At Feros Care, we’re proving that laughter and yoga is the ideal combination for our village residents.It’s all part of our mission to inject joy into the lives of our residents and clients!

We believe stretching, breathing and laughing into your latter years can assist with loneliness and depression, physical ailments and residents’ overall wellbeing.

Our innovative ‘Laughter Yoga’ programs are held across all three villages, Wommin Bay, Bangalow and Byron Bay. The classes are all about strengthening laughter muscles through the gentle art of yoga- by stretching and smiling you stimulate a range of positive chemicals to the brain.

We engaged self-confessed ‘Happydemic’ Heather Joy Campbell to train the staff and work with the residents. A Global Ambassador for Laughter Yoga International, Heather says “I have a corporate background that dealt with demanding deadlines, so I personally sought out a better way to deal with stress.

“Through Laughter Yoga I was able to live a more holistic life by gently stretching and having a good old-fashioned laugh. I’m so proud of Feros Care for embracing a ‘happydemic’ for their residents in the face of a global pandemic.”

Yoga builds physical strength, creates mental stability and promotes spiritual growth and as an added bonus it doesn’t have to be taken too seriously.

After their sessions, residents described themselves as feeling ‘exhilarated’ and referred to laughter as ‘contagious’ and something that ‘keeps you alive'

Feros Care Residential Villages Wellbeing Lead Alex McCord said:

“Laughter stimulates a range of happy endorphins in your brain, improves circulation and gets the blood pumping. Laughter Yoga is a time where residents come together, even if they don’t feel like laughing invariably they begin to laugh.”

Laughter Yoga is a light-hearted exercise popularised by leading physician Madan Kataria (who also created World Laughter Day held on 2nd May) for overall health and wellbeing by using a simple Pranayama breath and the feel-good emotion of laughing. When we laugh we exhale up to 20% of stale air and inhale oxygen rich air.

There are more than 20,000 Laughter Yoga clubs across the globe (and counting) with classes in over 110 countries from schools to large corporations to aged care.

Just 15 minutes of laughter and yoga a day can improve sleep, boost the immune system, increase blood circulation and help people feel more connected to their mind, body and spirit.

Find out what else we get up to in our Residential Villages here.