laugh wa inc newsletter · world laughter day is held by all laughter clubs around the world on the...
TRANSCRIPT
Our first strategic planning mee1ng was held in November 2013 and focussed on plans for 2014. With our expanded commiBee, we have a lot of new talent and, as well as planning Laughter Yoga Facilitator Trainings in February and May 2014, we resolved to increase the number of Laughter Clubs in WA. We now have an addi1onal Laughter Club in Mandurah thanks to Jan which, aNer commencing in the warm weather on the foreshore, will be in recess un1l Summer. Heathridge Laughter Club has recommenced and plans are afoot to reac1vate a Laughter Club in Joondalup. Laughter Club news is kept up to date by Kath on the LaughWA website www.laughwa.org.au In addi1on, we hope to have an outreach Laughter Club in Darwin, as Sam, one of the graduates of our Training has relocated and plans to get established there. We wish her success! Also, Annie has started the Ellenbrook Laughter Club, which is held weekly and dona1ons support Camp Quality. Annie has also been integral to the development of our strategic plan. Thank you Annie!
I am currently running a four-‐week program at the Ruth Faulkner Library in Belmont called Love Laughter and Longevity, which includes strategies for health and
wellbeing, outsmar1ng stress, and of course the benefits of Laughter and Laughter Yoga. Today I had the opportunity to introduce Laughter Yoga to a large audience at a Seniors’ Club Development Day for the City of Belmont. So it seems to me that maybe the next Laughter Club will be in Belmont!! Very Good! Very Good! Yeah!
Our strategic plan also included redesigning our LaughWA brochure. With the skills of Tony Robinson, who redesigned our website last year, Kath and I collaborated to create the new brochure which should be available for our commiBee members at the next mee1ng on Wednesday, 14 May. It has a blank space on the back panel where individual contact details can be placed and it will be an informa1ve, colourful and joyful resource for promo1ng Laughter Yoga. It directs people to the website for all the informa1on they need about Laughter Clubs, Trainings, Profiles of Laughter Prac11oners for Presenta1ons, and links to relevant websites.
We celebrated World Laughter Day on Sunday, 4 May up in Kings Park in our usual spot below Zamia Café. You couldn’t miss us as we had a gazebo, a large sign saying World Peace through Laughter, and our beau1ful banner. Trish provided some gorgeous, colourful flags and we enjoyed sharing Laughter Yoga during two sessions, which aBracted numerous par1cipants. My thanks to everyone who aBended and contributed to this joyful celebra1on for World Peace. The weather blessed us and we were the subjects for three Film and Television students from ECU. They comprehensively filmed the Laughter Yoga and interviewed many of us to create a documentary on Laughter Yoga. We look forward to receiving a copy of the film, which will help us to promote the benefits of Laughter Yoga.
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Laughter Yoga Making an Impact by Janni Goss, President of Laugh WA Inc
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WINTER 2014 Contacts: Janni 9277 7922 Kath 9341 5153
NEWSLETTERLaugh WA Inc
WE WHO LAUGH...........LAST!!
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Merv Neal, the CEO of Laughter Yoga Australia, keeps me up to date with a monthly conference call. Dr Lee Berk of Linda Loma University USA has done further research about the effects of laughter on brain chemistry, which indicates a similar effect to deep medita1on. For more informa1on, go to the website www.laughteryoga-‐australia.org.au where you can sign up for regular NewsleBers.
Laughter Wellness Conferences will be held in Christchurch NZ in September, Brisbane in October, and in Los Angeles with Sebas1an Gendry also in October 2014. This informa1on is available on the Australian website and www.laughteryogaamerica.com
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!Many of our members are engaged in promo1ng and presen1ng Laughter Yoga and their stories can be found in this NewsleBer. LaughWA is flourishing because of the enthusiasm and commitment of its members. I would like to thank all the CommiBee Members who each contribute in different ways to the success of LaughWA. Kath deserves a special men1on for her mul1-‐faceted contribu1ons, par1cularly to the NewsleBer, website and brochure development.
We have become a Laughter Family who support and encourage each other. We con1nue to plan and work towards our vision of sharing Laughter Yoga, in order to bring the benefits to all West Australians to build healthy minds, bodies and communi1es.
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!World Laughter Day in Kings Park 2014 was enjoyed by a large group of people,
the weather was kind to us and we shared laughter with many families and friends.
World Laughter Day is held by all Laughter Clubs around the World on the first Sunday in May each year.
The 12th Annual General Meeting of Laugh WA Inc. is to be held at Loftus Community Centre, after the Perth Laughter Club meeting
at 7.45 on 23rd July 2014 Nominations are requested for all committee positions.
