History
Dr. Madan Kataria, a physician in India, noticed the negative effects of stress and pollution on many of his patients. He also noticed that many of them seemed to do better and feel better after a bout of laughter. He was editor of a health magazine called "Your Own Doctor," and he decided to write an article about how laughter might be the best medicine. He then decided to get people laughing. At first he told them jokes, but the supply of jokes was quickly used up. Being a life-long student of yoga, he saw that laughter involves many of the same parts of the body as yoga, so he borrowed breathing and stretching exercises from yoga and combined them with fun activities and laughter. Soon he had a laughter workout, and many people enjoyed it and felt better doing it. Following a 1998 visit to Bombay where he experienced laughter clubs, Ohio psychologist, Steve Wilson, and Missouri mental health nurse, Karyn Buxman, both professional speakers, teamed up to form the World Laughter Tour, to bring Dr. Kataria to the USA and to join him in organizing laughter clubs and teaching laughter exercise routines around the world. For a more detailed account of the history of laughter clubs: |