 It
all began in 1995 when Dr.
Madan Kataria, a Cardiologist in India, read Norman
Cousins' book Anatomy of an Illness. Cousins is known
as the man who laughed himself well. If you read the
book, then you know there was a little more to it than
that. However, Dr. Kataria was greatly impressed with
Cousins' experiences and determined we should all laugh
more.
He then read Patty
Wooten’s book, Compassionate Laughter. Patty
is an R.N. who has taught the importance of laughter
in the healing process for more than 20 years. Her extensive
research and devotion to the subject has made her a
world leader in laughter therapy.
At this point, Dr. Kataria knew he definitely wanted to
get more laughter into his own life and that of his patients.
He first began by calling a few of his friends. He explained
to them his new discovery about the benefits of laughter
and asked if they would join him in a laughter session. They
all declined. He says he then called everyone he knew and
got the same response. Out of desperation, he went to a public
park very early one morning.
You see, in India the mass population either walks to work
or uses public transportation. There are parks everywhere.
People meet in these public spaces to socialize and to catch
the bus to work or to meet others whom they will walk to
work with. The weather is always warm in India and dry except
for a very short monsoon season. So the public park system
is used daily by everyone.
As I was saying, Dr.
Kataria, out of desperation, went to a public park near his home early one
morning and began asking total strangers if they would be willing to laugh
with him. Most looked at him as though he was crazy, but finally four
were willing to participate. He said he probably asked over
400 just to get that first four. So began the world's first
Laughter Club.
The next morning these same four met
again, and as people watched on in “horror” at
people who were laughing for NO apparent reason, more and
more people began to join
them. Many would start snickering, but as you know, laughter
is quite contagious. The crowd began to grow and grow and
so did their laughter. In the beginning they told jokes,
made funny faces and acted quite silly. But it only took
two weeks before the jokes wore off and they began to realize
just how subjective humor is. What is funny to one person
could be highly offensive to another.
So now what was he to do? He did not
want to discontinue his laughter meetings, but he didn’t know what to do.
He said he was awakened at four in the morning unable to
go back to sleep. He got up and started to pace across the
floor, wondering what he might be able to do to encourage
people to laugh for NO REASON. Instantly, he knew he was
on to something! Just those simple words in his head, had
so much meaning and strength. He remembered “The Laughing
Buddha” from religious training; he remembered “Laughing
Yoga” from his exercise programs and decided if he
could combine these with medical science, he would then be
able to teach others how to laugh for NO REASON.
Dr. Kataria developed a systematic activity by combining
two ancient practices--yoga and meditation--with modern medical
science. Laughter training is an interactive yet self-starting
form of genuine exercise.
Dr. Kataria's small
group of four has grown into over 1,000 Laughter Clubs in India alone and the
movement has expanded globally. I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Kataria
at the International Symposium on Laughter where laughter leaders
from all over the world gathered to share their laughter.
It was a magical time as the leaders shared their experiences,
and successful research result stories were abundant. Today,
thousands upon thousands of good people meet each morning
to enjoy the health benefits of laughing for NO REASON.
What The Laughter Connection has done
it take Dr. Kataria’s
great work and expanded it to fit the corporate world in
America. In the USA we don’t enjoy the constant clear
weather that India does, we don’t walk to work and
we won’t get any further away from our cars than our
eyes can see. Where do we naturally meet every morning at
least Monday through Friday for most of us? At work! Right?
Where do we face the most stress in our lives, other than
on the freeway? On the job! Right? So where is the most logical
place to gather each day to laugh? The workplace, right!
Today more and more corporations large and small recognize
the benefits of exercise and either offer their employees
an on site fitness club or discounts for membership in local
health clubs. Many offer on site yoga classes and what company
of any size today does not offer employee access to counseling
intended to deal with stress. How many stress management
classes have you attended? And, didn't all of them mention
that you should laugh more?????
How many of you want to learn how to laugh for NO REASON?
footnote
1) Dr. Madan Kataria, is a qualified physician In Allopathy
medicine who is affiliated with the Jaslok Hospital
& Research Center in Bombay India, specializing
in Internal Medicine and Cardiology.
2) al•lop•a•thy
the treatment of a disease by using remedies whose effects
differ from those produced by that disease.
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