takes seriously the bright hope that if you find yourself stuck in the parking lot of life, with few and only ephemeral pleasures, with minimal gratifications, and without meaning, there is a road out. This road takes you through the countryside of pleasure and gratification, up into the high country of strength and virtue, and finally to the peaks of lasting fulfillment: meaning and purpose.

(Experiential life skills workshops commence in January 2016 at Indore, India. Contact: [email protected] +917389938255)

Compiled by Jagat Singh Bisht, with due acknowledgement and immense gratitude to Dr Madan Kataria, Swami Satyananda Saraswati and Dr Martin E.P. Seligman.

Jagat Singh Bisht

Founder: LifeSkills

Seminars, Workshops & Retreats on Happiness, Laughter Yoga & Positive Psychology.
Speak to us on +91 73899 38255
[email protected]

Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

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

☆  Every house could be a temple of Love, Laughter and Happiness!! ☆

EVERY HOUSE COULD BE A TEMPLE OF LOVE, LAUGHTER AND HAPPINESS!!

Do you wish to transform your house into a Temple of Love, Laughter and Happiness? Would you be happy if your friends visited your place to bless it with love, laughter and happiness?

A vibrant bunch of ladies, members of Suniket Ladies’ Yoga & Laughter Yoga Club, Indore get together for regular yoga and laughter yoga sessions during weekdays. And, every Saturday evening they gather at a member’s residence for new fun games, pure joy and fellowship.

Their team leader, Radhika Bisht, Laughter Yoga Master Trainer, has a rich experience of Ladies’ Laughter Kitty, “We took this initiative to come closer to each other, have warmer relationships and bless each other’s house with positive vibes.

• We do a quick, short session of Laughter Yoga with some breathing and Pranayama and Laughter Meditation in sitting position.
• Fun games are loved the most and ladies are eager every week, looking forward to a new, exciting fun activity. We have a rich repertoire of fun games.
• The warmth and relationships generated by getting together is coveted and treasured by all. Ladies come together for the love and sense of belonging that we feel in the cozy atmosphere of a laughter kitty at a friend’s place. This needs a lot of sincere efforts to cultivate and build over time.
• As a ritual, the house where we assemble is explicitly blessed with abundant showers of laughter, happiness and prosperity, which the host values and carries fond memories for a long, long time.
• There are many other things like no fatty/ oily snacks, just a cup of tea and biscuits. No gossips, back-biting or political discussions. No collection of money as is done in the traditional kitty parties.
• The host is free to call her friends and relatives to the kitty, thus introducing them to the unique concept of Laughter Yoga.
• Last, but not the least, we start with a round of Tambola which begins dot on the appointed hour so that no lady dares to come late, haha.
• We would do our best to propagate this model of health, happiness and joy for the ladies’ world over.”

Jagat Singh Bisht

Founder: LifeSkills

Seminars, Workshops & Retreats on Happiness, Laughter Yoga & Positive Psychology.
Speak to us on +91 73899 38255
[email protected]

Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

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

☆  Can Humor Cure Tumor? ☆

Five years ago, Desmond Nicholas, a brave cancer survivor based in Melbourne, visited Indore and stayed with us. I have very fond memories of Des. He was a rather quiet person for an Australian but had a keen sense for humour, sports and politics. We went out for long walks in the evening and talked all of these three topics.

He had undergone the pain of chemotherapy twice. When colon cancer was detected for the third time, he didn’t want to take it anymore.

One of his acquaintances told him about Laughter Yogaand its benefits. He found the concept amusing but went ahead to give it a try. He joined a laughter club there and took private sessions with the laughter leader.

Des was a basketball player in his younger days. He told me that he eventually started enjoying laughter exercises like the game of basketball and continued with it for hours together.

After a few months he went for a check-up. The doctor looked up to him and asked where he had got himself treated as there was no trace left in the report. Des mimicked, with a wink, the expression he had seen on the doctor’s face when he told him that he had tried laughter yoga. We had a good laugh!

Des shared his story in a blog which I am reproducing in toto for the benefit of the readers:

“Greatly inspired by Laughter Yoga Clubs, I started to laugh all by myself every day after meditation. The laughter exercises include chants of Ho Ho, Ha Ha and deep breathing. I also do these exercises even while walking. I allow myself to be spontaneous and childlike and make funny movements. I even sing some positive affirmations like: I am happy tee hee hee; I am healthy tee hee hee; I am strong tee hee hee..

“Regular practice of laughing alone has had a tremendous effect on my health condition. Though suffering from a tumor for some time, I can feel it getting smaller. Even my specialist was amazed when he realized it had shrunk remarkably. He cancelled the radiotherapy and said, ‘I am happy to keep an eye on it for now. I really believe that its laughter, meditation and positive affirmations that have worked so wonderfully together.’

“I also think laughter is anti-ageing. Though I’m 60, I feel very energetic, there is less pain and I can easily do a lot of things. People remark that I look much better and younger!”

Yes, Des, I agree, you are sweet-sixty, yet as mischievous as a sweet-sixteen!

Des’ story also supports Dr Otto Warburg’s finding: ‘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.’ Warburg, President, Institute of Cell Physiology, is the only person to ever win the Noble Prize for Medicine twice and was nominated for a third.

