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| THE LAUGHTER YOGA NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY LAUGHTER YOGA USA EDITOR: KHEVIN BARNES Email: BellyLaughers@ Aol.com |
| HO HO HA HA HA LAUGH OUT LOUD TILL YOU SPRAIN YOUR JAW HO HO HA HA HA COME AND SHARE SOME LAUGHTER.... A verse from the new "Laughter Yoga Song" K. Barnes |
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| LAUGHTER PHOTOS OF THE MONTH |
doctor Bustagut Gives Advice Dear Doctor Bustagut, My husband is reluctant to get involved with my Laughter Yoga group. Now that I think about it, men are a definite minority in this movement. What gives? Lone Laffing Lady Dear Lone, Funny, I've noticed that women are way outnumbered in my own field----medicine. So why do some professions and some programs seem gender-unbalanced while others don't? Good question. Laughter Yoga invites a willingness to be free and unencumbered. Being human ( as most who read this column are) means that this may take a little practice. ha ha. This freedom then permits us to express our joy at being-- among other things-- free ! You see, It's all a beautiful cycle that never has to end, once we start the laughter wheels in motion. The word motion reminds me of "emotion" and that reminds me that we're talking about men. Self expression is an art form that women have written the book on. Heck, women invented the book itself. And all the words in the book. And even the ink in the words! And men.........well, they just work in the print shop. ha ha. It's really not a problem with guys though as much as it is a slow-to-evolve societal system. You know how it goes with guys. No crying. No cuddling. No namby pamby emotions or expressions.....and NO (heaven forbid!) LAUGHING! The good news is, as we change ourselves through Laughter Yoga, so changes the world. And guys are half of that world. And finally, keep in mind that there are many exceptions to the "men can't emote myth". In fact, my eyes are getting moist as I write this. Must be allergies, right? ha ha Love and cuddles, Dr. Bustagut |
ISSUE # 003
LAUGHTER QUOTE OF THE MONTH Laughter is America's most important export. Walt Disney |
| HO HO HA HA HA ! |
| Laughter Yoga Exercise of the Month Created by Judy Pincus Watermelon seed spitting Laughter Grab that slice of ice-cold melon and take a few slurpy bites. Oh oh! This one isn't seedless. Better spit them out with a "phhhhhhhhht!" and a laugh! Spit em' near and spit em' far Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ! |
| LAUGHTER SOUND OF THE MONTH -- SARCASTIC LAUGH |
| Heather’s Laughter Radio Show is now on the air too! On the Internet every weekday at 6:30am PST. Call-in Number: (347) 539-5612. It's FANTASTIC !!! http://www.blogtalkradio. com/ItsTimeToLaugh |
LAUGHTER YOGA FEATURED TEACHER OF THE MONTH RACHEL FORSYTH What is your name? My name is Rachel Forsyth How did you discover Laughter Yoga? I discovered Laughter Yoga through Sarito Sun. Sarito offered a weekly class called Laughing Meditation in Carlsbad. I attended some of her classes, and then one day I got invited to attend a Laughter Yoga Leaders training workshop with Sebastian Gentry in the Leucadia area. A month later I was signing up to take the Teacher's Training with Dr. Madan Kataria and his wife Maduri in Pasadena, Ca. That all happened in 2006. What is the greatest reward you've received from Laughter Yoga? My greatest reward is connecting with people in a playful way. I love getting outside box. I love seeing the spark of creativity that gets ignited and set free when people are allowed to express their playful side. Where do you practice/lead Laughter Yoga ? Currently, I am one of the moderators on the Phone Laughter Line. I am on at 12pm daily for 12 minutes. Being available to share the gift of laughter everyday with whomever wants to laugh has given me a deep sense of satisfaction. I am serving the Universe through laughter! It feels so delicious. Your Laughter Yoga goals? My goal is to offer a weekly Laughter Yoga class for the Hemet and San Jacinto community where I live. I have plans to start my first Laughter Yoga class at the Simpson Senior Center in Hemet, Ca. in September. Do you have a website or contact email? You can reach me through my e-mail at iloveyouRachel@msn.com or call me at 951-765-0675 A favorite Laugher Yoga exercise? My favorite laughter exercise right now is releasing stress and negative emotions through Gibberish. I find it to be a great tool in shifting out of seriousness which then allows the truth that sets us free to flow easily and naturally! Yippee! |
Laughter Yoga GIF Image of the Month |
R
