Posts Tagged ‘yoga’

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Time off, or time away from work, is special to us because it gives us a chance to re-direct our energy. Some of us might call this “time to get our bearings straight.” Yet, how many people really take time off for themselves? Is it selfish to spend time on meditation, Yoga, or self-analysis during the holidays or on vacation? Let’s explore these questions, and see how we can accomplish more, when we have time off.

How many people really take time off for themselves? The short answer is: Not many. Students are very honest with their Yoga teachers. When asked how much time they spent meditating during the week, most Yoga students will readily admit they do not meditate at all. When asked how often they practice relaxation techniques, which are taught in Yoga class, most will admit that they do not practice any Yogic form of relaxation during the week.

There are exceptions to everything, and the above-mentioned information applies to western Yoga students. However, students and Yoga teachers, in Asia, also admit that life is moving much too fast. Family ties, job security, and global economics have challenged people in every corner of the earth. Strangely, humans seem to be addicted to electronic stimulation, and it is difficult for us to unplug ourselves from technology.

Is it selfish to spend time on meditation, Yoga, or self-analysis, during the holidays or on vacation? Everyone needs to take a break from bad news, technology, and work. Time away from work is short-lived and it should be appreciated to its maximum potential. This is time for rest, relaxation, healing, meditation, creative thinking, and finding one’s sense of direction.

Time spent on self-reflection helps one find solutions to healing the inner being. When the inner being is healed, it is much easier to help others, if they need, or want, our help. This need for self-reflection and healing, from within, is a simple formula known by sages of the past. A state of complete awareness (self-realization) cannot be reached without first healing your inner being.

Consider this: If you are in pain, what can you focus on? Usually, you can only focus on pain, but some of us might focus on revenge. A rare few blessed souls can focus on forgiveness, when feeling pain. Hopefully, our pain can be healed when we have time off and realize that forgiveness is the key to spiritual freedom. When we let go of our hate, anger, intolerance, and desire for revenge, we experience self-healing and we reflect spiritual beauty from within.

© Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul

By Dr. Rita Khanna

Yoga Nidra means, “sleep with awareness.” It is an effective way of achieving relaxation physically, mentally, and emotionally. In fact, a single hour of Yoga Nidra is equivalent to many hours of normal sleep and is much more rejuvenating. Modern medical science accepts that a calm mind can act as curative force for many conditions. These conditions include heart disease, high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes, digestive problems of all kinds, arthritis, acute cough and cold ailments, as well as other chronic degenerative conditions.

PREPARATION

Gently lie down on your back in Shavasana posture, legs apart, arms a little away from the body, with palms up. If you want to cover yourself with a cotton sheet, you may. Close the eyes gently, while adjusting your body. There should be no movement during Yoga Nidra. Try to listen to your heartbeats…Be witness to all the sounds of the surrounding nature…Watch the incoming and outgoing breath for some time consciously… As you breathe in, the abdomen is rising, and as you breathe out, the abdomen is falling… Feel great comfort, ease, and relaxation…

RESOLVE (SANKALAPA)

Before beginning the practice of Yoga Nidra, make a short resolve. It is an important stage in Yoga Nidra. Resolve is a determination to become something, or to do something, in your life. Everyone has desires and ambitions. Sankalpa is a very powerful force not only to fulfil desires but to create strength in your mind & provide a direction for your whole life. For example, you may like to give up any of your habits, or you want to practice something new to better yourself. You may resolve that you will remain healthy all your life or that you’ll follow the path of Yoga from now and onwards. Whatever resolve you make, repeat it three times to yourself, thinking that God is witnessing you.

ROTATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS

• Face Be aware of the top of the head… the forehead… both sides of the forehead… the right eyebrow… the left eyebrow… the space between the eyebrows…the right eyelid… the left eyelid… right eyeball… left eyeball… right ear… left ear… right cheek… left cheek…the nose… upper lip… lower lip… and the chin…

• Right side Visualize the right hand thumb… index finger…middle finger… ring finger… little finger… feel the tips of the fingers… Be aware of your right palm… wrist… forearm… the right elbow… upper arm… the shoulder… the right chest… right side of the stomach… the thigh of the right leg… its knee…the calf muscles… the ankle… the heel… the sole… the right big toe… the second toe…the third toe… the fourth toe… the fifth toe… the whole right foot.

