ELT and the Science of Happiness

Positive psychology activities for ELT/EFL/ESL

Dr. Madan Kataria is a medical doctor from Mumbai, India. He invented "laughter yoga" and founded Laughter Yoga Clubs. There are now over 6000 laughter clubs around the world.

And here's the great thing about laughter clubs -- people just show up. And laugh.

I had the honor of being in one of Dr. Kataria's workshops in Tokyo recently. It was brilliant. I took notes and will share them with you. But, before that, it really would help you to experience a bit of yogic laughter. My explaining it won't help much, but watching a bit of video might.

Check this out:

youtubelaughteryoga (about 10 minutes) -- it is worth your time investment

After you've watched that video, here are a couple things that may help you use "laughter therapy" in your own classes. I have posted my own notes from Dr. Kataria's workshops. Also, I find it useful to teach my students why things like laughter -- something they don't usually associate with English study -- are important. The "poster" download has a pdf file that explains some of the science behind laughter.

I learned a lot from the Kataria workshop. But the first time I did laughter yoga with my students was before I went to his workshop. I read his book and tried it. I hope you will too.

Laughing,

Marc