Daily Inspiration: Meet Jeffrey Briar

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeffrey Briar.

Hi Jeffrey, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Comedy stage performer since age 16; Yoga teacher since age 18. Discovered “LAUGHTER YOGA,” took the training with the work’s creator, Dr. Madan Kataria, in 2005.
Started Laguna Laughter Club in 2005 and soon it met seven days per week (and did so for 15 and 1/2 years). Was the only 7-day-a-week in the world outside Asia.
Appeared on Oprah, Dancing with the Stars, with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, more.
Became a Master Trainer (teacher of teahcers0 in 2010.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
At the start, I had a vision, but no marketing yet. The first “sessions,” I was alone or had just 1 or 2 people. But I didn’t give up!
Word got out and people started attending. Then came publicity: local, statewide, nationwide, and worldwide. Tens of thousands of people attended over the club’s 15-year flourishing.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
A cousin of Laughter Yoga (laughter as exercise without using comedy or jokes) is Gibberish. Expressing yourself using sounds which are not intelligible words. Examples: “Fribble-dibble, crag-zarp, shnurf ploobies, supercalifragialisitic…”

I gave workshops internationally in gibberish, including a weekend-long certification program: “Certified Gibberish Coach”.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Send out Press Releases to all local media regularly – at least twice a month. Even if the “news” is simply “The Laughter Group continues to meet…” Eventually a newspaper sends a reporter; eventually, you’re on television.

Pricing:

• Varies according to length of program

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.LYInstitute.org
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaughterYogaInstitute
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jeffreybriar590

Image Credits
The Laughter Yoga Institute