• Left side Now take your consciousness to the left side. Repeat as you did with the right side.

• Back Your body is touching the floor… be aware of the points of contact between the body and the floor… Relax your heels… calf muscles… back of the knee… thighs… hips… lower back… upper back… right shoulder… left shoulder… shoulder blades… back of palms… back of the arms… the neck… and the back of the head…

MAJOR PARTS

Now bring your awareness on the main parts of the body… full right foot… left foot… feel both feet together… the right leg… the left leg… both legs together… full right hand… full left hand… feel both hands together… the right arm… the left arm… both arms together… your full back and spine…complete abdomen… chest… and the whole face… the face is totally relaxed and peaceful… now feel your whole head and body together. Visualize your body lying down on the floor completely relaxed.

CONCENTRATION ON BREATHING

Now become aware of your natural and normal breath… The breath is coming in and going out freely… you move with the breath fully consciously… Do not force the breath… Be the witness… Concentrate on the abdomen… With each inhalation, it is expanding…with each exhalation, it is sucking in… Now, as you are aware of your breath, start counting backwards with each in breath and each out breath, as follows: “I am breathing in 27 (or 10); I am breathing out 27 (or 10); I am breathing in 26 (or 9); I am breathing out 26 (or 9); and so on, from 27 (or 10) to 1. Say the words and numbers mentally as you count your breaths. After completing the counts, pause for about 5 minutes if you started counting from 27 and for about three minutes if counting started from 10.

AWARENESS OF SENSATIONS

Be aware of your body and of your sensations. Feel, with each inhalation, that cool air is entering your nose, and the body is becoming more energetic. You are getting strength, power, courage, good health, and happiness. Feel as with each exhalation, warm air is coming out of your nose, and you are releasing all the toxins, stress, ill health, all the weakness from your body. The body is becoming relaxed, and you feel as if you are sinking into the floor.

NATURE VISUALIZATION

Mentally select a place of natural beauty, which you have ever visited and liked, such as a park, a garden, a lawn, or a riverside. Feel as if you are mentally present at that place. Take your mind to that place, and feel as if you lying at that place and are breathing the air of that environment. Keeping the mind involved with the same environment, feel as you are experiencing and enjoying the same happiness again.

RESOLVE

Repeat your affirmation and resolve, mentally, three times, with total involvement and awareness.

CULMINATION

Unwind all efforts…draw your mind outside…become aware of your breathing…become aware of your surroundings… the room you are in… do not open your eyes… lie quietly until your mind is completely awake and externalized. When you are sure that you are wide awake, turn the body to left side and sit up slowly. Rub your hands, massage the face gently, and open your eyes. The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

NOTE

Keep your cell phone and landline phones off, or in silent mode, during the resting period to avoid distraction.

If you feel inspired by this article, feel free to publish it in your Newsletter or on your Website. Our humble request is to please include the Resource as follows:

Courtesy: Dr. Rita Khanna’s Yogashaastra Studio. A popular studio that helps you find natural solutions for complete health and detoxification.

Mobile: + 919849772485

Ph:-91-40-65173344

Email: yogashaastra@gmail.com

Dr. Rita Khanna

Dr. Rita Khanna is a well-known name in the field of Yoga and Naturopathy. She was initiated into this discipline over 25 years ago by world famous Swami Adyatmananda of Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh(India).

She believes firmly that Yoga is a scientific process, which helps us to lead a healthy and disease-free life. She is also actively involved in practicing alternative medicines like Naturopathy. Over the years, she has been successfully practicing these therapies and providing succour to several chronic and terminally ill patients through Yoga, Diet and Naturopathy. She is also imparting Yoga Teachers Training.

