Laughter Yoga — Southern Arizona Senior Pride

Are you struggling to find ways to feel lighter and have more joy in the moment? Think about the last time you had a big belly laugh and how you felt afterwards. Laughter has a powerful and immediate effect on our mind, body, emotions, and spirit! The key is that laughter is always in the moment, like the breath, and we can learn to use it as a skill.

Laughter Yoga is a program name founded in 1995 by Indian physician, Dr. Madan Kataria. He had an interesting insight while doing research about humor and laughter. Our bodies get similar benefits whether it’s a spontaneous laugh or simulated laughter. Dr. Kataria came upon the ancient practice of Hasyayoga, an ancient form of yoga and meditation using humor. He realized, like the ancient yogis who came before him, that jokes or comedy are not necessary to laugh and that we all have the innate ability to “laugh for no reason!”

In this class, we don’t tell jokes or rely on humor or comedy, just classical exercises that encourage laughter, deep breathing, stretching, and clapping. The laughter exercises help facilitate a gentle deepening of mindful awareness and an easy connection with other class members. Plus laughter is very contagious! 

What are the benefits? Exercises use laughter as an “in the moment skill” and can:

Increase blood flow and oxygen to all the major organs

Enhance endorphin levels which make us feel uplifted 

Stimulate the immune, digestive, and cardiac systems

Reduce stress levels and boost our emotional well-being

Help build resilience

Relax, strengthen, and lengthen the muscles with stretching

Help create a laughing community and strong social connection

Description provided by UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Health.

Facilitated by: Mick Coyle

Michael “Mick” Coyle has been a Hatha Yoga teacher since 2000 and a Laughter Yoga leader since 2018. He teaches Laughter Yoga for the Osher Center for Integrative Health at the University of California, San Francisco. In other capacities he leads culture change, helping people better understand each other and themselves, which is not always a humorous day job! Nevertheless, he infuses humor into his work and leverages two decades of teaching laughter yoga and mindfulness to help stretch hearts and minds. Mick is keen to share the gifts of Laughter Yoga with the SASP community!

Yoga

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There is no charge for this event. Your generous donation will support Southern Arizona Senior Pride’s programs for LGBTQI+ older people.

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