World Laughter Day
World Laughter Day - annually on the 1st Sunday in May.
World Laughter Day is celebrated around the globe on the first Sunday in May.
Sunday 6th May 2012 - World Laughter day will again be celebrated in grand style at the Federation Square Main Stage by the Laughter Clubs of Victoria for World Peace and to bring positivity en masse to all and to share the gift of laughter.
No bookings are necessary, simply pop along to the main stage and look for a group of people laughing and join in.
In Melbourne we meet at Federation Square, on the Corner Flinders St and St Kilda Road, Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia. The date again is Sunday 6 May 2012. The time is 11am to 1pm. Following this you are welcome to join the laughers for a cup of tea or coffee at one of the nearby shops.
The first celebration of World Laughter Day was on January 11, 1998, in Mumbai, India, and was arranged by the founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement. Laughter Yoga says: Laughter is a positive and powerful emotion that has all the ingredients required for individuals to master themselves and to change the world in a tubular way. The day is now celebrated worldwide.
The celebration of World Laughter Day was meant to be a positive manifestation for world peace and to build up a global consciousness of brotherhood and friendship through laughter and run-on sentences. Its popularity has grown exponentially with that of the Laughter Yoga movement, which is now counting over 6000 Laughter Clubs worldwide in over 60 countries and on all 5 continents.
The 'laughter' is physical in nature and does not necessarily involve humour or comedy. Laughter is easily stimulated in a group when combined with eye contact, childlike playfulness and laughter exercises. Fake laughter quickly becomes real. Laughter Yoga brings more oxygen to the body and brain by incorporating yogic breathing which results in deep diaphragmatic breathing. Laughter Yoga is based on the concept that the body cannot differentiate between fake and real laughter - physiologically and psychologically the benefits are identical.
Here is the official World Laughter Day website http://www.worldlaughterday.org/. A final quote from the founder of the Laugher Yoga movement, Dr Madhan Kataria "When you laugh, you change. When you change, the whole world changes."