What does happiness mean to you and what brings you happiness?
For me, being in the present is the key to happiness. More often than not, people are stuck in the past or dwell on the future and so, they steal from themselves the ability to enjoy and feel happy in the present moment. So, I believe that whatever you’re doing at any given moment, if you’re not physically as well as mentally involved in it, you won’t be able to receive happiness from that activity.
Personally, yoga and meditation make me really happy, and I also believe that they're some of the best ways to become mindful and to stay in the present.
How important is Happiness for a person’s overall health? Do you think one can be healthy without being happy?
I think it’s actually impossible to be healthy without being truly happy. Unless you're mentally and emotionally healthy, it’s hard to maintain your physical wellbeing. Only when you feel happy and calm, when your mind is steady and at peace, can you be holistically healthy. If you're not happy, then you're not healthy even if you're physically fit, because your mind and body have a very interconnected and interdependent relationship. Hence, happiness is quintessential for your overall well-being!
We all encounter challenges, but how do you perceive and overcome the challenges you face in your daily life?
From the moment you’re born, it is evident that you’ll experience everything - good and bad days, ease and hardships, good people as well as negative people - these are all a part of life, but I firmly believe that “as in one’s perception, so is reality”. It means that your perception of things, people and situations shape your life. So, I believe having a positive approach in life is really important because there are only two ways to deal with a situation, you can either sit and cry over all the negatives or be grateful for & focus on all the positives. Doing the latter would enable your body, mind and soul to accumulate enough strength to overcome any negative situation. It’s important to realise that you can't always change the external circumstances, but you can only change your outlook and your ways of dealing with them.
You hold the title of 'World Laughter King', and are an expert in Laughter Yoga. Please throw some light on laughter yoga and some of its nuances.
Yoga literally means 'Union', and laughter yoga, as the name suggests, is inculcating laughter into yoga. A lot of times, people try so hard to find reasons to laugh, and very often, people usually laugh on jokes, mockery or trolls about someone else, which is laughter in a very negative form because it's based on the idea that one can only laugh and be happy on someone else's misery. I personally believe that laughter needs no reason, and we can laugh at anything and everything.
Coming back to laughter yoga, it is an amalgamation of laughter and yoga. Various yoga asanas can be performed while laughing. Even Pranayama can be done while laughing, both are a great way to get some exercise for your lungs. The purpose of laughter yoga is to boost happiness & joy inside you, without causing any pain to others. Laughter is an element of happiness and research shows that it has facilitated the treatment of several diseases. Laughter also helps you to stay connected with the present.
To be honest, I wasn’t always like this either. 5-7 years ago, I also used to be very negative and stressed. It was then that I started practicing Yoga and meditation which has shaped me into the person I’m today. I always say that when you laugh, you’re being mindful, of yourself, and of your environment, so it’s very effective in that sense.
What are all those areas of one’s life where Yoga creates an impact?
I believe that one can completely transform oneself through Yoga. I consider weight loss and cure of ailments as additional or supplementary benefits of yoga. Yoga holistically impacts your body, mind, and soul, it connects you with yourself and the divine. Yoga makes you feel grateful and cherish life the way it is, it also enables you to self-actualise and flourish in life.
The word ‘Yoga’ means union, so does it stand for the union with oneself or with the divine? Are they the same?
Yoga unites you with everything, which includes yourself, your environment, the people around you and of course the divine. Hence, yoga also leads to energy exchange between people because in a way yoga is also connecting with others. So, if you’re positive, happy and calm you’ll also make someone else feel the same way when you connect with them.
You have worked with thousands of people so far, have you noticed any change in people’s outlook towards Yoga, especially after COVID?
It is evident that when you regularly practice yoga, it’ll have a positive impact on you, and once you notice the benefits, it encourages you to stick to it for longer. Especially after Covid, I’ve noticed a great shift in people’s outlook towards Yoga, there’s a growing trend of making it a part of your daily schedule. After noticing the benefits it has not just on one’s physical health but also on their mental health, people are now taking Yoga more seriously. So, all of us should take at least 20-30 minutes from our schedules for Yoga, no matter how busy we are.
It has been great speaking to you, lastly, would you like to give a message to our readers?
All that I have shared with you so far is everything that I learnt through my experiences, and I believe one should always try to do new things, have new experiences in order to learn and grow. And all the things that we have talked about be it laughter, yoga, mindful living, these would only be beneficial when you incorporate them in your daily routine. Giving 20-30 minutes daily to these activities make the rest 23 hours of your day better, you are more active, more productive and happier throughout the day. Lastly, one should focus on being consistent, until & unless you’re doing it regularly you won’t see results. So, be patient, be consistent, work on yourself and everything will eventually become better.
- Nivedita Rajawat & Gargi Surana (For Pratinava)
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