At present, Dr. Rita Khanna is running a Yoga Studio in Secunderabad (Hyderabad, India).

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

The Yogic path is a path of choice. So many people say they want to make a life change. How many will actually follow through with real actions behind their words? Every day, Yoga studios receive telephone calls from people who say: “Today, I’m going to change.”

Our life direction is not complicated. The direction we take depends upon personal decisions. Our destiny is influenced by small, but accumulated steps, which lead us down a road of misery or happiness.

There are some exceptions, but usually, we can choose to give, take, lie, or tell the truth. Below are four steps anyone can choose to live as a Yoga practitioner. The only requirement is that you take action to move forward on the path.

1. Help and give to others: Helping others is Karma Yoga. You can take action by holding a door open, helping someone who needs it, working for a charity, or another form of selfless service. What difference does it make? When you help others, you feel happy, and others will help you.

2. Practice any form of Yoga daily: You will feel complete mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual balance, as a result. Life is very rewarding, when you achieve balance. As a result, you will experience personal growth. You will be able to think clearly and feel much better about yourself.

3. Take the right action: This may not be popular, but show mutual respect to everyone you meet. Some people have poor social status and the world walks by them without any recognition. You would be surprised how much it means to people to learn their name and show them courtesy.

4. Practice moderation in all matters of life. Too much of anything is unhealthy. Let’s look at one example. We need food to survive, but too much food will make us unhealthy. We need to exercise to maintain our physical bodies, but too much exercise can injure our joints and tear muscles.

At the same time, some of us eat just right, but we take it out on the rest of the world because we hate our diet. As a friend of mine used to jokingly say, “Life is too short; eat dessert first.” In truth, he was a role model for the Sattvic diet, but he realized that any form of food can influence your mood.

Observe how you react to what you eat. How do you feel while you are eating? How do you feel after you have eaten? Are we only living for the anticipation of eating? This will help you evaluate how moderation can change your life for the best.

© Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Depending on where you live, Yoga classes can be filled with students of different ethnic origins, religions, social status, age, and gender. As humans, we tend to differentiate ourselves from others by our self image. Depending on how we our programmed, we readily accept others at face value or we reserve the right to make a judgment later.

Sadly, it is this judgment of others that has held humankind back for thousands of years. It is easy to see differences in someone else and think our way is the right way. Worse yet, some people feel that their way is the only way.

When students enter an ashram, studio, or class, they are often instructed to leave their stress, baggage, and judgment at the door. This is one of the hardest hurdles for a beginner to manage. Even if you put most differences aside, the ego loves to engage in self praise.

There are also Yoga teachers who claim to teach “real Yoga,” as opposed to “phony Yoga.” This is an interesting analogy, as most students, who attend these classes, often mention that teachers spend an extraordinary amount of time on indoctrination and dogma.

The purpose of Yoga was never meant to divide people into splinter groups. When Yoga teachers meet at intensives and conferences, there is a huge diversity in the backgrounds of the individuals. In general, most Yoga teachers embrace the melting pot we may refer to as “humanity.”

Rather than sit around discussing our differences, humans should spend more time discussing possible solutions to major problems. This often happens in a Yoga teacher conference. Unfortunately, it is rarely seen among political or religious leaders.

In order for Yoga to make a difference in the 21st century, we have to focus on solutions to problems that we and our planet face. It is easy to spot a personality who seeks to divide, polarize, and stir up conflict.

With that said – anyone in a teaching position, who seeks to divide, does not deserve your precious time. The path to ruin is easily discovered within our history books. This is the path of division. The path of unity is the Yogic path.

© Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

How can Yoga turn your life around? Where do you start? If you are a Yoga student, a steady practice is a good start. If you teach Yoga classes, and have students in need of help, where should they start? At least some of us see a need for a starting point, which is an early form of self-awareness.

In making a decision to change our lives, we need to know our perceived limitations. This viewpoint of limitations may not be based upon reality. Sometimes, a limitation is only a projection of our self-image. In other words: If I have low self-worth – are my thoughts about myself realistic?

