Laughing for No Reason in Prison

This is a talk Rebecca Foster gave at a "Pecha Kucha" in Providence, Rhode Island in December, 2010. A pecha kucha, meaning "chit chat" in Japanese, is a presentation format for sharing ideas: 20 slides displayed for 20 seconds each. The presentation explores Laughter Yoga within the prison setting as a means of cultivating connection, relaxation and inner-joy. For more information about Laughter Yoga, Laughter Life Coaching or the Yogi-Inmate Collaborative, please visit: thecenterofjoy.net.

Rebecca Foster is founder of The Center of Joy, which is dedicated to the exploration and integration of contemplative practice with joy inspired movement, laughter and play. She currently teaches meditation, yoga, laughter yoga and JourneyDance in a range of settings, including universities, senior centers, yoga studios as well as three different Rhode Island state prisons. Rebecca has a Masters in Public Administration and has lived and worked all over the world. Her primary interest at present as both practitioner and teacher is the cultivation of what she calls "authentic joy," or the joy that comes from presence and connection with ourselves and others. She leads the 8am national Laugh Line six days a week and is a Certified Laughter Life Coach, serving clients around the country.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Laughter
• Yoga
• prison
• jail
• meditation
• stress
• joy
• laughing
• for
• no
• reason

[LaughterYogaOrlando]

Powerful. Beautiful. Amazing. Thank you, Rebecca. :-)

[jodysatva1]

Having laughed with Rebecca in a number of different settings, I can attest that she is the genuine article. Prisons have no budget for Laughter Yoga, but these images are priceless. When have you ever seen photos of prisoners this joyful? I wonder how much money would be saved in medical care and rage-related expenses if laughter for no reason was the norm.