I’m so pleased to be blogging about Dr. Madan Kataria and his worldwide initiative to bring peace, joy, sociability, and good health to the world. After watching a ton of videos about the good doctor in recent days, I’m thoroughly convinced that he should be the next recipient of the Nobel Prize for (Inner) Peace.
Dr. Kataria is a Mumbai-based physician who has conducted research on the physiological and psychological benefits of laughter. In 1995, in the midst of his studies on this subject, he had an epiphany: He wanted to start his very own Laughter Club where he could practice something that would later come to be called “Laughter Yoga.” Soon thereafter, he began meeting in a park with a handful of devotees and fellow practitioners. Now, a decade and a half after those humble beginnings, there are thousands of such clubs located in all parts of the world. As a result of this global craze, Dr. Kataria has become the Guru of Giggles and spends most of his time traveling the world over serving as the Head Honcho Consultant of Silliness and Guffaws.
I had a hard time choosing a video for this blog because there was such a wealth to choose from. In the end, I picked one featuring Nili Dor HaElla, a trained Laughter Therapist who resides in Israel. I decided on this clip mostly because she does such a good job explaining the health benefits of laughter.
Like I said, there are dozens of videos readily available on this subject, so if this one floated your boat, you might want to check out this.
Oh, by the way, May 2nd has been named World Laughter Day. In response, Dr. Kataria has penned a lovely message.
It’s no secret that Cairo is one of the most polluted cities in the world. Often, the air is so dirty that the sky actually looks brown rather than blue. That’s right, you heard me correctly; I said the air in Egypt’s capital is frequently BROWN. Of course, my lungs are not especially happy about this fact.
As an American who lives in such a place, I am aware (sometimes painfully) of what can happen when human beings abuse the environment. I think if more of my compatriots could come to a city like Cairo, they’d become overnight converts to the Green Movement. They’d understand that we can’t trash up the whole place without having it come back to bite us.
I often despair for the future of the planet, but then I see something, like the video I’ve included in this week’s blog, that gives me a bit of hope.
(Note: There is a problem with this video’s embed code, so clicking on the image will redirect you to the site where the clip originally appeared. You’ll have to return to the blog by hitting the “back” button. Sorry for the inconvenience.)
After watching this clip once again, I do feel that the world, and all of us who call it home, might just have a chance after all. But what we need, if this hope is to be realized, are more countries like Sweden and more programs like Climate Pilots and more people like the Stokeses.
I know that what I’m about to say might come across as hopelessly utopian, but I don’t care. I’m going to say it anyway. So here goes. I hope the day comes when a country’s power is no longer measured by how large its army is or by how many weapons it has but rather by how clean it keeps it water and air and land, and thus, by extension, how strong and healthy are its people.
The advertisement you’ve just watched was produced to promote a competition called “Cougar Pride” which was sponsored by Air New Zealand and featured on the carrier’s Grabaseat site, a webpage which allows travelers to book discount airfares online. Though the contest ended a few days ago, details about it are still available on The Inspiration Room website, which describes the competition in the following way: “Grabaseat is looking for 60 of these exquisite creatures to join them at the sold out NZI Sevens in Wellington as their pride of cougar cheerleaders. Winning contestants will be given cougar costumes and the equipment to make enough noise to attract the attention of young males. And to make sure the pride doesn’t go hungry, 10 brave young men recruited by ZM will be thrown in as fresh meat to the winners in Wellington.”
As you’ve probably guessed, the “exquisite creatures” mentioned in the previous paragraph are “cougars.” If you’re not familiar with the latter term, it refers to “mature” women who are sexually attracted to younger men and pursue them just as cougars do when they go after prey.
Here’s the rub, though. The ad caused such an outrage in New Zealand, especially among rape victim advocacy groups, that Air New Zealand was forced to discontinue it before the contest deadline expired. From what I’ve been able to find out about the controversy, these groups argued that it was irresponsible for the company to air an ad that made light of sexually predatory behavior.
I certainly understand that those who have been victimized in this way might have an entirely different way of viewing it in light of their tragic experiences. With that said, here are my thoughts on the ad. Firstly, I think it is super funny and ingenious. The whole mock nature documentary approach really makes it. Secondly, I’m in favor of anything that challenges stereotypes and pokes fun at what are normally considered taboo subjects, like human sexuality. In my opinion, sex is already way too hush-hush. Let’s talk about it and show it and make jokes about it.