The answer is: No; if I have a poor self-image, my thoughts would be limited by a negative mindset. In turn, a negative mindset blames everyone for everything. In such a case, nobody ever does anything right. Many complainers have poor self-esteem. Instead of designing a plan for the future, and searching for answers, it is easier to sit around and complain.

One more point about perceived limits: If your thoughts are based upon pure reality and logic, these thoughts will change with time. Any form of thinking is subject to change because it evolves with each life experience.

Therefore, when you design a plan to make a lifestyle change, you want to know yourself first. Any changes to the world around us must come from within – first.

Yoga allows the mind to find its natural balance. This Yogic state of balance may occur in the physical body first.

These subtle, physical changes, within the body, may be noticed if one practices Hatha Yoga (Union through Physical Self-Mastery). This is an early step for contemporary Yogis. People easily believe what they see when they notice physical changes in their own bodies.

The more subtle changes that occur within one’s mental, emotional, or spiritual health, take more time and patience to develop. Hatha Yoga practice may be considered the ultimate answer to physical mastery, but it is only a stepping stone on a path toward happiness.

For many of us, our biggest step is training the mind to become our best ally. Self-induced negativity is one of the greatest setbacks to humankind. Sometimes, whole countries and cultures believe they are worthless.

This state of cultural worthlessness occurs when a society’s leadership promotes pessimistic thought. Whether or not we live in a free society, the answer is to re-program our thinking toward a path of progress. Every form of Yoga contains methods for positive thinking.

© Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”

Yoga Teacher Training Courses

FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Yoga and music hold an intangible power to cause positive arousal within the mind. The comparison of Yoga and music does not stop here. We might say that Yoga is a science, and music is an art, but both create innovation within the practitioners of these two disciplines.

Have you ever risen in the morning with a song in your heart? Is it a song filled with joyful anticipation for the new day? In this case, the day will likely be filled with happiness. Although happiness is not a guarantee of a successful outcome, positive inspiration tends to carry you forward – even during trying times.

Inspiration runs much deeper than motivation, because it causes the mind to act and create. All too often, people suppress creative ideas because their motivation level has run low. Inspiration is a form of internal or divine guidance that helps us to create and solve problems.

Our dilemma is deciding which voices to listen to. Should you listen to the voice that tells you Yoga, music, and creativity are bad? Should you take a chance? Should you leave all of your responsibilities behind? Some of us believe in an “all or nothing” approach to life.

When you move toward something that inspires you, it is wise to take small steps in moderation. We should use our mind as well as our heart, when risk is involved. Outside advice is always worth considering – whether we agree or not.

Yet, how can you be absolutely assured that a risk you take will not leave you vulnerable? In truth, when it comes down to taking a chance, you cannot be absolutely assured. You can study to your “heart’s content,” but when you take a risk, there is always a chance of failure.

In the words of Alfred Lord Tennyson: “I hold it true, whatever befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; ’tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” We often forget that we can always learn from our past mistakes, but our daily life is a matter of chance.

Yoga and a song that inspires the mind make life and its risks much easier to bear. Take the time to enjoy your Yoga practice and the music you hear each day. The outcome of a day is determined by many different factors, but a positive mindset sways the odds in your favor.

© Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul

Health Care and a Key to Unconditional Joy 

By Carina-Patricia Schierz

Sun demands no reason to shine; Water demands no reason to flow; A child demands no reason to be happy; Why do we need a reason to laugh? The concept of Laughter Yoga was developed in 1995 by Dr. Madan Kataria, an Indian medical doctor.

Laughter Yoga is practised now all over the world, with over 6.000 laughter clubs in more than 60 different countries. But what exactly is Laughter Yoga, what are its health benefits and what has laughter got to do with Yoga? Many people ask why we need to go to laughter clubs and “exercise” laughter – why not just laugh in real life?

Laughter became rare in our society as most people are not happy with their lives. In a world full of competition, success and failure, the longing for happiness became a struggle. When we read the newspaper, we’re confronted with violence and crisis. There might not be many reasons for us to be happy and laugh, when we look at it from this point.

