Laughter Yoga in the Workplace
Corporate Sessions
Having a Laughter Leader come into a business has many benefits. Over a period of time, regular sessions have great effect, helping staff to be more cheerful, and improve staff relations.
Companies have found that it is ideal to use Laughter as an ice breaker at the beginning of a training session or an excellent way of changing the atmosphere between the more serious topics at training and planning days and conferences. The playful exercises set to laughter help the imagination to flow, boosting creativity. Just what Executives need!
Sessions are tailored to your business. Sessions include Neurobics, (these cross brain exercises act as a mental workout), deep breathing (disease can not grow in an oxygenated body and the increased exhalation helps increase the oxygen levels), laughter exercises, and relaxation.
One on One Coaching
Embarrassed to laugh with a group, want some personal assistance to Laugh, then a one on one session maybe more appropiate. This is a programme of 8 sessions where you will learn to laugh and all of its benefits.
More research into the benefits of Laughter Yoga can be seen at www.laughteryoga.org under the tab Business and sub tab Research.
Here is an except from that site
Laughter Yoga in the Workplace: Pioneers
Laughter Yoga was first introduced as an experiment in a Mumbai company which made electrical products --- the staff of 25-30 (including the owner and managers) started their workday with a laughter session conducted by the owner and his partner. Three years after initiating this practice the business has grown to almost three times it size, a success attributed by the owner largely to the Laughter Yoga.
An IT company in Copenhagen, Denmark started Laughter Yoga sessions with their staff of 8-10 employees. They continued for over a year, during which they reported an increase in their sales of more than 40%, achieved in an extremely competitive market.
They measured staff stress levels using biofeedback equipment (heart rate, breathing rate and carbon dioxide levels in the breath) and they found a remarkable 75% decrease in stress levels after the sessions.
A timeshare sales company in Hawaii, USA asked Dr. Kataria to run a Laughter Yoga session for their entire 80 person sales team. That day they reported the highest sales of the year, double the target figures.
How can you get laughter into the workplace?
Jokes are usually offensive to somebody particularly now with our multicultural world.
Laughter Yoga is a solution as it can enable a person to laugh for 15 to 20 minutes interrupted with rests doing deep yogic breathing.
How Laughter Yoga helps
Work stress is now being recognised and so appears to be a rapidly growing worldwide problem. People are owning up to work pressure and its effects are being felt in almost all countries and among all levels of the workforce.
Stress leads to a wide range of problems including headaches, chronic fatigue depression, insomnia, anxiety, migraine, emotional upsets, allergies, hypertension, heart disease, vomiting and other stomach disorders. Stress also affects the immune system, which may result in long term serious illnesses.
Laughter reduces stress by reducing stress hormones converting them into happy hormones. Deep breathing exercises eases physical pain and reduces mental tension.
It also boosts self confidence and communication skills that enables one to peak performance at work.
Workplace problems solved with Laughter Yoga
Physical
Laughter is a natural body function and therefore a safe exercise that does not require learning. It massages the entire body, oxygenates the blood and other organs leading to, happy energised people. The body reacts with healthier tests such as blood pressure and pulse rates decrease and there is an increase in positivity, creative thinking, productivity and a better memory
Although there is legislation stating the minimum work breaks, many do not take them because of work overload or there is no enforcement. Working without a break leads to tiredness and exhaustion. This is when the errors and accidents are more likely to happen.
Team work
This suffers if there is a lot of competitiveness. This can lead to an aggression and tense work atmosphere in which team work suffers.
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Mental stress
Heavy workloads, redundancy, tight deadlines, workplace competition, pressure to cross sell, or a personal challenge create mental stress. Often this leads to exhaustion, bad temper and mistakes.
Emotional stress
We are told not to take work problems home or home problems to work; often this is not possible for the bigger issues. It is usually family members who get the brunt of our problems.
Insomnia
Sleep is a home problem that reaches into the workforce. It is so important to recharge but it is at night when the problems surface in the head affecting the body so badly.
Over work or Tedium
There are two solutions: Change jobs which may or may not be satisfying, or become numb. Training new staff is expensive but so is a worker who is dissatisfied.
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I would love to come and laugh with you and your staff.
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