Event Marche -

Legend Lodges Management team participating in a Laughter Therapy Session as an ice breaker during their Management Meeting in July this year

Reviews:

 Dear Angela

 Thank you so much for doing this event for us!

 We had a fantastic time, and I was really pleased to see that everyone participated. I was a bit worried, as some members of the team are not very expressive but you managed to get everyone involved.

 Many thanks – I really enjoyed the activity, and we will definitely add you to our preferred suppliers list for teambuilding activities!

 Kind regards

 Lize Zwanepoel

  Revenue & Reservations Manager

  Legend Lodges, Hotels & Resorts

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Odd at first, but something very different and I can and have applied it to real life. Thanks for teaching me a new trick to avoid arguments. In a strange way, it made me feel more in control of emotions that I could not express. Super excited to just carry on laughing about anything negative!

Thank you for experience, I have recommended to other people as well.

Thank you

Kind Regards

Chantal Coetzer

HR Consultant

Veldcooper

  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I found the laughter therapy session very eventful. I had never done anything like it before and I’m sure many of the staff had never done anything like it before either. It was fun and nice to interact with the staff. The presenter was clear in what she wanted to achieve with us and I definitely think she did achieve this.

 Kind Regards

Recent studies have shown that 81 of the Fortune Top 100 companies are rated as fun places to work. Scientists have found that laughter improves creativity and productivity. And research shows that employees work harder and remain more loyal to companies and bosses that mix fun and work.

Stress in the workplace

• PHYSICAL STRESS results from working beyond one’s physical capacity. Working continuously without sufficient rest or recharge makes one physically tired and exhausted.
• MENTAL STRESS in the workplace stems largely from heavy workloads with tight deadlines, from fear of losing’s one’s job or pushing too hard to fulfill basic needs. Competing with others or competing with yourself to improve your performance also leads to mental stress.
• EMOTIONAL STRESS is deep-rooted and caused by bad relationships at home or at the workplace. Even highly talented and skilled employees cannot perform well if they are emotionally disturbed. Emotional problems at home reflect at work and vice versa. Emotional stress is more difficult to cope with and reduce that physical and mental stress.

Angela Blakeway of Happily ever Laughter trained through Laughter SA and underwent intensive training in the physical, psychological and emotional aspects of laughter. Angela is a certified Laughter Therapy Coach in accordance with the history, theory, practice, syllabus and principles set out by Dr Madan Kataria MD of the International School of Laughter in India, the founder of Laughter Coaching worldwide.

 It has been clinically and scientifically proven that:

•  Hearty laughter is one of the best forms of human exercise. It provides a great cardio workout with an increase in heart rate achieved in 2  - 3 minutes of laughter where as this can take 10 – 12 minutes on an exercise machine,
• More importantly, it provides good physical, mental and emotional results that can be extremely beneficial.
• Another physical benefit of laughter is that it quickly and completely oxygenates the blood and all major organs.
• Laughter causes the body to release Endorphins, natural opiates which act as pain killers and it also promotes feelings of comfort and safety.
• Laughter is nature’s way of getting people to bond. Share a giggle with a stranger and you connect. It quickly promotes a caring sharing feeling towards others.
• Severe stress causes the body to release stress chemicals in high concentrations that actually poison our systems and interfere with natural bodily. Laughter is nature’s own anti-stress mechanism.
• Scientific studies show that:
• Laughter QUICKLY activates and boosts the immune system.
• Laughter exercises the lymph nodes and stimulates the circulation of lymphatic fluid through the lymph ducts
• Laughter gives the heart a full cardio work out.
• The word is a reflection of one’s state of mind. A gloomy state of mind reflects in a miserable world of people to avoid, while a positive mental attitude reflects a positive world full of worthwhile people.
• Laughter provides a new perspective on life and with it a new mechanism of dealing with common stressors. Many people quickly realize that things that seemed huge are not really that important. This provides wonderful tools to deal with stressful situations and to stop stress from building to acute levels.

 Used as an ice breaker in conferences or as a one hour workshop the benefits or Laughter Therapy are outstanding. Used as:

• wellness
• teambuilding
• peak performance
• stress-busting
• and laughter programs specifically designed according to client needs.

 Laughter therapy for the business world

 Scientific research shows us that laughter can help to resolve many major workplace issues, but until now there has been no reliable and effective system to deliver laughter. Humor was the only tool available, and it is not reliable and seldom leads to continuous hearty laughter.

 Laughter therapy is a breakthrough laughter delivery system that can enable a person to laugh continuously for 15 to 20 minutes with short breaks of therapeutic breathing.

 While laughter therapy has spread quickly to more than 55 countries, laughter therapy in the business world is making waves. Many laughter therapy professionals have presented sessions to business with positive results and as such the business world is beginning to consider laughter as a vital tool to improve workplace performance.

 In December 2006, laughter therapy international commissioned a scientific research project involving 200 IT professionals in Bangalore, India, to study the effects of laughter therapy on their stress levels. Seven laughter therapy sessions were administered to half the group over an 18 day period with before and after physiological, immunological and psychological tests performed on each person before and after the study.        

 The results of the Bangalore study were extremely positive. In the laughter therapy group there was a significant drop in heart rate, blood pressure dropped significantly, cortisol levels were significantly reduced, positive emotions increased by 17% and negative emotions dropped by 27%,  perceived stress dropped significantly, and Alexythemia dropped by almost 9%, indicating a significant improvement in emotional intelligence.

Happily ever Laughter       Laughter therapy

What Laughter Therapy is:

1. A growing global phenomenon being practiced successfully in over 72 countries.
2. A powerful tool to reduce workplace stress and create a happy and energetic workforce.
3. The quickest result achiever and you can feel the benefits immediately.
4. Reduces physical and mental stress simultaneously and brings an emotional balance.
5. Increases positive and decreases negative emotions.
6. Even highly talented and skilled employees cannot perform well if they are emotionally “injured”.

 Our method

1. Sessions start with gentle warm-up techniques to break down inhibitions and develop feelings of 'childlike playfulness'.
2. These ‘exercises’, when combined with the strong social dynamics of group behaviour, lead to prolonged and hearty unconditional laughter.
3. It is the only technique that allows adults to achieve sustained hearty laughter without involving cognitive thought.
4. It bypasses the intellectual systems that normally act as a brake on natural laughter.

Where and how long

1. Either your offices or we can arrange a venue ideal for laughing and recovering.
2. We offer a half day session or incorporate it into a full day event or teambuilding session!

For more information and or bookings contact:

Event Marché – 011 425 0302/4687 or www.eventmarche.co.za

                         This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.