English Literature – Article ☆ Mission HAPPINESS – My Idyllic Life – My Laughter Yoga Journey-3 ☆ Mr. Jagat Singh Bisht ☆

Excerpts from – Mission HAPPINESS 

MY LAUGHTER YOGA JOURNEY-3

(e-abhivyakti presents chapter MY LAUGHTER YOGA JOURNEY in three parts.)

We could sense the deep feelings that must have percolated in her heart and soul, before she started playing with her child. This singing, dancing, playing, and laughing with a child and imparting a happy attitude towards life is the ultimate paradise.

A long time has elapsed since then. Ranu has founded My Sanika – cancer care society and is the president at global women network.

Kabeer, affectionately known as Tiesto, is now a well-known model. He was the youngest participant of the largest laughter yoga class and received a certificate from the Guinness book of records.

Ranu arranged a fund-raising event for her NGO at the Jaal auditorium and invited me for a presentation on ‘happy@work’ to dispel myths surrounding happiness and create work-life balance.

We conducted a laughter session on world laughter day before a large gathering in the Indori Subah event organized by the Times of India. She invited me to speak at the first meet-up of global women network, Indore chapter, and also arranged several laughter sessions for kids at the Millennium school and other forums.

I took the morning flight from Indore that halted briefly at Mumbai and touched Bengaluru by noon.

Coming out of the arrival gate, I was pleasantly surprised to see Madhuri Kataria, co-founder of laughter yoga, with a bouquet of flowers. We proceeded to the laughter yoga university, about 20 minutes’ drive from the airport.

Dr Madan Kataria, the laughter Guru, whom I adored, warmly welcomed me. Introducing me to his young team, he told them, “Jagat will now be with us.”

Before I could settle down, he said, “We will have lunch now, and then, within an hour, we are leaving for an interesting assignment – laughter yoga with the commandos!”

The centre for counter terrorism was a couple of hours drive from the university.

Over a cup of tea, the trainers there told us, “The commandos are here for training and have a strict routine. They get up at 5 am and go to bed only after 11 pm. The whole day, they have strenuous physical activity as well as theory classes. They feel a lot of stress, fatigue, and are sleep deprived.”

We were taken to an indoor shooting range where 30 commandos were eagerly waiting for us.

Dr Kataria greeted them with laughter and said, “We know that you are going through a very tough routine. You don’t get enough sleep. The physical activities you do the whole day are exhausting. You are away from your loved ones and being combat ready at all times drains away all the energy.”

The commandos felt that here is someone who understands their plight and empathizes with them. They were now willing to listen.

Dr Kataria said, ”We are here to show you ways to relax, build stamina, and be happy!”

We then had an engrossing experience of laughter yoga and meditation for more than an hour. The commandos were all smiles. Fully relaxed!

Each one wanted to shake hands with the laughter doctor. We could feel the gratitude flowing from their eyes. The tough exterior of the commandos had melted and the child within was visible all around.

We too felt blessed and realized that we owe a lot more to them.

On our way back, Dr Kataria exclaimed, “How fulfilling this experience has been! I am feeling really good.”

He continued, “We had conducted a session with the commandos earlier too but this time it was something different. We shall not leave it mid-way now. We shall depute one of our teachers here for as long as they want. He will also train their trainers to conduct laughter exercises.”

He spoke to their superintendent and sent Vinayak to be with them for a couple of days. Vinayak was with them from early morning till late night. Whenever the group energy dropped, he shared some laughter and breathing exercises. The effect was magical.

The trainers told us that the commandos were now more willing to learn, responded cheerfully to their commands, and shared a lot of positive energy as a team. They laughed during breaks, doing their own versions of the laughter exercises.

I enjoyed long walks with Madan Kataria in the mornings and evenings. Our discussions mostly centred around laughter yoga. I could see the dream of laughter yoga university floating in his eyes incessantly. During weekends, we went for movies. He was especially fond of caramel popcorn.

