Dr. Kataria’s Laughter Yoga Diary

Most of the time I only talk about life changing experiences but on November 7th, 2007 I actually had a life saving experience with an elderly lady who suddenly collapsed in front of my eyes.

That day Madhuri reminded me several times that we were to go for a house warming party. Though tired I thought it would be a great break from work. About 200 people were gathered at the party all singing clapping and dancing. Just 5 minutes before dinner, the mother of the host Mrs. Raj Khanna collapsed and everyone yelled out at me for help. On examining her it seemed she had a cardiac arrest. There was no pulse, no breathing and no heart beat. Another doctor present thought she was almost dead and suggested she be rushed to the hospital. But I jumped in and started giving her cardiac massage and mouth to mouth respiration because there was no point in taking her to the hospital as there was no heart beat and respiration. Madhuri kept on inspiring me to continue with CPR.
There was chaos and confusion and most people were requested to leave for dinner. Meanwhile, I kept pumping her chest and giving her mouth to mouth respiration for nearly five minutes when all at once she started breathing and her heart beat came back. After her miraculous revival, we rushed her to the hospital for further medical treatment and investigation. It was discovered that the reason for her cardiac arrest was very high levels of potassium in the blood due to chronic kidney failure.

After two days she was discharged and I went to see her. The whole family was so grateful and blessed me for my heroic endeavour. It has become the talk of the town and I was honored in a public gathering for saving her life.

This is the third time in the history of my medical career I revived someone from cardiac arrest. I feel good and it was humbling experience. I’m glad I haven’t forgotten my medical skills even though I’m not practicing medicine regularly.

It’s usual to celebrate one’s birthday the day one is born. But not so for Mr. Vishwamohan from Vijayvada in southern India. He celebrates his birthday on the day he joined the Laughter club! He feels he got a new lease of life and was ‘Reborn’ in the club.

Constantly troubled by never-ending illnesses for the last 30 years he had almost given up on life. From chronic diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiac problems to diabetic neuropathy, he had been suffering immense pain and anxiety right through 53 years of his living.

He had a bypass surgery for his heart problem in 1999 but still had to endure other health complications. Disillusioned with constant medication and rising stress levels he decided to adopt an alternative method to help him feel better. On January 14th, 2002, he joined the local laughter club. Gradually his life underwent a remarkable change. His health improved considerably as his ECG, BP and blood sugar levels stabilized. He had never felt so much healthier in his entire life.

He firmly believes that laughter helped him rejuvenate and nurtured him to good health. He feels grateful to the day he joined the club and therefore now celebrates it as his ‘new found birthday.’

Alex Sternick, leader of Jerusalem Laughter Club-Rose Garden writes about a wonderful event, a laughter workshop with Jewish and Arab artists participating together in a conference called “Speaking Art” organized by The Jerusalem Foundation and the Inter-Cultural Center for Jerusalem.

Together with yoga leaders Nitza Arbel, Nurit Tal, Orelia Or, Noam Leshem, Anne Rakover, Bat Shachar Weinfeld a laughter yoga session was held to open the conference.

Over 80 people including Jews from all over Israel and Arabs from East Jerusalem and the Gallilee participated in the conference. “It was amazing to see Jews and Arabs laughing, shaking hands, being childish, giggling and being foolish together, forgetting for the moment the conflict in which they live” says Sternick.

After the success a teacher in the bilingual school in Kefar Kara asked for laughter yoga to be introduced for the Jewish and Arab students there.

The success of this event highlights how well laughter yoga works to bring together people from disparate cultures and backgrounds, breaking down barriers and enabling shared joyfulness and communication.

On December 8 2006 I visited Vishweshwaraiah laughter club where I met Mrs Rathna and her 30 year old mentally retarded daughter Vandana.

They have attended laughter club daily for the past year and Mrs Rathna couldn’t wait to tell me about the remarkable progress that Vandana has made during that period. Read more…

At 5:45 a.m. there was a knock at my door. Two laughter leaders greeted me with laughter — one held a coffee flask and other glasses. After a quick coffee we headed for the laughter club which starts 6:15am sharp.

The remarkable thing about laughter clubs in India is that they all start on time. In other matters we Indians are not good at keeping time. This makes me feel proud about laughter clubs. I hear some people in the neighborhoods now know it’s 6.15 when they hear the ho ho ha ha ha. Read more…

This story comes from laughter professional Eva in Zurich.

This event happened just a few months after i started my laughter club. Gradually more people were coming to our sessions and we all were very happy. People brought their stories of everyday life which often touched me deeply.

It was these stories that made me realize how important my work had become. Read more…

A few weeks ago I got up at 4 in the morning to work on an writing an article about laughter yoga with cancer groups. Being engrossed I remembered late that Bangur Nagar Laughter Club in Mumbai had invited us to celebrate their 10th anniversary.

Read more…

I am in Bangalore for a laughter yoga research project. There are 160 laughter clubs in Bangalore city each with 50-100 members meeting every morning.On 14th November I visited Harehreshwara laughter club.

I met a lady named Nehatra Ramachandra, who is 52 years of age. She lost her husband from brain hemorrhage three weeks ago. She was driven to despair and was very depressed.

Read more…

We were invited to visit ABC laughter club in Thane, which is about an hour’s drive from Mumbai on the occasion of their first anniversary. Read more…