laughter session during World Laughter Day Celebration
Sunday, May 1, 20011 is World Laughter Day! It is an event customarily celebrated on the first Sunday in the month of May every year. Laughter Clubs of thousands of people in over 70 countries around the world will laugh together to spread the word happiness and peace.
The Laughter Clubs are a global initiative to unite entire mankind through unconditional love and laughter. It is a non-religious, non-racial and non-profit organisations committed to generate good health, joy and world peace.
This revolutionary idea has changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world and has helped them to attain a state of complete wellness.
The first World Laughter Day gathering took place in Mumbai, India, in 1998 and was initiated by Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement. Many people joined in a mega laughter session. Later, the celebration was first exported outside India in the year 2000 to Copenhagen, Denmark, where more than 10,000 people gathered for the celebration. It was the largest ever gathering that laughed and bonded together and the event went into the Guinness Book of World Records.
Laughing to observe this special day, which some practitioners referred to as “joy cocktail” is to laugh and cheer to relieve emotional stress. Mostly, people are advised not to only cheer up themselves, but also with neighbours, friends and families. Other people who may also cheer up include bus or taxi drivers and those on board vehicles, colleagues at work, the staff at a shop and more.
According to practitioners in Laughter Clubs, the formula for world peace is very simple – one person at a time multiplies it and spreads it – these days, people face enormous stress in the course of their daily activities and at times become frustrated. Laughter therefore, is a positive and powerful sensation which helps people to extricate themselves from stress into a world of inner peace. Laughter is a universal language which has the potential to unite humanity.
The message from Dr. Madan Kataria for this year’s international day celebration states “This day is a celebration of the power of laughter to change the world. On this auspicious occasion, I appeal to the whole of humanity to use Laughter Yoga as a means to generate goodwill, and also to lessen the pain caused by human insensitivity, as well as natural calamities, both of which have catastrophic consequences. While Laughter Yoga exercises will bring good health and well being; the inner spirit of laughter will help us to realize the deeper meaning of life. By understanding the ways and means of sensible living through Laughter Clubs we can bring peace within us, which in turn will bring peace in the outer world.
“We all are one, whether we live in the east or west. We are interconnected, and cannot ignore nations which are poor and underdeveloped because their wellbeing affects the rich nations equally and has global consequences. For instance, ecological imbalance occurring in any nation, spread of infectious diseases, conflict and aggression are all results of inequality and discrimination. Therefore, unless we feel the oneness and learn to care for each other as a global family we cannot live in harmony. I believe that The Entire World Is An Extended Family; Let Us Join Through Love And Laughter.
“So, let us stand in silence for one minute by spreading our arms towards the sky, and pray silently for World Peace. Let us end with unconditional laughter and send out the vibrations of harmony and compassion all over the world and into the Universe…Ha! Ha! Ha!”
The format for World Laughter Day is mostly a congregation of laughter club members, their families and friends at some important landmark in their city like big squares, public parks or auditoriums and laugh collectively. They pray for world peace and read out the message from Dr. Kataria.
Last year in India, laughter club members gathered in public parks and took a peace march. Some of the placards carried during the march had inscriptions such as “World Peace Through Laughter,” “The Whole World Is An Extended Family and Laugh & Make Others Laugh.” During the march, they chanted “Ho, Ho, Ha, Ha, Ha” and “very good, very good, yeah!” clapping and dancing. After walking some distance, they stopped for a few Laughter Yoga exercises and then moved on.
In Rotterdam, The Netherlands, many also defied heavy rainfall last year and joined a laughter walk trough a national forest reserve. Also in St Louis, Missouri, USA, World Laughter Day was celebrated with a laughter filled afternoon followed by a picnic. Everyone brought food to share and had a lovely day of laughter and friendship. The same experiences were recorded in countries such as Jamaica, Mexico, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Russia and Austria.
This writer hopes that in future, laughter clubs will be introduced in the country for beneficiaries to join global forces to laugh for good health and world peace. As the international day falls on Sunday, readers are being urged to laugh and cheer up all day long for peace with one another.
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