AKA: “why you don’t need to be a Yoga Teacher to become a Laughter Yoga Leader…”
Learning to be a Laughter Yoga Leader – without any experience in Yoga – here we break down the training, into the whats, whys, wheres, hows and what-ifs.
Lots of people connect with me to ask about training. One of their key questions is: “Don’t I need to be a Yoga Teacher first”? The short answer is “No – you don’t”. The longer answer is below:
First of all let’s look at a few definitions:
“Yoga” –
simply means joining up. With Laughter
Yoga, it’s joining up Laughter with deep yogic breathing. Often this can also mean the joining up to
deeper peace, a connectivity between mind and body, and a very embodied
experience.
“Laughter Yoga” – Laughter for no reason (other than it’s very good for you) combine
with deep yogic breathing
Laughter Yoga sessions: Lots of laughter, childlike playfulness, no “comedy” other than what you find funny, and mainly this is the funniness of being with other people who are having so much fun. Then the follow-up with deeper Laughter Meditations and guided visualisations.
Laughter Yoga can be done on the floor, standing up, sitting down, etc. There are no actual body stretches (other than the breathing) and there are no limitations to it’s physicality. There are no needs for yoga mats, or blocks, or lycra. Often I will run a Laughter Yoga session in a business setting, with people wearing suits (though they tend to take off their jackets and loosen their ties!)
What’s included on a Laughter Yoga Leader training?
Let’s break down everything you are going to learn in a two-day training into the 5 honest serving men, plus one.
The WHY’s – what’s the rationale?
This covers the philosophy
The psychology (mind/body links)
The benefits of Laughter Yoga
The history of Laughter Yoga
The WHAT’s – the facts and basics
What’s happening during different elements of a Laughter Yoga session
What’s going on for you?
What’s going on for others?
What to be aware of?
What to do to manage your own state
The HOW’s – the #1 question! “How do I get people to laugh?”
How to run a session
How to encourage people to laugh
How to get the childlike playfulness going
How to describe Laughter Yoga
How to deliver a Laughter Meditation (the various formats)
How to train and explain the Laughter Yoga Breathing
The WHO’s – you, your clients, the industry
Who to work with
Who needs what in each session
Who needs different session style
Who to start with, who to practice with
Who’s who in the Laughter Yoga Industry
The WHEN’s of Laughter Yoga
Session timings
When to move from an exercise to another
When to stop and start different elements
The WHAT-IF’s? of Laughter Yoga – from presenting to delivering
All the questions that may or may not crop up.
After delivering Laughter Yoga sessions and training others for nearly ten years, I have probably heard most of these and can support people with appropriate responses, ideas and questions.
The Laughter Yoga industry is ancient and world-wide, so you will become a member of this amazing network to access the wisdom and support of elders.
And the real learning continues long after…
Yay, so you’ve done the course and you’re ready to go out into the world and help people to connect with their laughter. At this stage – please bear in mind that we are all work in progress, so even after your two day course, your learning doesn’t stop here – it will continue long long after. (Think of it like learning to drive a car… the real learning happens once you rip up your L-plates and take to the road alone!)
So you CAN learn to become a Laughter Yoga Leader – without any yoga experience at all.
I hope that the above outline shows just why you can start to learn to be a Laughter Yoga Leader from scratch – no background in Yoga required. The most important thing is a willingness to have a go, a positive attitude and a belief that Laughter is good for you!
Of course, if you have more questions – please let me know – I’d be delighted to add to the list 🙂
