May 1-7, 2011 was National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week. This is a week dedicated to increasing public awareness about the triumphs and challenges in children’s mental health and emphasizing the importance of family and youth involvement in the children’s mental health movement.
To help celebrate National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, I was invited to lead laughter yoga at Quakerdale of Waterloo, Iowa—a statewide, private, not-for-profit family and children's service agency providing a continuum of preventive and therapeutic services in a Christian environment. Youth and families are often referred to Quakerdale by the Iowa Department of Human Services or Iowa Juvenile Court Services.
Laughter yoga boosts mental health by increasing the body’s happy hormones and connecting people with one another. To demonstrate this, I led two laughter yoga workshops with caregivers and group home residents. What a wonderful time we had laughing together! My husband, William, took the following pictures of the workshops.
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