Laughter Yoga as a School-based Wellness Program: Supporting the Well-Being of Nishnawbe Youth
This paper explores how the participation in Laughter Yoga (LY) could assist in supporting the overall well-being of Nishnawbe youth. Many Nishnawbe youth are at a heightened risk of mental health issues and social inequities that are associated with the (social) stigma and discrimination that is in...
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Canadian Society for Studies in Education
2019
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:5613fc7378f44a8aa4cc10394a93ff8d 2023-05-15T16:15:31+02:00 Laughter Yoga as a School-based Wellness Program: Supporting the Well-Being of Nishnawbe Youth Jacky WL Chan 2019-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doaj.org/article/5613fc7378f44a8aa4cc10394a93ff8d EN FR eng fre Canadian Society for Studies in Education https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cjnse/article/view/68533 https://doaj.org/toc/1916-9221 1916-9221 https://doaj.org/article/5613fc7378f44a8aa4cc10394a93ff8d Canadian Journal for New Scholars in Education, Vol 10, Iss 2 (2019) Education L article 2019 ftdoajarticles 2022-12-31T01:54:51Z This paper explores how the participation in Laughter Yoga (LY) could assist in supporting the overall well-being of Nishnawbe youth. Many Nishnawbe youth are at a heightened risk of mental health issues and social inequities that are associated with the (social) stigma and discrimination that is indicative of colonialism. I illustrate these risks and inequities by discussing the effects of colonialism and the Indian Residential Schools. I discuss the educational inequities that impact many First Nations youth and review the province of Ontario’s largest coroner’s inquest into the tragic deaths of seven Nishnawbe youth in the Canadian city of Thunder Bay as an example of these inequities. I then provide an Indigenous perspective of mental health in Canadian schools and introduce how the use of laughter has been recognized by Indigenous groups around the world as an integral component of community bonding, social interaction, and communal storytelling. Next, I examine the positive physiological and psychological affects that laughter has on the body and how the promotion of laughter is one strategy that could be introduced to advocate an overall sense of wellness. I then explain the concept of LY and the benefits that LY could have in the classroom. This paper concludes with a list of recommendations that will help support educational administrators, educators, and those who work with/for First Nations youth in the implementation of a school-based LY program as an embodied movement wellness practice with/for First Nations youth within Canadian schools. Article in Journal/Newspaper First Nations Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Indian Thunder Bay ENVELOPE(68.885,68.885,-49.325,-49.325) |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English French |
topic |
Education L |
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Education L Jacky WL Chan Laughter Yoga as a School-based Wellness Program: Supporting the Well-Being of Nishnawbe Youth |
topic_facet |
Education L |
description |
This paper explores how the participation in Laughter Yoga (LY) could assist in supporting the overall well-being of Nishnawbe youth. Many Nishnawbe youth are at a heightened risk of mental health issues and social inequities that are associated with the (social) stigma and discrimination that is indicative of colonialism. I illustrate these risks and inequities by discussing the effects of colonialism and the Indian Residential Schools. I discuss the educational inequities that impact many First Nations youth and review the province of Ontario’s largest coroner’s inquest into the tragic deaths of seven Nishnawbe youth in the Canadian city of Thunder Bay as an example of these inequities. I then provide an Indigenous perspective of mental health in Canadian schools and introduce how the use of laughter has been recognized by Indigenous groups around the world as an integral component of community bonding, social interaction, and communal storytelling. Next, I examine the positive physiological and psychological affects that laughter has on the body and how the promotion of laughter is one strategy that could be introduced to advocate an overall sense of wellness. I then explain the concept of LY and the benefits that LY could have in the classroom. This paper concludes with a list of recommendations that will help support educational administrators, educators, and those who work with/for First Nations youth in the implementation of a school-based LY program as an embodied movement wellness practice with/for First Nations youth within Canadian schools. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jacky WL Chan |
author_facet |
Jacky WL Chan |
author_sort |
Jacky WL Chan |
title |
Laughter Yoga as a School-based Wellness Program: Supporting the Well-Being of Nishnawbe Youth |
title_short |
Laughter Yoga as a School-based Wellness Program: Supporting the Well-Being of Nishnawbe Youth |
title_full |
Laughter Yoga as a School-based Wellness Program: Supporting the Well-Being of Nishnawbe Youth |
title_fullStr |
Laughter Yoga as a School-based Wellness Program: Supporting the Well-Being of Nishnawbe Youth |
title_full_unstemmed |
Laughter Yoga as a School-based Wellness Program: Supporting the Well-Being of Nishnawbe Youth |
title_sort |
laughter yoga as a school-based wellness program: supporting the well-being of nishnawbe youth |
publisher |
Canadian Society for Studies in Education |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doaj.org/article/5613fc7378f44a8aa4cc10394a93ff8d |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(68.885,68.885,-49.325,-49.325) |
geographic |
Indian Thunder Bay |
geographic_facet |
Indian Thunder Bay |
genre |
First Nations |
genre_facet |
First Nations |
op_source |
Canadian Journal for New Scholars in Education, Vol 10, Iss 2 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cjnse/article/view/68533 https://doaj.org/toc/1916-9221 1916-9221 https://doaj.org/article/5613fc7378f44a8aa4cc10394a93ff8d |
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1766001270972219392 |