Bill and Linda Hamaker, USA: Laughter Yoga has greatly enhanced our relationship and has brought so much more laughter into our everyday life. The playfulness it creates has also helped to balance our lives as we are usually doing left-brain activities most of the day. Our first encounter with Laughter Yoga was a three-day seminar in 2008 at the Kripalu Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It was a wonderful experience to attend as a couple! From there we have progressed to taking the laughter leader course with Sebastien Gendry and then starting our own monthly Laughter club in Franklin, Massachusetts ( www.letslaughtoday.com ) in September of 2009.”
Leading laughter sessions is extremely enjoyable and rewarding. In the beginning it was a little scary and we spent a great deal of time preparing the exercises for each session. It of course became easier with practice and it is so much fun creating new exercises. We have learned that almost any situation can become a laughter exercise and even did an entire session on our Florida vacation! The best part is that you are helping others relieve their everyday tensions and stress and bring joy into their life while also helping yourself at the same time. We create our own happiness at Let’s Laugh Today Laughter Club and get from 15 to 55 people each month. We are definitely fulfilling a need in our community.
Laughter Yoga has helped our relationship by giving us the opportunity to work together using our different talents. We work together preparing the “script” and the room for our club or any extra private group or adult education sessions we are asked to do. Every session is always different. We usually take turns doing two exercises at a time. People seem to like seeing a married couple work and laugh together. They especially get a kick out of the argument laughter exercise. That is really the only way we ever argue now! We try to do Laughter Yoga exercises together each and every day.
We have had much positive feedback from members and some wonderful publicity in all the local papers; here are two recent examples:
http://fiftyplusadvocate.com/archives/461
http://ledgerspecialsections.wickedlocal.com/SS/Page.aspx?secid=86427&pagenum=3