I was more inclined toward the training part and believed in the purity of laughter yoga. My emphasis was on the four steps of laughter yoga. I inspired new teachers to create local laughter clubs and run them regularly. As I had experience in the training system, I experimented with new methods of teaching.

Till that time, laughter ambassador certification was awarded to very senior and experienced laughter leaders and teachers, who had contributed richly to the cause of laughter yoga. I suggested that we must encourage newer leaders and teachers, who are energetic and exhibit a potential to propagate laughter yoga. Dr Kataria saw the point and consented.

During one of the trainings, we planned and completed shooting of a revised version of forty foundation exercises, in Hindi and English.

I have always adored and admired laughter professionals who have been role models and inspired laughter lovers around the world – Jeffrey Briar, Alex Sternick, Robert Rivest, Merv Neal, Lotte Mikkelsen, Tosha Tobias, Duncan Cook, Keyem Thomas, Emma Ferguson, Melanie Rudolph, Rebecca J. Foster, Voet Steven, and Kara Sherman, to name just a handful of them.

I reported at the Delhi prison headquarters and was straightaway driven to the adjoining Tihar Jail – the biggest prison complex in Asia.

We were first taken to jail no. 6, which is a prison meant exclusively for women inmates and under-trials. At the entrance, we were frisked, and our wallets and mobiles deposited.

Being a law-abiding citizen all through my life, I never ever imagined that I would land in a prison someday. It felt a bit awkward stooping and getting in through the small gate that I had only seen in movies.

Within a few minutes, we were before the superintendent and warden of the jail. We were taken to a hall where around 200 lady prisoners were present. They belonged to all ages – young, middle-aged, and old.

Looking at their plight, I felt deep empathy for them and found it difficult to control my tears. But they were full of life and hope. There were no signs of despair in their eyes; at least they pretended to be normal.

At this point, I must disclose the purpose of our visit and tell you who all were with me or, rather, with whom I was there. We were here for a noble purpose – to add a dash of cheer and happiness in the routine life of the prisoners and bring some smile on their faces.

I was in the august company of Madhuri and Madan Kataria, along with Dr Santosh Sahi, who has done commendable service at the prison, and some members of the Delhi laughter club, and my colleagues from the laughter yoga university.

Within minutes, there were echoes of “hoho hahaha” and “very good very good yay!” reverberating within the walls of the prison. We could sense a silent gratitude in the eyes of the inmates for bringing a shower of relief and some respite from the frightening monotony of the closed walls.

Bidding good-bye to them with a heavy heart, we moved to the adjacent prison meant for the adolescents. The boys there were all between 18 and 21 years of age. At first glance, I observed an eerie look in their eyes. I felt sad for them. They should be studying somewhere but suddenly find that their future is quite hazy and uncertain.

This age group, especially with a closed mindset, is sometimes a hard nut to crack. Dr Kataria started with clapping and breathing exercises. Soon, they were laughing like all other kids – the child-like playfulness had re-surfaced, and they were laughing whole heartedly.

I guided them to hearty laughter, age laughter, and lion laughter. The response was immense. Vinayak thrilled them with his favorite banana trick. The prison was brimming with energy and joy. The eerie look in the eyes of the boys had vanished and they appeared like little kids. I could hardly hold my tears!

I must express my deep gratitude to the wonderful staff at the prison, who served us tea, pakoras, and lunch, with so much care and concern, and the senior officers of the jail, who made our visit free of any hassles.

Next morning, we conducted a laughter session before a huge gathering at the Raahgiri event in Rohini, organized by a newspaper group. We also accompanied Dr Sahi, our host, for a session with school kids. During our stay, we visited the vibrant Jalvayu laughter club, trained a large group of laughter leaders, and attended a conference of the Delhi laughter clubs.

Skype laughter club is an online community of laughter lovers from all over the world who connect through laughter. It was created by Anu Saari from Finland and Ines Schwarz from Austria in the year 2009. I soon joined the team of skype laughter club leaders and requested Seva Safyan to join us.

