Special thanks to: Honalee Hunter and Richard Gall who trained with Hannah Airey in March 2007.  Together they supported each other in facilitating at the St Albans Laughter Club and without them the Club wouldn't be the success that it is today.


Christchurch Laughter Clubs

Club:             The St Albans Laughter Club
Venue:          Scottish Society Hall, corner of Edgeware and Caledonian Roads, St Albans
When:           Every Sunday
Time:            11.00am until 11.45am
Cost:             $2 
Facilitators:   Hannah Airey, Terry Thomsen, Dan Salisbury (facilitators take it in turns to take the sessions) 
Contact:        Hannah 021 998 109

"At our Club in St Albans, Christchurch we regularly have between 30-50 people ranging in ages from 2 years to 80 years!  We have had people come who have forgotten how to laugh, need more laughter in their lives, those who suffer from depression or who have cancer, those who don’t even speak English and those who just love laughing for no reason at all!  It’s been amazing watching the transformation in people."

Club:            Honalee's Laughter Group
Venue:         9 Starwood Lane, Clifton Hill
When:          1st Friday of every month
Time:            7.00pm until 8.00pm
Cost:             $8 waged $6 unwaged
Facilitator:    Honalee Hunter
Contact:       Honalee 021 182 6167

There are other Laughter Clubs that meet around New Zealand and these numbers will grow as Hannah travels around New Zealand training people wanting to enrich their lives with more laughter or those who would like to lead laughter groups.  If you live in an area where there are no Laughter Clubs, and you want one, please contact Hannah and discuss the possibility of holding a training near you.

For a full list of Laughter Clubs around New Zealand please visit http://www.laughteryoga.org.nz/

Laughter Yoga Clubs were started by Indian physician, Dr. Madan  Kataria and his wife Madhuri (a Yoga Teacher) in 1995 with just five people.  Today, the laughter movement is widely accepted and has become a global phenomenon with over 10,000 clubs in 65 countries. Realising the tremendous power of laughter and its efficacy as the best prescription for wellness, Laughter Clubs have brought smiles and laughter into the lives of many people.

Laughter Clubs are community based and not-for-profit. Laughter is a universal language that transcends all barriers, age, gender, language, hierarchy, physical abilities, race, religion, political beliefs. Anyone can laugh without relying on humour, jokes or comedy.

Laughter is approached as a form of exercise while maintaining eye contact with others in the group. This leads to real and contagious laughter. Science has proven that the body cannot differentiate between pretend laughter and real laughter - your body still gets the same health benefits.

Most  importantly it is the body's natural antidote to stress.

Why is it called Laughter Yoga?
The primary reason Dr Kataria names this technique "Laughter Yoga" is because it combines laughter exercises with deep diaphragmatic breathing or yogic breathing. 

For more information on Laughter Yoga please visit http://www.laughteryoga.org/


Picture
Trevor (St Albans Laughter Club)
"Laughter Yoga is something you have to experience for yourself.  It makes you forget your everyday thoughts and you become involved in laughter.  It tones up your whole body and really makes you feel good with a combination of yoga and laughter".
Picture
Lynda, Career Counsellor and NLP Practitioner
"It's great that something that is so much fun is so good for you! I've been going to Laughter Yoga for about 3 years now and love it. It's helped me to allow myself to be more playful and fun-loving, less serious about life in general. I laugh more in other situations now, not just on Sunday mornings."
Picture