Lots of people are living in a constant state of fear. So for many of us the question occurs: “How do you laugh when you’re in no mood to laugh or you don’t have any reason to laugh?” Laughter Yoga counters with another question: “Why do you need a reason to laugh? Why not laugh for the sake of laughing?” This means, that you don’t need to be happy to laugh – you need to laugh to be happy.

In Laughter Clubs, people come together to laugh regularly, despite life’s ups and downs. In real life, we leave laughter to chance, rather than, to a commitment. We depend on circumstances and on humour to create laughter. But this kind of humour is intellectual, it comes from the mind.

Humour always depends on the individual and its culture, and it is varying from person to person. While humour can separate people by only letting people laugh together who have the same sense of humour while others are excluded, the spirit of laughter is to connect all people, beyond humour.

Laughter is not so much about happiness, rather than joyfulness. Happiness is usually a conditional response, subject to the fulfilment of certain desires of the mind. Joyfulness is a state of being, expressing unconditional commitment to be happy despite the challenges of life. What happens when people meet for laughter? How do you trigger unconditional laughter? In Laughter Yoga, laughter is combined with Yogic breathing (pranayama).

Laughter is simulated as a body exercise in a group but with eye contact and childlike playfulness, it soon turns into real and contagious laughter. Laughter Yoga is based on the idea that anyone can laugh – without jokes, humour or comedy. You just need the willingness to participate in laughter.

It’s important that you physically engage in laughter yoga exercises. You have to be active and start moving so that you can trigger laughter in your body. When it comes to “faking” laughter, most people sceptically raise their eyebrow: “But laughter has to come from the heart, what is the point in faking laughter?” Well, usually the fake laughter turns quickly into real laughter, but when we talk about the health benefits of laughter, it is not even necessary that it’s “real”.

Believe it or not, but it is scientifically proven that our body can’t distinguish between real and faked laughter. So all the processes happening in your body – the psychological and physiological health benefits – are exactly the same. Your mind might say “well, but I know that I’m not really laughing”. So what! Your body doesn’t know. And if you give it a try, you will experience real laughter – a deeper laughter than you ever imagined.

Unconditional laughter is so much more intense than the laughter that arises from the mind. “The very essence of laughter is absurdity. Where there is logic, there is no laughter.” Take a look at children, they are the best examples for unconditional laughter. As a child we didn’t laugh because we had an extraordinary sense of humour; we laughed because it was our nature to be joyful.

Why can children laugh more than 300-400 times a day whereas adults only laugh up to 15 times? Adults use their brain to first comprehend humour and then laugh. Children haven’t decided upon any conditions for their laughter. Their laughter comes straight from the body, not using any intellectual capacity of the brain.

The source of laughter is within our body. It is our mind that thinks we need a reason for laughter. But when we can let go of thought and enter a state of playfulness, our hearts can open up to the joy of laughter.

The child in us wants to be awakened, it wants our permission to laugh freely, without a reason. Our laughter depends on so many pre-conditions, but this way we only limit ourselves as our happiness becomes conditional. If we can learn again to laugh unconditionally, also our happiness will be unconditional.

With laughter you’ll develop a new attitude towards life: Issues appear less overwhelming. Still we are touched by the issue, but it doesn’t have that power anymore. If we pay too much attention to our issues, they can become our focus. If we are able to laugh about things they diminish. This way laughter can be seen as a mental and emotional hygiene.

You can laugh away the troubles. It is said that laughter is the best medicine. And it seems that it really is – it is actually incredible what laughter can do for our body! Laughter is one of the best muscle-relaxants. It expands blood vessels, and that way it sends more blood to the extremities and other muscles all over the body.

Laughter reduces stress hormones and releases endorphins which work as a natural opiate, creating a positive state of mind and they also act as natural pain killers. Don’t underestimate the influence stress can have on our body and well-being: it is crucial, stress is harming our body and many diseases are related to stress.