With the addition of new laughter sessions, skype laughter club started gaining popularity. Madhuri and Madan Kataria joined us regularly. We motivated Rajesh and Amaresh to conduct daily sessions from the laughter yoga university.

A session on skype laughter club was made an integral part of all laughter yoga trainings. Every new teacher experienced a skype laughter session during training.

We organized the first ever online laughter yoga marathon. It was a grand success with more than 350 participants from all time zones, including New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, India, Bahrain, Israel, South Africa, Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, UK, Finland, Canada, USA, Brazil, and Ecuador.

The marathon lasted for a little over 24 hours during the weekend, with unrelenting giggles and guffaws floating in the atmosphere all through. It had a large number of first-time laughers on the net, along with Anu Saari and Madan Kataria.

The event was divided into 24 segments of half an hour each, with short breaks and an experienced international crew consisting of Anu, Sean, Seva, Ferris, Jane, Ivo, Linda, Radhika, and I, leading the sessions.

It was a wonderful experience when people, from different time zones, laughed together under a single, global laughter club. Dr Kataria had a different view and encouraged creation of localized skype laughter clubs.

I am happy that I contributed to the growth of skype laughter club when it was needed. With time, new technology has evolved, and we now have online laughter sessions mostly over Zoom.

Radhika and I took an afternoon flight to Bengaluru. The Katarias hosted a dinner for us at their home.

A residence with all the essentials was kept ready for us.

We went for a morning walk with Madan Kataria. After breakfast, we went to the laughter yoga university office, where we met Michi Morioka. She had come from Japan for master trainer’s program.

During the day, we took her to a nearby school for a laughter session with the kids. The school had a colourful classroom, especially for the purpose of laughter yoga. She felt happy with them and taught, “yatta yatta yay!” in Japanese. The kids were delighted. We went to the school regularly and conducted sessions for different groups.

In the evening, we went to a local, all-ladies’ laughter club. The club was years old, and the ladies were well versed with laughter exercises. We enjoyed laughing with them.

Michi is a beautiful soul. She is highly talented, hard working, and a great presenter. We bonded with her very closely. We invited her for dinner often and had long chats.

Laughter lovers from all countries came to the university to be certified as laughter yoga teachers and master trainers. We assisted Dr Kataria in the trainings. Radhika experimented with yogic and aerobic warm-up exercises. I loved conducting laughter meditation sessions in the morning. It was a rich experience interacting with the participants.

We feel especially proud to be associated with the training of Omar Damak, Emma Taylor, Kay Wararuk Sunonethong, Ashok Swahney, Ruchi Phool, Sai Kumar, Ishvinder Teji, Varuna Khullar, and Nikhil Thapar, as they are enthusiastic in spreading laughter yoga.

The first international laughter yoga festival was arranged during that time. We had wonderful participants – Kula Lisboa, Sofia Monteira, Lara Lucaccioni, Letizia Espanoli, Egbert Griebeling, Angela Mecking, Emma Liana Dewi, Andrew Stevens, Lee Jean, Karen Kong, Michi Morioka, and Zoreli Figueroa, among others.

It was August 15, Independence Day. We all gathered at the school, where we conducted laughter yoga sessions regularly. The celebrations included a session of laughter yoga with the kids. From there we proceeded to the school of ancient wisdom for the formal inauguration of laughter festival.

We accompanied Madhuri and Madan Kataria on a tour of the Always Be Cheerful (ABC) laughter clubs of Hyderabad. The club members are full of cheer. We had a big session at the Public Gardens, conducted a session for school children, one for an IT company, and organized a laughter leader training. We had the pleasure of meeting Shirin Didi and Madhav Mhaske, founders of the clubs.

We attended functions of the local clubs in Bengaluru, arranged leader trainings, and conducted a laughter session for the Hewlett Packard (HP) company in the IT Park.

