As a young girl, Huda Abdulaziz Al Raisi was a quiet but smiling child. She worked hard in school and at the tender age of 8, she dreamt of getting high grades in secondary school and going to university. She would smile through the good times and the bad, and smiling always helped ease her stress and tension.
At 16, her life changed. Huda was diagnosed with cancer and she began her chemotherapy treatment. It was a difficult time, as she was in the 12th grade and had hoped to achieve good grades. She smiled through those terrifying days, believing that she would beat cancer and pass her school year with good grades…and she did! When the cancer came back, she beat it again.
Life went on with ups and downs, and her way of coping entailed research, reading, attending courses and looking for answers that would see her through her challenges. One such chance moment is when she first came across an advertisement for Laughter Yoga. She decided to attend the class, and was stunned by the stress relief she felt the next day. Her curiosity for the subject grew; she had just learnt that laughter is a magical medicine! From that moment on, she set a goal to become a Laughter Yoga teacher.
In the following interview, Huda sheds light on Laughter Yoga, its fitness and wellness benefits and her journey to bringing laughter yoga to Oman…
What is Laughter Yoga?
Laughter Yoga is a unique concept, started by Dr. Madan Kataria, an Indian medical doctor, where anyone can laugh for no reason without relying on humour, jokes or comedy. It is initiated in a group as an exercise with childlike playfulness and eye contact. The reason that it is named Laughter Yoga is because it combines laughter exercises with deep breathing. This will oxygenate the body and the brain and lets one feel more energetic and healthier.
What are the benefits of Laughter Yoga?
To benefit from Laughter Yoga, it has to be sustained, hearty, unconditional and come deep from the diaphragm. Laughter Yoga elevates one’s mood immediately because while laughing your brain cells release endorphins. It also reduces stress levels and strengthens the immune system. Laughter exercises oxygenate our bodies and brains which helps improve efficiency and performance at work. In addition, laughter sessions are a great connector of people.
Tell us about Oman Laughter Yoga.
I believe in laughter and the way it has impacted my life positively. This made me think about how I can share it with people so as to help them too. That’s how I came up with the idea of creating Oman Laughter Yoga, an Instagram account, to make it easier for people who are looking to learn about Laughter Yoga in Oman and to share information about laughter sessions held in Oman. It is simply an activity that I do in my free time to invest my knowledge to help people experience joy in life through laughter.
What services do you offer under the Oman Laughter Yoga banner?
I am keen to spread laughter all around so the services I offer as a Laughter Yoga Teacher are – Laughter Yoga Leader training; Laughter Yoga Sessions for schools, seniors groups, corporate and business houses and one-on-one coaching.
What are your hopes for the future?
One of my life’s goals is to support children who have cancer and their parents; because it is not only the patient who suffers, but also the parents who are worried about their child. So, in the future, I hope to have the chance to help children diagnosed with cancer by doing some voluntary laughter sessions for them with their parents, in cooperation with associations or corporates that are willing to support these children as a part of their social responsibility.
For more information about Laughter Yoga, laughter sessions or the above mentioned services, check out @oman.laughter.yoga on Instagram or email oman.laughter.yoga@gmail.com