Laughter Wellness Comes To Australia!

We all know that laughter feels good. Laughter Wellness founder Sebastien Gendry says, ‘‘This is kind of sad, because there’s so much more. There is an untapped force, contained within us, that has the power to totally change our lives. All we have to do, in order to unlock this secret, is to simply start using it. ’’

In June 2016, Sebastien facilitated the first ever Laughter Wellness Teacher Training (Level 1) in Australia.  A group of twelve Australians discovered a method to provide a whole new approach to health and wellbeing in their communities – the Laughter Wellness method.

Laughter Wellness is a safe and reliable method that uses the energy of laughter to promote physical, mental, social and emotional health and wellbeing. It involves a range of tools, techniques and activities designed to create and sustain positive energies.

‘‘It’s about choosing to laugh and choosing to have a positive attitude. It’s intentional laughter. Even if you’re facing adversity, if you choose to smile and laugh, simulating will lead to stimulating the chemistry that comes with it. This causes a shift in your mood state. Laughter Wellness didn’t change my life, but much better. It changed me.’’ – Sebastien Gendry

At Laugh and Live Well, the Laughter Wellness method has enriched our wellbeing programs, since early 2015. We were excited about the opportunity to coordinate this in-person training with Sebastien, who travelled specially from the USA.

This training was held in Thirlmere NSW, in support of local foundation, Creativity and Community Wellness Centre (CCWC), ahead of their official public launch in July 2016. CCWC plan to offer Laughter Wellness classes, as a part of their wellbeing programs, to enhance the health and wellbeing of their community members.

Sue Thomas – founder of CCWC, Sebastien Gendry, Connie Costa – training coordinator & founder of Laugh and Live Well

Fiona – CCWC, Nicole – Community Links, Sebastien Gendry, Cherrie – Community Links, Sue Thomas – founder CCWC

When people are facing adversity, it can be easy to forget to smile and laugh. I can see the benefit of having the opportunity to laugh in a safe space and a healthy environment. This enables people to give themselves permission to laugh, even if their circumstances are not ideal. Laughter Wellness is a valuable tool that could help with mental health and wellbeing, by helping to create a more positive attitude towards life. The laughter exercises, breathing exercises and affirmations would be valuable to the overall wellbeing of our clients. – Cherrie Willingham, Community Links Wollondilly.

‘‘This is going to go far and wide. I can feel it and I’m excited about sharing it with the world!’’ – Katrina McDonnell, South Australia’s first ever Laughter Wellness (Level 1) Teacher, trained in Thirlmere.

Here’s what some of Australia’s first laughter wellness teachers had to say:

For more information about Laughter Wellness, training or booking a laughter wellness session for your organisation, visit the Laughter Wellness Institute.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Connie Costa is a Sydney-based Laughter Wellness Teacher (Level 2) and the founder of Laugh and Live Well. She works with organisations to create sustainable wellbeing programs, using the Laughter Wellness method. Connie shares the many benefits of laughter with people through her laughter trainings and presentations, articles and the Bondi Beach Laughter Club. She believes that feeling good, leads to clearer thoughts and better outcomes across all aspects of your life.