!News from Nedlands Club
The Nedlands Laughter Club con1nues to spread the benefits of laughter throughout the Senior community. We now have a nucleus of regular aBendees and hopefully we will con1nue to grow through word of mouth from those who have experienced the benefits of laughter. Good news. Laughter has recently been proven to enhance memory by increasing the gamma wave band frequency which can improve memory, further enhancing quality of life.
Our Nedlands Laughter Club meets on the second Wednesday each month at 99 Waratah Avenue, Dalkeith at 10.30 a.m. and we would love to see you there.
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The Vision of Laugh WA
That all West Australians know and experience the benefits of laughter
News from Bunbury by Rosemarie Williams
Manea Senior College students with Rosemarie Williams.
Manea Senior College, located in Bunbury between the Institute of Technology and Edith Cowan University, is the only secondary school in WA that offers the Health and Medical Specialist Program. It is the place where students can learn some of the skills needed to be a doctor, nurse, dentist, physiotherapist or any other health professional.
In April, just before the school holidays, I had the pleasure of sharing a Laughter Yoga session with students in the Health and Medical Specialist Program.
As it states in the Training Manual "It can be hard work making teenagers laugh as they are very self-conscious and less open to laugh without reason" . Some of the students immediately got into it while others looked a bit embarrassed and were certainly out of their comfort zone. However, by the end they were having a good laugh.
On the 7th May I did two thirty minute sessions, back-to-back with a short 10 minute break in between for two different classes and teachers. It was invigorating and tiring but I left on a high. On the 15th May I will once again conduct 2 sessions with the students as some are becoming stressed with upcoming exams.
The Co-Ordinator of the Health and Medical Specialist Program, Janene Wells, invited me to share Laughter Yoga with the students. In an effort to ensure that they have a good work-life balance in the future, Janene thought Laughter Yoga would be one of the many ways they could recharge their batteries,. What a thoughtful teacher!
Trish Jamieson
!News from Deb FfordeHeathridge Laughter Club meets every fortnight during school terms on Mondays from 10.30 to 11.30. Come and join in the fun and then stay and enjoy a cuppa afterwards.
Run by Deb and assisted by Kath - we invite you to come along and enjoy laughing with us and our friendly group.
Keep Smiling.......
D a n i e l C o l l i n s i s o u r photographer and committee member of Laugh WA Inc and contributes to Perth Laughter Club
News from Luke Be…… Creative Expressionismsismmms is a new not for profit organisation that aims to use creative expression, laughter and play to improve health and wellbeing in the community. We do this by providing a variety of fun presentations, workshops and services to corporate, community and social groups.
These presentations and workshops can be separated into the following Three Categories “Health and Wellbeing”, “Creative Expression” and “Play”. To find out more about us please check our website for details.
Grant Stone founded Perth Laughter Club in 2000 and Laugh WA Inc in 2003 and is a great asset to Laugh WA
Dr. Madan and Mrs. Maduri KatariaLaughter at a training
World Laughter Day
!For any information on
Laughter Clubs and presenters please check our website
www.laughwa.org.au
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News from Helen Rice !!!
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Jewish Care News
Some weeks ago one of the ladies in my Jewish Care Group invited me to lunch aNer the session and we were joined by her daughter Michelle. During the conversa1on we discussed Michelle’s father Edwin who was currently in the Nursing Home nearby aNer having suffered a stroke and now suffered with demen1a. They were both concerned that Edwin was not receiving s1mula1ng experiences so we discussed the possibility of bringing him to a laughter yoga session.
The following session, Michelle arranged to bring her Dad in his wheelchair to our session and everyone was amazed at how a usually sleepy gentleman was wide awake and curious as to what was happening in the session. I concentrated on engaging Edwin as much as I could -‐ for example gegng him to clap and smile and eventually laugh. His daughter Michelle’s comment aNerwards was “You have to get this into the Nursing Home”. She proceeded to talk to one of the ac1vity coordinators in the nursing home who called me the following week and I offered a demonstra1on in the nursing home.
The demonstra1on included approximately 15 residents mainly from the high-‐care sec1on and a couple of my regular ladies joined us as well including Edwin’s wife. The majority were very keen and happy to par1cipate, the staff involved were very impressed with the reac1on they observed from the residents. One gentleman came up to me aNerwards to say thanks and he enjoyed the laughter games, he then asked me if I had any ideas about how he could keep his balance, I did explain that there might be some reasons why he loses balance but then he told me he was 94 years old – he looked amazing! I suggested he keep laughing!
