Tag: #LifeSkills

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
[email protected]

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
[email protected]

Shri Jagat Singh Bisht

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

☆ A Return Gift of Everlasting Cheer to the Society ☆

My journey of Laughter Yoga (LY) has been a very fulfilling and satisfying one. I feel blessed to practice LY almost daily with a large number of people and bring joy to their lives. I express my sincere gratitude to Dr Madan Kataria and Madhuri Kataria who have imparted this divine life skill by which I can touch human lives instantly, anywhere and at any time.

I have been closely studying Positive Psychology and Authentic Happiness for a long time and believe that doing something worthwhile and meaningful for your fellow beings and intimate social interactions with those around you alone brings true happiness. LY is the best tool to achieve this. We can have warm relationships with people and also bring unlimited joy in their lives.

I always wanted to give back something to the great institution where I have been working for more than thirty-one years. I also wished I could inculcate positive values in school children and bring smiles on the faces of the sick and old people. The society has given me so much and I wanted to give a return gift of everlasting cheer to its people. LY has equipped and enabled me to do that on a continuous basis, each and every day of my life.

I was a shy kid and a studious student. I always wanted to sing, dance, play and laugh freely in groups. Now, I can do that and also make others experience joy by doing that.

I have formed a social group Laughter Yoga @ Indore comprising of LY lovers and professionals in Indore, India. Our mission is to propagate LY in and around our town for health, wellness, joy and peace. We wish to take it to the schools, colleges, workplaces, communities, hospitals, clubs, gyms, slums, old age homes, orphanages and even prisons.

We run two regular laughter clubs here. Suniket Laughter Club meets every Sunday morning for LY exercises at the Shrinagar Extension Public Park, Indore. In addition, my wife, Radhika, who is also a CLYT, holds Ladies’ Laughter Kitty every Saturday evening at the Community Hall of Suniket Apartments, Shrinagar Extension, Khajarana Road, Indore.

Laughter Club of State Bank Learning Centre, Indore was formally launched on the 13th September 2010 at the State Bank Learning Centre, Manik Bagh Road, Indore. It is a unique laughter club. Every week, new trainees come to the centre for learning. They join the club, leave by the week-end and spread laughter back at their homes. Next week, another set of new participants join, and so on..

I first saw Dr K and Madhuri conducting a laughter session at the Lokhandwala Park, Mumbai, India more than a decade ago and feel overwhelmed to conduct laughter sessions with my wife Radhika at Indore. It has transformed our lives totally. Our joy knew no bounds when Dr K remarked recently, “You are doing a wonderful job. I am proud of Radhika and you!”

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 Yoga With Mentally Challenged Children ☆

The experience of Laughter Yoga with mentally challenged children at Rotary Paul Harris School, Indore, India has touched the core of our hearts and has given us the fulfillment of bringing cheer in the lives of sweet little kids.

While returning from my office one evening, I took a slightly different route to avoid heavy traffic. On the way, I discovered Rotary Paul Harris School for the mentally challenged children. Next day, I visited the school. There I met Rotarian Radheyshyam Maheshwari.

He told me that it is very challenging to provide education to children with mental challenge. In addition, they impart vocational training and training for the daily needs of the children. This requires a lot of patience and devotion because each child needs individual attention. They have 60 students but the average daily attendance is only 50-60 percent. These students are taken care by specially trained staff. They also engage them in sports, music and extra-curricular activities.

It was in the year 1964 that Rotary Club of Indore started this school. After passing through initial teething problems, the school is now on a better footing. It is one of the finest institutes of its type in the Malwa region of Central India.

I shared the concept of Laughter Yoga with him briefly. His response was very positive and we fixed a day and time for our first laughter session with the special kids. The kids responded to our first session with great enthusiasm and energy. We were taken by surprise by the positivity generated by the affirmation VeryGoodVeryGoodYay. They loved milkshake laughter, mobile laughter, argument laughter and hearty laughter. But we realized that they could not clap in rhythm, chant hohohahaha or follow the deep breathing exercises.

I had along discussion with my wife Radhika, who is also a Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher, in the matter. We decided to focus initially on simple clapping, VGVGY and the laughter exercises which the kids liked. Radhika worked hard with the kids on Tuesday mornings week after week and gradually the kids started picking up. A weekly session on Laughter Yoga was included in their time table. Mrs Neeti Billore, the Principal, and her team of Teachers were always with us during the sessions. On the occasion of New Year, we visited the school with members of Suniket Laughter Club, Indore and shared sweets with them.

The school authorities told us that they propose to showcase the progress in laughter sessions in front of the parents of the kids and members of Rotary Club during their Annual Day celebrations. The kids were all prepared for the event and laughed coherently to the surprise of all present. We felt satisfied as our efforts had borne fruits. Everyone could sense how close the kids felt to us. The effect of joy cocktail was more than evident on the faces of the kids.

On the annual day, we also conducted a laughter session for the families of Rotary Club members which was appreciated by one and all. Prior to that, we had given a presentation of Laughter Yoga in one of their club meetings. Looking to the good effect that laughter is having on the emotional well-being of the kids, we propose to continue with our sessions in the school. The warm welcome that is accorded to us by the kids every time we visit is too valuable for us to loose. We would like to continue to work with them to completely erase the mental and emotional scars and deprivation of their early childhood. It would be really fulfilling if their lives get the missing rhythm through hohohahaha and very good very good yay.

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 Yoga Among School Girls in India ☆

One week, we had the most satisfying and fulfilling experience in our journey of Laughter Yoga. We gave a presentation on Laughter Yoga before 100 girl students in the age group of 9 to 15 years and their teachers at Sri Sarada Rama Krishna Misson School,Indore.. The connect was instant and the atmosphere turned ethereal within a few moments.

Earlier, the Principal of the school had shared with us that the students were finding it difficult to concentrate on their studies and appeared sad, tired and depleted of energy. She felt sad that the children were not cheerful at all and faced a lot of stress. When we told her about the benefits of Laughter Yoga, she readily agreed to give it a try in the school.

The Principal and the Teachers were amazed by the simplicity, instant impact and tremendous trans-formative power of Laughter Yoga. They observed that the children listened to the directions given to them with rapt attention and showed a great sense of discipline during the exercise routine. The children enjoyed the session to the hilt especially Milk Shake Laughter, Mobile Laughter, Silent Laughter and Follow The Leader game.

The Principal said she really did not have enough words to thank us for making the children so joyous and exuberant. She would like her teachers to be trained as Laughter Leaders by us soon so that the children could have their daily dose of laughter medicine. We are feeling really content on being a medium for bringing joy in the lives of little school girls.

Founder: LifeSkills

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