LAUGHING FOR CHILDREN IN NEED

On October 2nd, I had the immense privilege and joy of being part of a laughter event in Victoria Station in London, England, which raised money for the BBC's Children in Need program. This charity receives funds from supporters across the UK and with these donations, they are able to make positive changes to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people all across the UK. Visit here for information on how to donate.

Liza Moon organized the event. Other laughers included: Geoffrey Moon, Mary Grace, Mary Adshead, Jennifer Eccles, Julie Whitehead, Cathy Collymore, Momo Kowle, Heike Kowle and Julian James as Pudsy Bear, the well-loved Children in Need mascot. Together, we led laughter yoga exercises and songs for over an hour and a half. We invited people to donate to Children in Need, handed out postcards with a poem about laughter and urged them to join us in the levity. Happily, many did!

"Victoria changed persona as we got her laughing!" reported Liza about the event. "We had a great time, and a valuable experience as we raised money for Children in Need. The great bit was how many student age groups joined, and there was a dermatological specialist passing by who joined in a while and stayed the rest of the time laughing and absorbing the knowledge about the benefits of laughter. Loads of hugs for Pudsy Bear, which was so lovely to see but it wasn’t only the kids, all sorts of women clung to him with passionate embraces too! Lots of people took the poem postcard to keep some laughter in their pockets. Photos were taken by William Gentry, Laura’s husband, and it was brilliant meeting her and sharing the laughter. We missed friends from the network who couldn’t be there, so we held you in our thoughts to be part of the day. Thank you to you all for your kind messages of support, and especially to Julie and Jennifer for their encouragement all along the way."

It was particularly heart-warming for me to be a part of this laughter event. Even though we were foreigners and hadn't met any of the other laughers until that day, we were fully embraced. Immediately, William and I felt like we became part of the London laughter family. What an amazing thing that laughter knits hearts and minds together. I was also struck by how busy train stations in London are overrun with stressed out, serious-looking people. To give these folks a taste of laughter yoga was really exciting. They certainly needed it and those who stopped to join us were instantly transformed.

Here's the official Youtube video of the event:

William took many fabulous photos and here are some of them.

In case you'd like to start using The Penguin Song (shown above) at your own laughter club, here are the words.

The Penguin Song

Chorus:

Did you ever see a penguin come to tea?

Take a look around, a penguin you will see!

Penguins! Attention! (hands at sides)

Penguins! Salute! (salute)

Right arm flap

After each chorus add one more thing:

Left arm flap

Right leg flap

Left leg flap

Bum out

Beak out

Penguins! March!

UPDATE: Liza Moon, one of the organizers of this event was just mentioned in this Laughter Yoga International article.