An introduction to Laughter Yoga With Barry Sykes

Guru of giggles Barry Sykes will be leading An Introduction to Laughter Yoga at Antidote London for a seriously fun night of playful activities to satisfy the human need for belly laughs and wholesome connection.

Laughter Yoga is based on the premise that the body cannot distinguish between pretend and genuine laughter (this draws on NLP), and both produce the same physiological response. And doing laughter exercises with others in a group will usually also produce plenty of heartfelt or genuine laughter – since laughter is so contagious!

An Introduction to Laughter Yoga was the latest in a series of attempts by Barry Sykes to recreate from memory a lesson with the same name he attended a decade ago. Laughter Yoga is the breathing and movement exercise that utilises fake, forced laughter for supposed mental and physical benefits.

Sykes will lead us through the movements he thinks he witnessed that day, becoming a collective experiment in the potential of these exercises. The performance changes each time, as memory fades, improvisations vary, and the piece adapts to different locations. So far this has included a council debating chamber, naturist club, Downs syndrome play group, dementia centre, museums and galleries. This time devised especially for Zoom due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the artifice is pushed one step further. Rather than gathering in one room to respond to each other’s actions, we join in from our own lockdown homes in an exercise in public and private space and emotion. A replica lesson of fake laughter held in a virtual meeting.

Expect an evening of Laughter Yoga activities, songs, games, deep (Yogic) breathing and a laughter meditation designed to tickle your funny bone good and proper. We’ll be faking it until we make it with a ridiculous mix of chuckle inducing activities.
Get ready to release the laughs and bring some much needed joy to the world.

About the Artist

Barry Sykes’ performances and sculptural objects take existing formats, like lessons, feedback forms, photo shoots, theatrical props or communal rituals, and remodels them to examine the uncertainties of human interaction and edges of acceptable behaviour. Recent events have been presented at The Museum of London; Focal Point Gallery, Southend, UK; Oakwood sun Club, Essex, UK; The University of Bath, UK and as part of Art Night 2019. He is also the founder of the Sauna Reading Group

Benefits include:

Get a natural dopamine boost
Energise and feel uplifted the easy way – by having fun!
Try something a bit different
Connect with others playfully
Connect with your inner big kid in a welcoming and inclusive space

We offer a too good to be true Flexipass each season. Get yours here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-antidote-london-workshop-flexi-funpassplay-connect-have-fun-tickets-590108148357
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Testimonials for Antidote London

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “A wonderful place to play and laugh, no matter what workshop it is. The people who go are so much fun and I love the social aspect of going for a drink afterwards and feeling part of a community. A wonderful thing to exist in a city where it’s hard to build real connections.” Claudia Colvin
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “I absolutely loved the energy during the workshop, I went to the African dance event and it was amazing – lots of fun and friendly people!” Maria Cynkier
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Everyone in London needs a dose of Antidote! The best well-being experience ever. We all need time out to be playful, try something, be with friends and meet new ones. I truly loved my session with ‘just go for it’ people. Come on! What ya waitin’ for???” Yvette Staelens
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WHAT HAPPENS AT OUR WORKSHOPS?

All of our workshops are held by experienced friendly facilitators who are experts at creating good times and making everyone feel welcome.

No pressure to get it right
No competition
No weekly commitment
We are LGBTQ+friendly
Come alone or with friends

WHAT TO BRING?

Bottle of water
Comfy shoes

Checkout our website for more information : www.antidotelondon.com