A principle is a fundamental truth that serves as the foundation for a system that governs behavior. In business, there are ten of them and they never change. But what are the principles of the Laughter Quotient and why are they important?
As the Laughter Quotient is a mathematical equation and focuses on the Science of Laughter, people have been suggesting that it is inflexible and not authentic. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the fundamental truth, which are the principles.
The 5 Principles of the Laughter Quotient are 1. Injoy. 2. Connect. 3. Be. 4. Do. And 5. Play. These are based on how Laughter Yoga is done. Laugher Yoga says that the stimulus must not be through jokes or comedy. It’s about being fun and not funny. We make eye contact to connect to others. We need to have a willingness to intentionally laugh. And then we do laughter exercises that are playful and childlike.
The Laughter Quotient through the analysis of a person’s laugh has the ability to provide suggestions and training to enable people to modify how they are currently laughing to provide the maximum benefits from the process. By changing one of the numbers of the quotient, we can move the person towards their true and authentic laughter that sounds good, looks good, and then feels good.
Here are the 5 Principles of the Laughter Quotient in detail.
- Injoy. No, “injoy” isn’t a real word but it should be. The word enjoy is derived from the term to give or receive pleasure. To “injoy” is to please from within. While we are encouraged to enjoy ourselves when laughing, it’s actually more important to allow the laughter to come unconditionally from deep down in the core.
- Connect. Laughter connects people at an emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, and social level. What we need to also understand is that it connects and unites us to ourselves. This is where Laughter Yoga got its name from, as the word yoga means to unite the body mind and spirit.
- Be. Laughter is all about being in the moment. There is no past or future. This allows the mind to be still and mindless. We then become mindful of the sound that we are making with our laughter.
- Do. Laughter is not just a sound. It’s a full body action. When laughing we should be relaxed and most importantly breathing deeply from the core or belly. If we are breathing from there then we are laughing from there. It’s important to move because motion creates emotion.
- Play. The purpose of play is that there is no purpose. When we play we tap into the inner child. In yogic philosophy, this is the purity and innocence and playfulness that lives deep within us all. It’s about letting go.
If you have any further questions regarding the Principles of the Laughter Quotient then please feel free to email me at merv@mervneal.com at any time.
Merv Neal is a Laughter Yoga Master Trainer, CEO of Laughter Yoga Australia and New Zealand, and Director of Holistic Services Group. He has successfully owned and operated his own businesses for more than 43 years. He has created a Laughter Yoga Business Training Program, as well as the Business Mentors and Coaches Program, to help others to take laughter to commercial organizations, and/or to create a laughter business of their own. More information can be found at http://www.laughteryogaaustralia.org or https://www.mervneal.com. He can be contacted on 0408552269 or merv@mervneal.com