The plan is if the ac1vity can be approved and funded they will implement laughter yoga as one of their ac1vi1es. I await further news from the Ac1vity Coordinator at the Nursing home.
!Ramsay Health – A4adale Hospital
My friend Monica did the laughter facilitator training one year ago. Monica is currently working at ABadale Hospital as a Social Worker part-‐1me. Monica was very excited aNer doing the training and hoped to use it in her work at a later date. She had men1oned to me the possibility of doing laughter yoga with the staff and possibly the residents in the hospital and asked if I could help her if a session could be arranged. I suggested I would come and do a demonstra1on and if they liked what they saw then we would go from there.
Approximately two weeks ago I aBended the hospital to do the session. Monica was able to gather a group of 8 staff members and 6 pa1ents. The group session went very well and it was done mostly seated due to the pa1ents s1ll recovering from their opera1ons. One of the pa1ents, an Indian lady named Mini said she felt ‘lighter’ aNer the session. One of the staff ladies came up to me aNerwards and said how important she felt about having laughter every day in her life. When I handed out the ‘Laughter Prescrip1on’ fridge magnets they were absolutely thrilled. Again as with the nursing home, Monica’s inten1on is to get sessions going regularly in the hospital but this will depend on funding. I leN facilitator training flyers for the next training session as I told Monica if more of the staff can do the training then they will have the knowledge and can incorporate it into their ac1vi1es.
WE WHO LAUGH...........LAST!!
Facilitator Training We look forward to welcoming our next group of Laughter Yoga facilitators to Laugh WA. Our next workshop is on 24 May 2014 at Quintilian School, Swanbourne and the next one is 23rd August 2014.
Regular training workshops are held to promote more Laughter leaders to provide presentations for clubs and schools, as well as corporate and private events. Through Laughter Yoga we build healthier minds, bodies and communities.
Contact Dorothy for enquiries 9339 8517, or email: [email protected]
News from Peter Schupp
Hello Laughter Yoga Community. We come together for our own reasons. Emo1onal health, Mental health, physical health and the amazing opportunity to create a posi1ve energy vibra1on throughout society. We all share the joys of individuals making breakthroughs, gaining confidence, self -‐esteem and respect for their own ability to create sustainable wellbeing and as a group we shine as we share.
The Kaizen Wellbeing Laughter Club has had so much laughs and joy in the first quarter of the year with many new faces and new Laughter exercises. We changed the name from the Indian Ocean Laughter Club of which I loved, to Kaizen Wellbeing Laughter Club which I am so passionate about to align with my business and corporate work. I offer complimentary 3 month membership to my club to every par1cipant and 3 of their family or friends to share the experience that we believe is best shared. The corporate work that I have had the privilege to share the Laughter Yoga system with, have resulted in amazing tes1monials. It almost feels illegal to put a pen in someone’s hand aNer one of my sessions as they are buzzing, the results speak for themselves. “today I felt down but aNer this session I feel fantas1c” “ha ha ha great beneficial session that was fun” “ Fantas1c let’s do it again”
I have been helping open the doors at the Ellenbrook Laughter Club and everyone that has come along has wanted to try this because they needed the laughter medicine. It is exci1ng star1ng a club but we all need to support the clubs to help them grow. I skyped with Sebastein Gendry master trainer today and he has run his club for 10 years. 1st year average 5 people, 2nd year 7 people 3rd year 10 people and it now has 10 – 30 people aBend. Keep up the energy with your new clubs even with the growing pains, they will always organically grow as we know that this is a system that works. The community has so much to gain in doing so.
Much Laugh and I will see you at the club.
Peter Schupp – The Laughter Guy
News from Kimmy
Hooley Dooley!! So much laughing being done and now here’s an update.
Summer at South Beach was full of fun and frivolity at our Sunset Laughter sessions.
Olimpia, Helen, Dorothy and Toshi joined the very eclectic group of laughers and treated them to their unique way of getting guffaw!!Thank you so much for treating us with your tickles.
I trotted off to Victoria to laugh at the Maitreya Festival, which is named after the laughing Buddha. Ha-‐Ha! I was contacted to do the opening ceremony and a laughter session. I did the Kookaburra with about 2000 people to herald the morning in, followed by the Laughter Shake and ‘Every little Cell’. It felt amazing singing about our happy selves with all those happy people.
Then I found out that someone hadn’t told someone that I was coming, so laughter yoga didn’t get put on the program, which meant no-‐one knew what was happening! Well that sent me off on a mission to let everyone know.
I made some signs and walked around with bells, whistles and a loud voice and wearing a sign around my neck!
