Laughing is a Serious Matter

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I met Dr. Madan Kataria today in Lokhandwala Garden No. 2 while on my way to my jogging routine.Dr Kataria is now an international celebrity and most sought after man not only in India but around the globe. He is the person who converted laughing into a very serious business.


Dr. Madan Kataria is basically a doctor by profession and in the year 1995 he started a laughter club with 5 people in Lokhandwala Garden No.2, an upmarket residential hub of Bombay Suburb Andheri where you may rub your shoulders with hollywood bigwigs, TV stars, Models (including Shiny Ahuja!). Gradually that morning routine of laughing developed into a fine art called Laughter Yoga. Dr Madan is no more into his original profession i.e. medicine , he is now  proud mentor of more then 6000 laughter clubs across 60 countries. 


Now a days, most of the time Dr. Kataria is on the move, hopping from one country to the other overseeing activities of these clubs, lecturing, participating on TV and Radio Shows. He also conducts programmes to train Laughter Yoga Teachers who may systematically run the clubs.


Revealing secret of his Laughter Yoga, Dr. Katararia says it combines Unconditional with Yogic Breathing (Pranayama). Anyone can Laugh for No Reason, without relying on humor,jokes or comedy. Laughter is simulated as a body exercise in a group; with eye contact and childlike playfulness, it soon turns into real and contagious laughter. The concept of Laughter Yoga is based on a scientific fact that the body cannot differentiate between fake and real laughter. One gets the same physiological and psychological benefits.

Dr Kataria's  innovative concept  has a worldwide following, and has been featured by many popular publications like TIME Magazine, National Geographic, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Daily Telegraph (UK) to mention a few. Laughter Clubs have appeared on popular Television: Oprah Winfrey Show, BBC, CNN, ZDF (Germany) NHK (Japan), ABC News (USA) and others around the world. Many film features on Laughter Yoga and Laughter Clubs have been produced in different languages of the world. The media has played highly influential role in the growth of Laughter Yoga globally.

Dr. Kataria has not confined to mentoring the clubs, he is into corporate training and helps corporate bigwigs to fight stress. He also goes to schools and college to coach students to cope up stress of examination!

He has written a number of books, cut CD/ DVDs
ranging from laughter yoga to nidra yoga. Such  Books, DVDs, Audio CDs, E-books, MP3 Downloads, Video Downloads and merchandise like Fun Game Cards, T-Shirts, and other products for Laughter Yoga Professionals are avaiable at his website. One can learn Laughter Yoga methods and enhance his skills by watching the videos and listening to audio CDs.His online CD/DVD/MP3 download business runs into million dollars.

Success of Dr Kataria does not rest here. He

created World Laughter Day as an international event  in 1998. The celebration of World Laughter Day is a positive manifestation for world peace and is intended to build up a global consciousness of brotherhood and friendship through laughter. Its popularity has grown exponentially with that of the Laughter Yoga movement now counting over 6000 Laughter Clubs in more than 60 countries.



The first World Laughter Day gathering took place in Mumbai, India, in 1998. Twelve thousand members from local and international laughter clubs joined together in a mega laughter session.


“HAPPY-DEMIC” was the first World Laughter Day gathering outside India. It took place in the year 2000 in Copenhagen, Denmark where more than 10,000 people gathered at Town Hall Square. It was the largest ever gathering that laughed and bonded together and the event went into the Guinness Book of World records. 
Now Dr. Kataria has shifted his base from Bombay to Banglore where he is going to start an University dedicated to Laughter. Tell me who says Laughter is not a serious business !  

Dr Kataria's Laughter has become a big serious thing 

Dr Kataria's journey started with this park
     

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