High blood pressure, heart disease, heart attacks, arthritis, asthma, diabetes, cancer, chronic fatigue, anxiety attacks, mood swings, psychological distress, depression, sleep problems, eating disorders, peptic ulcers, poor immune function, chronic pain, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, colds, flu, viruses, headaches, migraines, alcoholism, drug abuse… seems like the list is endless!

Laughter quickly reduces the levels of stress chemicals – it occurs in minutes and can last for days. But not only your hormones are affected, laughter also boosts your immune system with fast increases in levels of anti-viral and anti-infection cells. Laughter will protect you against viral infections, such as coughs and colds. Laughter is also an aerobic exercise.

Your heart rate increases and one minute of hearty laughter is equal to 10 minutes of jogging. But that’s still not all laughter will do for you: by massaging your internal organs through deep breathing, exercising the diaphragm and abdominal muscles, it’s like “inner jogging”, stimulating the digestive and lymphatic systems.

Laughter is also a great exercise for asthma and bronchitis. It improves the lung capacity and oxygen levels in the blood. And due to the increased oxygen supply, laughter will make you feel relaxed and refreshed. People who suffer from mind-related diseases like anxiety, depression, nervous breakdowns and sleeplessness also benefit on laughter. Laughter elevates mood, laughter brings hope.

Laughter stimulates the calming branch of our nervous system. On the psychological level, laughter helps us to remove mental blocks and layers of inhibition. It helps us to express all our emotions freely. To produce the significant physiological and biochemical changes, the laughter has to be frequent, for at least 10-15 minutes in a day.

That is why Laughter Yoga Exercises are so important to bring measurable physiological changes like oxygen levels in the blood, muscle relaxation, blood circulation and release of certain hormones in the body. For our body it really doesn’t matter whether laughter comes from the humour in the mind, or playfulness in the body – the health benefits we experience will be the same.

The process of laughter is deeply connected with our breath. That’s why pranayama plays an important role in Laughter Yoga. Dr. Kataria saw the similarities between the fast-breathing-exercises like Kapalbhati and Bhastrika and laughter – in both you find rhythmic movement of the diaphragm and abdominal muscles.

In Yoga, there’s usually a focus on proper exhalation, and that’s exactly what laughter does: laughter prolongs your exhalation, squeezing all the residual air out of your lungs until inhale happens naturally. Breathing became one of the most important parts of Laughter Yoga – it is used in between the exercises to give some pauses, increasing the vital capacity of the lungs and therefore the capacity to laugh.

Breathing is fundamental to our life. A lack of oxygen in the body cells is one of the basic reasons for getting sick. Most people don’t breathe correctly, their breath is shallow and irregular. Laughter Yoga exercises are designed to bring awareness of laughter in the belly, engaging the diaphragm. Deep laughter shifts our breathing pattern from upper chest to belly breathing.

Breathing is the only function of the autonomic nervous system that can be consciously regulated or changed. And the change in your breathing will not only make a difference on the physical level but also on the mental: there is a direct relation between breathing patterns and the state of mind.

By changing the way you breathe, you can change your state of mind. Usually we let our mind influence our breathing. For example, if your mind is upset, you can notice that breathing becomes fast, irregular, and shallow. During stress, you breathe from the upper part of the chest.

All our negative thoughts and all the tension that we hold is influencing the way we breathe. When the mind is at peace, the breathing becomes slower, more regular, and deeper. Through laughter and breathing exercises, you can bring change to your mind. Deep breathing will calm your mind and bring you peace.

The same applies for your mood: even if you are not happy in your mind, if you act like a happy person, your mind will experience the state of happiness. That is why Laughter Yoga always produces real laughter in the end: If you can’t laugh, bring laughter to your body first and your mind will follow.

Yoga is about uniting and connecting. Laughter Yoga brings people together through the gift of laughter. With eye contact, touch and love, people are connected through joy. No matter where you come from, religion or politics, age or social background don’t matter as everyone can laugh together.

Carina-Patricia Schierz is a certified Yoga teacher. She teaches Yoga classes in the Wien, Austria area.