Woo Hoo!! Come session time around 80 people turned up and we belly laughed and played until some of us even had tears of joy. What awesome magic laughter brings.
After the session I thought I’d Tinished my laughter work and went off to dance and socialise with friends. I was having a ball playing dress-‐ups and croquet when I saw one of the organisers looking very stressed out. I went to him and he almost squished me with a big bear hug! He had been looking for me, as they needed something special for the closing ceremony. Which had been somehow overlooked.
I checked that my arms and legs were still working and my voice was still present, had a laugh and said ‘I reckon I can do it’. He jumped for joy, I came second in croquet and then headed off to the main stage, where 8000 people danced to the last tune of the weekend. There I was up on stage getting everyone to do the tootsie-‐ta-‐ta and tell each other how awesome we are!
It was a fantastic ending to a very exciting blissful weekend and to top it off the last music act was from overseas and he said in all the festivals he’d been to he’d never seen a better way to close the festival.
Everyone was happy and they were cleaning up the rubbish whilst doing the tootsie-‐ta-‐ta. Ha Ha.
Back home and off with Grant to do laughter at a PD day for teachers who work with special needs kids. Grant and I had a wonderful morning with a great bunch of laughing teachers, all enthusiastic about how laughter can be incorporated into the school curriculum. They watched the video with Olimpia and myself facilitating our disabilities group and saw how much potential there is in sharing laughter with this group of people.
I am endeavouring to start a laughter club in East Freo at the ‘Off the Wall’ Yoga Centre on Friday nights at 7.15 p.m. I am going to include my counselling skills and address the fear people have around laughing, gaining conTidence and speaking out. All of this in the hope that more people will become comfortable with laughing, thus being able to reap the incredible physiological and psychological beneTits that laughter brings us.
Come and play with us in Freo! Phone me for details 0404 732 324.
Love, life and laughter………Kimmy
LAUGHTER CLUB LOCATIONS MAY 2014 !
PERTH LAUGHTER CLUB: Loftus Community Centre (Cnr. Loftus and Vincent Streets, Leederville) Meets every second Wednesday 6.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. - Enquiries: Grant 0412 170 665 or email - [email protected] (next meetings May 28th, June 11th and 25th, July 9th and 23rd) !
KAIZEN WELLBEING LAUGHTER CLUB: Karrinyup Community Hall, Davenport Street, Karrinyup at 7 p.m every Tuesday. All ages welcome. Enquiries ring Peter on 0408 944 815 ! HEATHRIDGE LAUGHTER CLUB: Heathridge Leisure Centre, Sale Terrace, Heathridge Meets every fortnight during school terms. Monday 10.30 to 11.30 a.m. Enquiries to Deb email: [email protected] (next meeting May 26, June 9th and 23rd) !
YOKINE LAUGHTER CLUB: Jewish Care, 61 Woodrow Ave, Yokine – Meets fortnightly for seniors. Limited numbers . Call Sarah on 9275 6743 !HILTON LAUGHTER CLUB: PCYC, 32a Paget Street, Hilton. This is a class for a mix of people with disabilities but everyone welcome. Wednesdays from 10 – 11 a.m. Enquiries to Kimmy on 0428 831 722 !FREMANTLE LAUGHTER CLUB Starting soon…….. Enquiries to Kimmy on 0428 831 722 !NEDLANDS LAUGHTER CLUB Seniors Affinity Club meets second Wednesday each month at 97 Waratah Avenue, Dalkeith from 10.30 to 11.30 a.m. Enquiries to Patricia on 9386 6170 !BELMONT: Starting soon - contact Janni on 9277 7922 or check website !STIRLING LAUGHTER CLUB Stirling Civic Gardens, 2 Cedric Street, Stirling (Park is located next to
train station) Every Saturday morning 9.30 to 10.30. Free Event (Donations welcome) Bring mat or rug to sit on. Enquiries to Luke Be on 0401 356 563 !
AVELEY/ELLENBROOK LAUGHTER CLUB Aveley Community Centre, Bolero Road, Aveley. Every Monday 7 to 7.45 p.m.. Participation by donation to Camp Quality. Enquiries: Annie Hill on 0419 840 225 BUNBURY LAUGHTER CLUB: Bunbury Library Activity Room, Parkfield Street, Bunbury. All welcome. Meets Saturday mornings 10 – 11 a.m. Enquiries: Rosemarie Williams on 0409 553 786 !MANDURAH LAUGHTER CLUB A new venue will be found for winter months - contact Jan Lucas for details on 9583 5058 or 0437 808 235 Visit our web site www.laughwa.org.au !
WE WHO LAUGH...........LAST!!