"Laughter Yoga is a profound, easy to learn technique with which you can connect to your personal joy and help others find theirs." Jeffrey Briar
"Laughter, Health & Spiritual Awakening"
Join us for a joyful start to the new year with Jeffrey Briar, the director of the Laughter Yoga Institute, ( originally based in Laguna Beach). Jeffrey began studying Laughter Yoga with Dr. Kataria in 2005 and has since become one of the world's foremost advocates of this good laughter work. An enthusiastic and infectiously positive teacher, Jeffrey has been a coach for laughter and joy since the age of 17. His initial efforts were divided. He shared health building practices by teaching yoga, martial arts, and physical education, while elsewhere he was evoking laughter as a comedy stage performer. In Laughter Yoga he found fulfillment of life, physical and spiritual ideals. He shares the Laughter Yoga technology in a clear and delightful manner, drawing on his decades of experience as a college educator. When Jeffrey is your instructor, you learn a lot while having a whole lot of fun.
Jeffrey has a long history with the UUFLB. For many years, Jeffrey held his Laughter Yoga leader training programs at our building as well as playing the piano at UUFLB on dozens of occasions.
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From the Mayo Clinic:
A good sense of humor can't cure all ailments, but data is mounting about the positive things laughter can do.
A good laugh has great short-term and long term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn't just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body. Laughter can:
Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.
Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response, and it can increase and then decrease your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling. Soothe tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which can help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.
Improve your immune system. Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can affect your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. By contrast, positive thoughts can actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses.
Relieve pain. Laughter may ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers.
Increase personal satisfaction. Laughter can also make it easier to cope with difficult situations. It also helps you connect with other people.
Improve your mood. Many people experience depression, sometimes due to chronic illnesses. Laughter can help lessen your stress, depression and anxiety and may make you feel happier. It can also improve your self-esteem.
Worship Associate: Rachel Daniels
Guest Speaker: Jeffrey Briar
Music: Carole Cole
Audio, Camera, & Zoom Techs: Don West Jr. and Pamela Flodman
Facebook: Cindy Williams
Community Outreach: Kendra Romans
