Catherine will be leading two Laughter Yoga sessions as part of ‘Festival Under The Clock’ on April 2nd in Rathmines Town Hall. The sessions are at 11am and 2pm, admission is free. She recommends you wear loose clothing, bring a yoga mat or towel to lie on, and a bottle of water.
A combination of unconditional laughter and yogic breathing, Laughter Yoga is a group activity in which laughter is induced without comedy but soon becomes contagious and yields well proven physiological and psychological benefits to those involved.
Clinical research on Laughter Yoga has proven that laughter lowers the level of stress hormones e.g. epinephrine and cortisol in the blood. It combats stress and depression, fosters positivity and hopefulness.
A trawl through some ‘laughter quotations’ confirms the above, my favourites include:
“Laughter is an instant vacation” - Milton Berle
“Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face” -Victor Hugo
“Laughter………. the most civilised music in the world” - Peter Ustinov
“There is little success where there is little laughter” - Andrew Carnegie
“Mirth is God's medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it.” Henry Ward Beecher
“A good, real, unrestrained, hearty laugh is a sort of glorified internal massage, performed rapidly and automatically. It manipulates and revitalizes corners and unexplored crannies of the system that are unresponsive to most other exercise methods.” Author unknown
(This latter is true, there are very impressive and genuine statistics for the value of laughter as a physical work-out. Elsewhere it has been described as an internal jog.)
For further information on ‘Festival Under The Clock’ check out: www.festivalundertheclock.webs.com
