My Profile

“Laughter Yoga is a profound, easy-to-learn technique with which you can connect to your personal joy, and help others to find theirs.” — Jeffrey Briar

Laugh and Learn with Jeffrey Briar, The Joyful Gent;  Master Trainer for Laughter Yoga International

Make a difference in the world.  Laughter Yoga Master Trainer Jeffrey Briar will show you how.

Jeffrey Briar is the Director of the Laughter Yoga Institute, originally based in Laguna Beach, California USA. He began studying Laughter Yoga with Dr. Kataria in 2005 and has since become one of the world’s foremost advocates of this good laughter work. He loves to assist Dr. Kataria at trainings, and has done so frequently in the USA and Europe since 2006.

An enthusiastic and infectiously positive teacher, Jeffrey has been a coach for Laughter and Joy since the age of 17. His initial efforts were divided: he shared health-building practices by teaching Yoga, martial arts and physical education, while elsewhere he was evoking laughter as a comedy stage performer. In Laughter Yoga he found fulfillment of life’s physical and spiritual ideals. He shares the Laughter Yoga technology in a clear and delightful manner, drawing on his decades of experience as a college educator. When Jeffrey is your instructor, you learn a lot – while having a whole lot of fun.

Jeffrey is the founder of the first Laughter Club in the world outside of India to meet seven days a week. Between the club sessions and his work in the community, Jeffrey directs laughter sessions every day – sometimes multiple sessions in a day. He is perhaps the most experienced leader of laughter exercises in the western world.

Jeffrey Briar – Appearances in Major Media

Jeffrey’s effortless mastery and articulate expression of Laughter Yoga have been affirmed by his frequent media appearances, with featured presentations on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dancing with the Stars, CNN-TV with Sanjay Gupta, Geraldo at Large and many other highly-regarded programs. See the links below to watch some of Mr. Briar’s media appearances. http://LYInstitute.org/media/

The Joyful Yogi

In addition to his work in Laughter Yoga, Jeffrey Briar has been a teacher of traditional Yoga since 1975. His first studies were under Swami Turiyananda (Integral Yoga Institute of Santa Cruz) and he has more than 25 years of training in other schools of classical Yoga. Jeffrey began teaching on the staff of the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has since led Yoga sessions and master classes throughout North America and Europe. At the All-America Laughter Yoga Conference in 2009 Jeffrey gave a presentation on the “Connection between Laughter Yoga and Classical Yoga.”

Teaching and Connecting with People

Jeffrey has been a college teacher for nearly forty years. Recently on the faculty of Irvine Valley College in southern California, his multi-faceted teaching manual Moving Experiences has been acclaimed nationwide. Jeffrey is also certified as a Laughter Leader (via World Laughter Tour) and a Laughing Meditation Teacher (via Sarito Sun). “Education works best when we enjoy it,” says Mr. Briar. “In Laughter Yoga training, the pleasure of learning is built right in.”

Complementary to his work in Laughter Yoga, Mr. Briar is an accomplished comedic actor. He has performed throughout North America and Europe on stage and screen. Co-founder of the influential New Vaudeville troupe Cock & Feathers, Briar performed at the Renaissance Pleasure Faires, bringing laughter to audiences totaling over one million people. While Laughter Yoga does not involve traditional humor or comedy, Jeffrey's knowledge of the pure joy which laughter brings to audiences has deepened his practice of Laughter Yoga and brings another level of understanding to his trainings.

He is also a concert pianist and composer whose repertoire includes works of Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Scott Joplin, and Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

PERSONAL STATEMENT: 

QUALITY AND INTEGRITY

My training programs fill the air with the sounds of joyous, heartfelt laughter, yet I take this work quite seriously. I am committed to providing the finest quality education and materials for Laughter Yoga, and I feel honored that many of my contributions are considered “state-of-the-art.”

I’m a compassionate and sincere teacher who is extremely playful, yet at the same time absolutely faithful to the content and spirit of Dr. Kataria’s Laughter Yoga. I communicate this good work in a consistent, clear and understandable manner which is both easy and joyful to learn.

The Laughter Yoga Teacher Training is a transformative experience. You emerge a new person, with immediate access to stress-relief, better health and deeper happiness. You have tools to improve relationships for everyone in your world. I humbly and joyfully request the privilege of being your guide and coach as you deepen your knowledge and ability in the practice of Laughter for Health. Let’s laugh, learn and celebrate together! Changing the world will be fun.

INNOVATION AND SELF-EXPRESSION When we are in a state of Joy, full self-expression naturally follows. I rejoice in how laughter opens us up to our creativity, and am dedicated to the unfolding of my students’ hearts and spirits. You will find me a supportive coach who holds the space for each individual to make laughter an expression of their deepest self.

Together, we can look forward to being on the Leading Edge of laughter and creativity as we contribute innovations to share health, happiness and peace for all.

TOGETHER, WE WILL BRING MORE JOY TO THE WORLD

Demonstrating his commitment to integrating laughter with creative expression, Jeffrey Briar is the author of many works:

PUBLICATIONS (Click to Download) “How to Lead a Laughter Exercise” “Take the Laughs on the Road” (Laughing While Driving)

BOOKS  The Great Big Anthology of Laughter Exercises 500 exercises (including Dr. Kataria’s Forty Foundation Exercises), photo-illustrated with pictures from laughter clubs all over the planet; Laughter Revolutionaries; Laughter Mastery; and (with Ruthe Gluckson) Moving Experiences.

LAUGHTER YOGA TEACHING AIDS Laughter Exercise Photo Flash Cards (and two instructional videos) VIDEOS Gibberish 101: How to Speak Gibberish Laguna Laughter Club The Laughter Club in Real Time Laughter Yoga: Five Points, Many Tongues 5-Minute Warm-Up Twenty-one Videos of Laughter Exercises, including how to lead them.

ORIGINAL PROGRAMS

Laughter Club Bus Tour (Europe, May 2011), The Laughter Cruise, The All-Gibberish Party (since 2006), Laughter Exercise Coach (two-day training program), Laughter/Hatha Yoga Classes College-level sessions combining Laughter and Classical Yoga (popular since 2007).  Weekend Retreats: “The Joy Workshop,” “Go Into Delight” Laughter Yoga combined with Dance, Yoga, Music, Theatre Games, Creativity Exercises, etc. (since 2006)

A highly qualified, articulate, and masterful trainer. When you are ready for learning and fun, you can depend on Jeffrey Briar for the finest in Laughter Yoga advanced education.

AWARDS   International Laughter Ambassador (from Dr. Madan Kataria), 2006;  Laughter Ambassador Award (the American School of Laughter Yoga), 2009;  Special Hero Award (for film on how a grieving widow benefited from her participation in the Laguna Laughter Club), 2007;  Artist’s Grant (from The Celebration Foundation of Oregon – largest award ever presented by this philanthropic organization), 2001.