HUMAN LAUGHTER IS AT LEAST 16 MILLION YEARS OLD ! Monkeys, rats and dogs have been shown to "laugh". What a rat or dog could think when "laughing", is hard to say. But it seems that we, humans, have been able to laugh for many millions of years, and not just since we turned into humans. A new research published in the Biology Letters shows that our laugh originated in our ancient primate ancestor related to the apes. The study has discovered that orangutans possess a sense of empathy and mimicry essential for a laughter and pushed the age of human laughter to at least 12-16 million years ago, when orangutans split from the line that led to humans, chimps and gorillas. Facial expressions, like the open mouth resembling laughter, were imitated by orangutans. The speed of the imitation (0.4 seconds) revealed that those expressions were involuntary, thus orangutan laughing was contagious. The team made of Dr Marina Davila Ross, from the University of Portsmouth, and Professor Elke Zimmermann, from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover, Germany, investigated the play behavior of 25 orangutans aged 2 to 12 at four primate centers: Sepilok Rehabilitation Center, Apenheul Primate Park, Tierpark Carl Hagenbeck and Leipzig Zoo. When one orangutan showed the open, gaping mouth, its playmate responded with the same expression in most of the occasions, a behavior called "emotional contagion" in humans, a form of empathy that permits us to experience the emotions of those around us. But not every ape would smile back, this behavior being conditioned by social factors similar to humans: orangutans were more likely to return a smile to friends than to strangers. "In humans, mimicking behavior can be voluntary and involuntary. Until our discovery there had been no evidence that animals had similar responses. What is clear now is the building blocks of positive emotional contagion and empathy that refer to rapid involuntary facial mimicry in humans evolved prior to humankind. The findings shed a new light on empathy and its importance for animals which live in groups such as orangutans", said Ross. "Results clearly indicated that orangutans mimic open-mouth faces of their playmates within 0.4 second, which confirms rapid involuntary facial mimicry in nonhuman mammals", wrote the researchers. Previous researches showed that yawns are as contagious to apes and monkeys as they are to us. |
| LAUGHTER YOGA LEADERS DESIGN PAPER SACK PUPPETS HA HA HA |
| ANOTHER AMAZING GROUP OF SENIORS YUCKING IT UP IN SAN DIEGO HO HO! |
| FEATURED VIDEO CLIP FOR AUGUST |
DR. KATARIA AND FRIENDS |
HARD TO BELIEVE THAT WE'RE ON
ISSUE NUMBER THREE ALREADY !
AS ALWAYS, I WELCOME YOUR
COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS AND
CONTRIBUTIONS. DROP A NOTE TO
THE EMAIL ABOVE. IT'S REALLY A
WONDER TO BE CONNECTED TO
THE LAUGHTER YOGA COMMUNITY!
ALL I CAN SAY IS...
ISSUE NUMBER THREE ALREADY !
AS ALWAYS, I WELCOME YOUR
COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS AND
CONTRIBUTIONS. DROP A NOTE TO
THE EMAIL ABOVE. IT'S REALLY A
WONDER TO BE CONNECTED TO
THE LAUGHTER YOGA COMMUNITY!
ALL I CAN SAY IS...
L OOSEN YOUR SOCKS A PPLAUD YOUR WILLINGNESS U NCOVER YOUR PLAYFULNESS G IVE YOURSELF PERMISSION H EAL YOUR HEART T URN OFF YOUR THOUGHTS E LEVATE ENDORPHINS R ECEIVE THE GIFTS ........IN LAUGHTER |
| HEY ! THIS IS ISSUE #3 LOOKING FOR PAST ISSUES? CLICK THIS LINK! http://www.laughteryogausa.com/LaughterPrograms.html |
| IT'S SIMPLY AWESOME ! LAUGHTER YOGA ON THE PHONE. ALWAYS FREE ! (Toll charge may apply) ALWAYS FUN ! A PHONE-TASTIC WAY TO BRIGHTEN YOUR DAY! WHEN ? 7:00 AM 8:00 AM 9:00 AM 12:00 PM 5:00 PM ALL CALLS ARE PACIFIC STANDARD TIME EACH AND EVERY DAY----365 DAYS A YEAR DIAL: 712-432-3900 AND ENTER CODE 6071292# JOIN OUR LAUGHTER LEADERS AND DOZENS OF LAUGHERS JUST LIKE YOU FROM AROUND THE WORLD !!!! |
FINAL THOUGHT A Salute to Seniors K. BARNES My own mother is about to turn 88. One of the greatest gifts that Laughter Yoga has given to me is the opportunity to be enriched and enlightened by the amazing stars of our “Laughing and Stretching for Seniors” group. There is something very special about observing a person who has lived a long and fulfilling life, become fully aware of their child-like innocence from a place deep within their soul. It gives the whole cycle of life a beautiful, circular and meaningful context. Seniors enhanced by laughter are a lasting and uplifting tribute to the human experience. Through their actions, words, wisdom, insight and laughter we are given a glimpse into our own destiny. Laughter Yoga is an opportunity to experience a breathtaking freedom from all that is ordinary. Our seniors carry a magic that requires only a smile to see. One of the great contemporary musical poets of our time in my opinion is songwriter John Prine. I'll finish this issue with a few lines from his song "Hello in there" You know old trees just grow older Old rivers grow wider every day But old people, they just grow lonesome Waiting for someone to say “Hello in there” Hello... So if you’re walking down the street sometime and spot some hollow ancient eyes Please don’t pass them by and stare Like you didn’t care Say “hello in there” Hello... |