Quantifiable Business Benefits

Here are the results you can expect from our Laughter services:

1. Mental and Physical Stress Reduced
2. Increased Energy Levels & Productivity
3. Increased Emotional Intelligence
4. Improved Communication & Teamwork
5. Improved Leadership Skills
6 . Enhanced Innovation and Peak Performance
7. Highly Cost effective
8. Rapid and visible results

1. Mental and Physical Stress Reduced

Stress is caused by many factors but the main cause is perception. Some people are natural optimists whilst others are more pessimistic and therefore prone to worry. This worry may be about past events or it may have to do with what might or might not happen in the future. The result is often higher blood pressure, poor sleep, anxiety, mood swings and decreased ability to take personal responsibility. How this manifests in the workplace is poor attention to detail, lack of focus, inability to cope under pressure, defensiveness, irritability sometimes bordering on anger and an inability to receive constructive feedback. The end result is often absenteeism from the workplace which then places more pressure on those left to manage the additional workload.

Laughter Training helps both physically and emotionally. These are the physical benefits:

• Laughter lowers blood pressure (unless someone has a serious heart condition)
• It stimulates the digestive system and internal organs
• It lowers the level of the negative stress hormone “cortisol”
• It increases the flow of oxygen to the brain which enhances mental capabilities and reduces general feelings of anxiety
• It decreases the risk of heart attacks
• It boosts the immune system
• It promotes good sleep
• It increases stamina

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2. Increased Energy Levels & Productivity

Laughter Yoga provides a light aerobic workout and focus on breathing.

There is a substantial increase in oxygen supply to the body, especially to the brain cells which require more oxygen for optimal functioning.

Participants experience a surge in energy levels leading to peak performance.

3. Increased Emotional Intelligence (EI)

• It counteracts anxiety
• It fosters a sense of well being
• It generates more feelings of optimism and “can do”
• It stimulates a more positive outlook
• It develops our innate sense of humor
• It enhances communication through increased confidence
• It reduces tension and irritability
• It creates a happier disposition

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4. Improved Communication & Teamwork

Laughter is a great communication enhancer and it said that “people who laugh together, work better together”. This is why Laughter training is so effective for team building, stress management, communication and leadership programs:

It breaks down barriers
It makes us more likeable
It makes us more transparent
It connects and bonds people
It develops our sense of humor and breaks down our inhibitions
It enhances a sense of potential
It brings out the best in people
It enhances self-esteem in groups
It creates safety
Criticism collapses
It interrupts the power struggle
It diffuses conflict
When we laugh with others, we ourselves are fun

In Laughter Yoga sessions participants are encouraged to communicate with all other group members. Group laughter is a team experience that reduces ego and overcomes inhibitions and shyness.

The shared positive experience creates bonds between all participants including managers and staff and reduces barriers to communication.

Laugh as a team, work as a team!

5. Improved Leadership Skills

Improved teamwork and cooperation allows leaders to manage more effectively.

It has been noted in many companies that leaders become more effective.

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6. Enhanced Innovation and Peak Performance

Laughter Yoga sessions foster creativity and innovation by creating a conducive environment for creative expression.

People who feel at ease, secure and happy achieve more. They suffer less stress and are better at constructive problem solving.

Daily chores are less burdensome when we laugh while doing them. We aren't always having fun, but we do have a lot more fun with laughter than without. Laughter puts anxiety on a back burner for everyone. We can't laugh and worry at the same time.

Laughter stimulates and is stimulated by playfulness. When people play, they are at their most creative. Advertising agencies frequently use play and laughter to move them from analytical assessment to the creative flow of ideas. The natural and spontaneous laughter then arises through laughter training, bypasses the left brained rationality and the aspect of self-limiting control.

Laughter stimulates right brain activity, which is the function of:

Invention
Creativity
Intuition
Imagination
Music
Art

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7. Highly cost-effective

Laughter sessions / trainings are easy and economical to deliver.

Economical on facilities: All that is needed is a room where the noise will not disrupt the work of others and is big enough to hold a group. This dispenses with the need for expensive training facilities

Economical on time: Laughter Training sessions are short, meaning that people are not away from the workplace for long. It can be offered to suit company needs i.e. “Lunch-&-Learn”, before work or at the end of the day.

Large or small groups are possible

It can be rolled out across the organization quickly

It is easy to practice

8. Results are rapidly visible

Expect a happier and healthier workforce for all the reasons given above. People visibly shine physically, mentally and emotionally. They become more focused and committed to the company, their work, and their colleagues.

ULTIMATE RESULT: Enhanced success of your business

Laughter Makes Business Sense

Up to 90 percent of the doctor visits in the USA may be triggered by a stress-related illness, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Today's business demands have put a tremendous strain on our global workforce. Longer hours coupled with fewer resources are pushing more and more management and employees to their breaking point. Combined with the need to achieve work-life balance stress is taking a tremendous financial and personal toll on US business profitability:

• $300 billion per year or $7,500 each employee is paid out for stress-related compensation claims
• 1 million workers went on stress-related disability in 2004
• 75% of doctor visits are for stress-related conditions
• Eight of the top 10 prescription drugs marketed today are for stress-related conditions
• Stress is directly associated with depression, anxiety, asthma, alcohol/drug addictions and other conditions that affect the nervous and immune systems.
• Approximately 100 million Americans suffer stress related from chronic health conditions: heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and cancer.

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Laughter is a logical part of the solution

"There can be no doubt that Laughter Yoga significantly reduces stress levels in the workplace. Our physiological, biochemical, and psychological tests all indicate reductions in stress and improvements in the subjects' abilities to cope with stress." Dr MS Chaya, Principal Investigator "Unconditional Laughter And Workplace Stress", Svyasa University Research Institute, August 2007.

Laughter is a logical part of the solution.

• Bolster trust
• Boost morale and motivate employees
• Build resilience
• Create rapport with customers
• Deflect criticism
• Get and hold attention
• Make communications less awkward
• Manage conflicts
• Persuade others to see (and perhaps adopt) your point of view
• Reduce burnout
• Reduce tension, frustration and anger
• Remove intimidating barriers between management and non-management employees
• Stimulate creative problem solving
• Strengthen bonds between co-workers
• Strengthen memory of the points you want to be remembered
• Sustain a positive attitude on the job
• And most importantly keep everyday hassles and problems in perspective.

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