LAUGHTER MEDITATION
Laughter Yoga Exercises are sometimes followed by Laughter Meditation. As you do Laughter Meditation, Laughter may flow like water from a fountain --- a more spontaneous and deeper experience than that achieved through Laughter Yoga Exercises.
Guidelines to Achieve this Meditative State of Laughter: Sit comfortably in an inward facing group so people can see each other and make eye contact, not too spread out.
Nobody should talk or try to communicate in any way with others (no eye messages, funny faces, and funny sounds), as this will engage the conscious mind --- the conscious mind must be disengaged.
Sit in silence with eyes closed, keeping an awareness of your breathing. After silence, open your eyes and sit in a relaxed position (not a Yoga posture).
Initiate by simulating Laughter in a slow and gradual manner as in Gradient Laughter. Soon one person begins genuine Laughter and others follow. If not, we may alternate periods of quiet with Pranayaama exercises to stimulate the diaphragm until Natural Laughter begins to break out, at which time we normally lie down and let the Laughter flow.
It is not unusual for people to undergo strong cathartic moments during Laughter Meditation. This is positive as they are release powerful emotions and emotional problems that may have been pent up or many years.
Laughter may be interspersed with tears and even anger, as emotions surface, and are released in wonderful non-violent catharsis. Should this occur, allow it – do not comfort that person. The Laughter Leader will gently bring people out of Meditation back to silence, with a focus on their breathing.
Laughter will continue to bubble up but the Laughter Leader will take steps to settle the group, before leading Guided Relaxation. The extent of the Relaxation will depend on the group, Session intensity, the time of day and other factors.
GROUNDING EXERCISES AFTER LAUGHTER YOGA:
During Laughter Yoga, exercises stimulate blood circulation, raising the blood pressure for a period before it comes back below the base level. The muscles contract during a Laughter Session before they come back to their relaxation Mode. Consequently, the real benefits of Laughter Yoga do not occur during the stimulation phase, but become apparent after the Laughter Session, during relaxation.
Over the years of entertaining Hen parties with Laughter Yoga, we have found that some people people have found themselves feeling euphoric, almost floating on clouds For this reason it is important to do grounding exercises after a Laughter Yoga Session to normalize your system, and allow relaxation techniques to ground the energy of Laughter.
GUIDED RELAXATION
After Laughter Meditation, energy levels can be too high to return directly to normal. To reduce these levels the leader may talk the group through Guided Relaxation, also called ‘YOGA NIDRA’, or Yogic Sleep. This guided body tour brings immense Relaxation by bringing complete awareness to different parts of the body as guided by the Laughter Leader. There is no fixed route or sequence.
Humming This exercise is most effective when done within the Hen party at the end of the session. Humming together creates a unique resonance which is very calming. Different people have different breathing capacities; some people can hum longer than others. A few minutes of this will have the party grounded and ready for the rest of the day !
HO HO HA HA DANCING
Dancing is also a good form of Grounding and maybe used by your instructor. Participants should move their hands as if pushing the air forward, while doing Ho Ho twice, then push their hands towards the ground, while bending the knees slightly saying Ha Ha twice, moving around and dancing.