In his book ‘Laugh for No Reason’, Dr Madan Kataria, the founder of Laughter Clubs Movement has rightly said that 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 medication.

In the past, inspired by the research on laughter, many cancer patients tried to use humor in order to laugh away their tumor. But, it is not easy to laugh when someone has a disease like cancer.

This is where Laughter Yoga has an advantage. Since it is a physical method, it is ideally suited for cancer groups who can practice laughter as a form of exercise with no need of any humorous intervention. It may not cure the disease but definitely help in enhancing one’s ability to cope with and maintain a positive attitude.

(The blogger is a Laughter Yoga Master Trainer and expresses his willingness to conduct laughter yoga and meditation sessions for the benefit of cancer patients.)

Jagat Singh Bisht

Founder: LifeSkills

Seminars, Workshops & Retreats on Happiness, Laughter Yoga & Positive Psychology.
Speak to us on +91 73899 38255
[email protected]

Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

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

☆ Relax & Recharge in 10 minutes ☆

YOGA NIDRA IN SITTING POSTURE

If you remain busy during the day, and feel fatigued any time, this, very short, guided relaxation is especially designed for you.
Sit comfortably for a while and just follow the instructions. You will feel relaxed and recharged in less than ten minutes. Give it a try!

YOGA NIDRA IN A SITTING POSTURE

If you remain busy during the day, and feel fatigued any time, this, very short, guided relaxation is especially designed for you.

Sit comfortably for a while and just follow the instructions. You will feel relaxed and recharged in less than ten minutes. Give it a try!

YouTube link: ⇓⇓⇓⇓

Usually the practice is done while lying down. This short version is especially designed for those who want to relax and recharge in a sitting posture at their workplace, airport or park in the quickest possible time during the course of their busy day.

Yoga nidra, in it’s present form, is a beautiful gift to humanity by Swami Satyananda Saraswati who founded the Bihar School of Yoga.

Jagat Singh Bisht

Founder: LifeSkills

Seminars, Workshops & Retreats on Happiness, Laughter Yoga & Positive Psychology.
Speak to us on +91 73899 38255
[email protected]

Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

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

☆ I Teach Happiness ☆

my quest for happiness has been fun..

i read Confucius, Buddha, and Aristotle..

savoured chocolate, wine and good company..

was a laughter professor for some time..

dug deep into behavioural science to discover myself..

had a long lasting affair with Positive Psychology, Seligman, Csikszentmihalyi and Lyubomirsky..

tried learning a few trade secrets from the happy monks Matthieu Ricard and Dalai Lama..

did research on yoga nidra and discovered the wonder world of Swami Satyananda Saraswati..

all these streams continue to trickle in the background..

i continue to learn, but it’s high time now to give back..

i, therefore, teach happiness..

Jagat Singh Bisht

Founder: LifeSkills

Seminars, Workshops & Retreats on Happiness, Laughter Yoga & Positive Psychology.
Speak to us on +91 73899 38255
[email protected]

Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

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

☆ State Bank of India Grooms Its Staff With A Dash of Laughter ☆

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

Retd. AGM and Faculty, State Bank Foundation Institute (Chetana), Indore

Jagat Singh Bisht

Founder: LifeSkills

Seminars, Workshops & Retreats on Happiness, Laughter Yoga & Positive Psychology.
Speak to us on +91 73899 38255
[email protected]

Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

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

☆ Laughter Goes Skin Deep ☆

About three years ago, we had gone to make a small presentation on Laughter Yoga at Viscus Infotech – an IT company based inIndore. The CEO of the company felt that Laughter Yoga would be helpful in enhancing the creativity of the software professionals by relaxing their minds and activating the right brain. The session was well appreciated and later on the young CEO himself conducted laughter sessions for his staff. Such actions make the workplace vibrant and full of positive vibes.

After the session, a young lady Ranu came up to my wife Radhika and said that she had liked the session and wanted her husband to also experience it. We invited them to our Suniket Laughter Club which meets on Sunday mornings. Though the park was far and it was difficult to get up early during winter, they braved the cold and came all the way to laugh with us. We knew it was not practical for them to continue this for long and sure enough after some weeks, they stopped coming. A couple of years passed by but they could not forget the chants of “Very Good, Very Good, Yay” and laughter reverberated in their minds in moments of solitude.

What happens is that over a period of time, laughter which starts as a simple exercise routine, penetrates skin deep and changes our outlook towards life. We become more loving, caring and sharing.

It seems Ranu had not taken off Laughter Yoga from her mind at any point of time. It was only due to her household and professional engagements that she had to keep away but the laughter stream was always trickling inside her.

We were more than pleasantly surprised when we received this video clip from her on World Laughter Day (WLD):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0ZAArH9Y_k

It is undoubtedly the sweetest greeting we got in many years on WLD. It touched our hearts to the core! We could sense the deep feelings that must have percolated in her heart and soul before she started playing with the child. To me, this singing, dancing, playing and laughing with your child and imparting a happy attitude towards life is the ultimateParadise!

Jagat Singh Bisht

Founder: LifeSkills

Seminars, Workshops & Retreats on Happiness, Laughter Yoga & Positive Psychology.
Speak to us on +91 73899 38255
[email protected]