Laugh. Meditate & Be Positive. EXPERT SPEAK with Mr.S. Ranganath, Founder, LAAF Wellbeing

S Ranganath (aka Ranga) is a Teacher for Laughter Yoga and Meditation. Based in Dubai, he is the Founder of LAAF Wellbeing, a global citizen, an enthusiastic speaker and facilitates wellness programs for individuals, communities, and corporations.

WELLNESS@WORKPLACE

Why do some organizations repeatedly get chosen as best places to work? And why do some companies produce better business results over their peers?

Research is establishing the link between employee wellbeing and business growth.

We are witnessing a growing worldwide trend towards wellness-based corporate programs which can positively impact employees and consequently, business: 

  • Leading to physical, mental and emotional well-being within the organization
  • Resulting in executives staying focused longer and improving time management skills, task performance, creativity, and problem-solving abilities. 

Let’s begin by agreeing on one core issue, namely, the very nature of the marketplace is challenging. More specifically, heterogenous segments and volatile markets, challenging consumer demands, digitization and Industry 4.0 are producing unprecedented rates of change. Add to that the diversity of the workforce and the emergence of new-age disrupters (aka Uber types) … all adding to the uncertainty levels. 

Yes, companies are responding by sharpening organizational focus, fostering innovation and shortening go-to-market cycles. Yet, the truth is that management science and organizational behavior often come up short on end objectives in today’s social environment.

This is where positive psychology and the science of wellbeing add a new and impactful dimension to the toolkit of human resources managers.

These programs are proven to bring significant improvements across industry sectors and employee levels. Two such scientifically based techniques are:

Laughter Therapy

Laughter Yoga is a global phenomenon being practiced in over 106 countries, successfully. It is a powerful tool helping business people reduce workplace stress and creates a happy and energetic workforce.

Developed by Indian physician, Dr. Madan Kataria in 1995, it is a breakthrough laughter delivery system where anyone can laugh and practice laughter as a group exercise without relying on humor, jokes or comedy. It is based on the scientific study that your body cannot differentiate between real and simulated laughter; you get the same benefits. It is a combination of breathing and laughter exercises that oxygenates your body and brain and makes you healthier and more energetic. 

In today’s high-stress work environment, Laughter Yoga helps to reduce anxiety and makes people more optimistic. More importantly, it creates an atmosphere of health and happiness amongst employees and this results in greater self-esteem and compassion in team engagements.

Remember, people who laugh together, work better together!

Meditation

A simple way to describe this practice in our context is, “hitting the Pause button”! To pause amidst all the outer activity and the constant inflow of external stimuli. Just stretching slightly, the gap between external stimuli and our response can help changes everything. Over time, you begin to consciously decide how to act, rather than react reflexively with ingrained behavior patterns and our natural tendency to be judgemental. 

Adopted by companies worldwide, this program, typically 4-6 weeks duration, help leaders and employees reflect and focus effectively on the task at hand, be resilient to peak levels of stress, and recharge quickly. At an organizational level, this increases trust in leadership, improves teamwork and boosts employee engagement.  Programs, as described above, are a great return on investment for company owners and an effective tool for human resource management.

Register for the Program 

S Ranganath (aka Ranga) is launching his programs in India – digitally in the coming weeks. If you are interested in knowing more about the program/pricing/start date etc then please do register at http://confluencehr.com/wellness-workplace-program-in-association-with-rangalaaf/ and we will keep you posted. Laugh. Meditate. Be positive.