Taipei - Madan Kataria, the Indian founder of the international
laughter yoga movement, began a visit to Taiwan Thursday, hoping to
spread his movement from Taiwan into China.

"I am very happy to
be in Taiwan. I hope the laughter yoga movement can spread from Taiwan
to China. There is great potential in China," he told Deutsche
Press-Agentur dpa.

A former physician in Mumbai, Kataria, 53,
was invited by the Taiwan Yoga Laughter Club to visit Taiwan and meet
with the group's members.

During the week-long visit, he will
train leaders of Taiwan laughter clubs, make a speech on laughter yoga
and meet Taiwan psychiatrists to discuss the benefits of laughter.

There
are 13 laughter yoga clubs in Taiwan, whose members meet every day to
practice laughter yoga - a routine of simulated laughter starting with
"Ha Ha Ha, Ho Ho Ho."

Katarai hit upon the idea of treating patients with laughter in 1995 and founded the first laughter yoga club.

His
laughter exercise became popularly known as the laughter yoga (LY)
movement and currently has some 15,000 clubs throughout India, and
another 6,000 in about 60 countries.

Now based in the southern
Indian city of Bangalore, Kataria divides his time between running
Laughter Yoga International, and traveling abroad to promote the
practice. (dpa)