Schedule

Find your partner and have some 'Aussie' fun with Annie! All the way from Australia, Annie will introduce us to the Giggle Game, a mindfulness and laughter based resource for educators and children. She will also share her global vision, which you can all be part of!

This 30-minute Body Percussion Workshop offers you a brief yet enriching introduction to the art form. Through exploring the history, benefits, basic exercises, and steps involved, you will develop a greater appreciation for the rhythmic potential of your bodies. Join us in this engaging and interactive journey of self-expression and creativity through movement and sound!

Dive into Joy and Wellness! Join me for a unique experience combining the therapeutic benefits of laughter with the refreshing environment of water. This workshop combines laughter yoga techniques with aqua fitness to create a fun and uplifting session that promotes physical and mental well-being. Laugh your way to better health.

Please do not eat before session, breakfast will be served right after. Thank you.

Led by me Heidi Bwell, Laughter is suitable for all fitness levels and ages. Come try it, if you haven't already!

Oh did I mention there's a water slide....Heheheeee see you in the pool!

Start your day with a burst of vitality at our 'Start Your Day Breathing and Laughing' session! Dive into five easy yet powerful breathing exercises followed by a laughter meditation.

Let's unlock joy and energize ourselves for the day ahead through the magic of breath and laughter.

Get ready for an inspiring presentation film that reveals how laughter can do amazing things for our well-being. We'll honor the memory of Doug Collins, a true laughter leader, and then jump into some fun laughter exercises together. Don't pass up the chance to dive into laughter, love, and the good vibes of healing!

Have you ever witnessed someone leaving a laughter session abruptly, shutting down, or even expressing anger or tears? Maybe you've noticed a participant not fully engaging because the laughter triggers current or past pain or trauma. You want to help, but you're unsure how to support them. Sometimes, they never return to laugh again.

What if you had powerful exercises in your laughter toolkit to help ease their fear of feeling? Imagine being able to incorporate these exercises into your sessions whenever you notice participants feeling emotionally uneasy.

In this session led by Carla H Brown, we'll explore how laughter can help us handle tough feelings like grief. Carla, with over 30 years of experience in Holistic Health, creates a safe space for us to express and understand our emotions.

We'll learn practical ways to deal with these feelings through movement, breathing, play, and sound. Carla's approach considers psychology, science, and spirituality, giving us tools to manage strong emotions better.

Join Carla on this journey to use laughter as a tool for healing and connection.

Laugh as you learn how to leverage your humour advantage to help you be more successful at work and in life! Michael Kerr will share ideas on how humour can help you build relationships, communicate more effectively, spark creativity, deliver memorable customer service, and help you manage your bad hair days!

In this experiential workshop, we will explore the basic tenets of a trauma-informed lens to set the stage for learning and practicing breath techniques that lead to effective self and co-regulation. With breath literacy, we access an internal energy renewal source and a tangible tool that supports us in staying with discomfort long enough to re-appraise what we had made that discomfort mean. This has powerful implications for our overall health and well-being, as conscious and deliberate breath practice not only retrains our entire bodily system to be more flexible, adaptive and adept at recovery, but it also serves a larger goal of supporting the repair of relational ruptures for a more connected and collaborative community.

We will explore:

• What an optimal and functional breath looks like, feels like, and the benefits

• The interconnection of breath and our nervous system states, and what that means when it comes to supporting better health

• A theoretical framework to consider as we use our breath literacy to learn how to access the pause before we react

What to bring:

• Yoga mat (if you would like the option to lay on the floor)

• Blanket or cushions for comfort on the floor (remaining seated on a chair is welcome)

This double feature workshop will allow you to learn about the latest scientific research regarding laughter at work. You will experience an innovative practice with an inclusive focus that will adapt to your values as a human and your practice as a professional in different cultural contexts.

Have you written a book? Do you sell a product? Or have an idea you'd like to showcase and discuss? The business trade show is a fun and friendly market for all of you Laughter-preneurs to show and sell your offerings! After you've had your lunch, please grab a table to set up your laughter business booth, decorate it how you like, and share your offerings with your curious and supportive colleagues!

Tables are first come, first served so there is no need to sign up in advance.