Laughter becomes more meaningful when it is intended not only to make us happy but also to make others smile. This in laughter clubs is known as the inner spirit of laughter.

Laughter clubs are instrumental in bringing about attitudinal changes in people and provide an ideal platform to help people connect through love and laughter.

Laughter yoga goes beyond just the physical and physiological dimension of laughing. It not only fosters a feeling of physical well-being by generating endorphins in the body, but it also enhances the spirit and touches the emotional core. It cultivates positive thinking and promotes understanding.

Many of the laughter exercises focus on forgiveness, appreciation, anger management, gratitude, and helpfulness. Laughter yoga provides an opportunity to the practitioners to actively enhance the life of others.

Those who practice laughter yoga on a regular basis understand that it has the power to change the selfish state of mind to an altruistic state of mind. It has been proven that people who laugh are likely to be more generous and have more empathy than those who do not laugh.

This inner spirit of laughter becomes apparent to the seekers as they develop a state of internal peace – the worries and intense goals that have driven their lives become less important. These people become aware that true happiness comes from giving unconditional love, caring for others, and sharing with each other.

Everyone knows that laughter is the best medicine but how many of us have a good dose of laughter every day?

Mirthful laughter generates feel good hormones and busts stress instantly. To reap the benefits of laughter, one needs to laugh deep from the diaphragm for about twenty minutes daily. It expels all the stale air from the body and rejuvenates our lungs with fresh oxygen.

Laughter yoga is a unique laughter delivery system that enables us to laugh for no reason, without the use of jokes, comedy, or humour, even when the going is not good.

We begin laughter with the aid of laughter exercises that turns infectious through eye contact and childlike playfulness of the participants in the group. The practice of laughter yoga may seem frivolous to a layman, but it has a deep and profound impact upon the practitioners. It works wonders for the immune system and is a powerful cardiovascular exercise.

You must have seen members of laughter clubs giggling and having fun in parks. That is group laughter – a more conducive form of laughter yoga.

It generally starts with some gentle warm-up exercises – stretching, bending, twisting, and yogic breathing.

Laughter yoga routine is designed scientifically to have four steps:

The first step is clapping and chanting “hoho hahaha”.

The second step is deep breathing – exhale while bending forward, inhale while raising your arms up. It culminates with holding the breath for a while going up, saying “hold it- hold it – hold it” in an ascending voice, and then bending down, tapping thighs, running around saying “hahaha”.

The third step is child-like playfulness. A positive affirmation “Very Good, Very Good, Yay” is chanted joyously, clapping, and then opening and throwing the arms upwards.

Then, begin the laughter exercises in the fourth step. These exercises help in triggering laughter, which is then taken forward by the group and everyone laughs whole-heartedly.

Greeting laughter, milkshake laughter, mobile laughter, gradient laughter, hearty laughter, silent laughter, lion laughter, appreciation laughter, argument laughter, Calcutta laughter and tak-jhoom laughter are some of the popular laughter exercises practised in laughter clubs.

Just close your eyes and start laughing gently.

Laughter meditation may be experienced while standing up, sitting down, or lying.

Let laughter take its own course. If you do not feel like laughing, stop. When you again feel like laughing, laugh.

Laughter is movement, meditation requires stillness. Laughter meditation is a beautiful and unique experience.

It is not always possible to laugh in a group. One can laugh alone in the morning for a few minutes and the freshness lingers-on all through the day.

I express my deep respect and profound gratitude to Dr Madan Kataria, my Laughter Yoga Guru.

MADAN KATARIA, a medical doctor, founded the first laughter club with just five members in Mumbai in the year 1995. Today there are thousands of laughter clubs all over the world. He developed the unique concept of laughter yoga where anyone can laugh for no reason without the use of jokes, comedy, or humour.

(Excerpt from the book – Mission HAPPINESS: My Idyllic Life by Jagat Singh Bisht – available on Amazon)