My Laughter Yoga Story Kiran

Kiran, USA: I am originally from Hyderabad, India but currently live near Boston with my husband and two children. I am a fashion designer by profession and a Laughter Yogi in training. The first time I heard about LY was in the mid 90s when it had just started and was catching on. Although I was amused reading in news papers about groups of seniors getting together in city parks, laughing loudly and being silly, I did not think much about it other than a pastime for some retired seniors. But in early 2000s when I saw the character of Dr. Asthana in Munnabhai MBBS (an Indian super hit movie) , who practices LY to cope with his anger & work stress I realized for the first time that LY could have real benefits.

Life went on.. As an adult balancing the usual demands of professional and personal life, sometime in 2014 it dawned on me that I am not laughing much at all. Whereas growing up I was always surrounded by laughter & joy. This led me to miss it & want to actively bring back consistent laughter into my life. Around the same time a chance viewing of Dr. Kataria’s interview with Aamir Khan on the Indian show Satyameva Jayate led me to research about him and the movement and learn about LY trainings. Right away I knew I wanted to train as a LY teacher. After many unsuccessful attempts at getting trained by Dr. Kataria in Bangalore, in 2020 I finally was able to make use of the unprecedented opportunity of online trainings with him. That is how my LY journey began.

Now, my goal is to form a life-long habit of unconditional laughter and joy, and also pass this to as many people as I can. Of the five most important LY benefits, I am already experiencing elevated mood, increase in
productivity & performance, social benefits and am sure these will lead to sustained good health and the ability to laugh through challenges. My LY story is short and simple, nothing really dramatic like some others, but am very confident that the benefits will be just as profound for me!