In this talk and interactive workshop, Gigi Otálvaro-Hormillosa, also known as Dr. Giggles among her laughter yoga students, will share her experiences as an artist-scholar and educator who teaches performative healing modalities as tools for resilience.

She will also discuss her personal experiences with grief and trauma, and the ways that laughter yoga has supported her while working as an educator, which is a profession that is highly conducive to burnout. Drawing on concepts and methods from the classes she has designed, she will lead participants in interactive and community building activities that incorporate other healing and creative practices like qigong and theater games.

The integration of the arts, wellbeing, and an awareness of diversity and inclusion, is at the center of her work in higher education. She looks forward to expanding this work out into the world, such as with the participants at the Canadian Laughter Adventures conference. She has been teaching laughter yoga and other performative healing modalities at Stanford since 2017. Her goal as an educator is to help people reconnect to their bodies and to their capacity for joy, even during life’s most challenging moments.

Join us for a rejuvenating session of gentle yoga at the laughter conference! Bring along a towel or yoga mat as we embark on a soothing wake-up stretch flow. Whether you're a seasoned yogi or new to the practice, all levels are welcome to kickstart the day with relaxation and rejuvenation.

What to Bring:

• Towel or yoga mat

Let the morning air refresh you and give you an extra boost! During this walk, you can take in the majestic beauty of the surroundings and carry it in your heart for a long time. The pace is easy and we go as fast as the slowest participant. We alternate between moments of guided mindfulness and pauses of silence.

We leave at 7:30 am sharp from the Pocaterra Reception and are back before 8:15 am.

What to Bring:

• Comfortable walking shoes

• Layered clothes

*Please note: This activity is weather-dependent.

Step into Teena Miller's talk for "LaughX Pearls of Legendary Wisdom," where she unveils the transformative power of laughter in the face of adversity. Titled "Laughing At Cancer Keeps Me Living: Finding Laughter in the Darkest Moments," this session offers a unique blend of humor and resilience.

Through heartfelt anecdotes and interactive exercises, Teena guides participants on a journey of discovery, demonstrating how laughter can be a source of strength even in the most challenging times. Drawing upon her own experiences and the wisdom of laughter therapy, Teena empowers attendees to embrace joy and find moments of levity amidst life's struggles. Join this laughter-filled workshop and discover how laughter truly can be the best medicine for the soul.

May the force be with us! Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) principles are

constantly evolving and at times it may feel like walking on eggshells. Join this engaging

workshop to deepen your understanding and application of JEDI skills in your personal

and professional life. Through discussion, reflection and activities, we will explore core

JEDI principles, unconscious bias, and review practical strategies to foster inclusion and

promote equity.

A journey into the exciting world of creating laughter yoga video content with Angelique. Are those pre-recording butterflies stopping you from diving into content creation? Trust her, she's been right there with you! She remembers that nerve-wracking yet exhilarating moment of hitting record and uploading her very first YouTube video. It was a total 'yikes' moment, but you know what? She did it! And guess what? You can too!

Are you ready to take action? It’s time to let your creativity soar and let that infectious spirit of yours shine through on social media and YouTube. Angelique understands – you might be curious but a bit unsure about what to say on video. Fear not! You're in this together, and together, you're going to brainstorm some fantastic laughter exercises and themes to kickstart your unique journey. After all, as they say, a group of brains is better than one.

Can you feel the excitement building up? In this workshop, you'll learn how to create laughter yoga videos, upload them on social media and YouTube, and engage in collaborative brainstorming sessions for captivating topic ideas and video titles. And here's the best part: by the end of your time together, you'll have 1-3 short videos ready to share with the world. All you need is your phone and a sprinkle of courage.

So, get ready to unleash your creativity, boost that confidence, and create ripples of joy – because your story deserves to be heard, seen, and celebrated! Lights, camera, action!

When Madan Kataria first explored Laughter Yoga, it was with the intention of stress

reduction for his patients (he was working as a cardiologist at the time). Subsequently,

Laughter Yoga evolved as a fun engaging process that undoubtedly reduces stress, with

limitations.

Dave MacQuarrie has known Madan since 2003 and had many discussions

with him concerning what might be further combined with Laughter Yoga so as to

provide a greater impact. Currently Dave is working with Master Trainer Duncan Cook in

exploration of such possibilities. There will be time for questions and discussion.