Workplace-wellness programs, rightly, place a lot of emphasis on diet and exercise. What do most programs miss from their exercise plans? Answer, fun, focus, and accomplishment.

It’s common for employers to negotiate gym memberships for employees. I’ve been a beneficiary of these programs.  I’ve lumbered on the treadmill for what seems like eternity. I’ve swum up and down swimming-pool lanes like an aquatic rat.  I’ve  stuffed my ears with earplugs while on the exercise bike so as to drown out the inane big-screen TV in front of me.  Most gyms are neurotically distracting.  The ski-machine experience is nothing like being out in the quiet of the back country. But the solitude and demands of the  great outdoors are impractical in the fast-paced world of work.

Get it over with

The gym is a place of noise, isolation, and stress. No wonder the enthusiastic January Effect, is followed by the realistic and apathetic February Effect, where most give up.  The gym can be a lonely place.  Someone plugged into her audio player is sending a message— leave me alone. Even if you take aerobics classes you don’t get to interact with others.  There is rarely laughter, which, in my view, is a barometer of connection and health.

When bad is good

So what is it that American employers don’t know yet? Answer: Badminton. No, not that backyard game. Badminton is probably the fastest growing phenomenon on the West Coast. It’s the most egalitarian and social sport.  Whether you’re 5 or 75 you can enjoy badminton.  Beginners can benefit from immediate exercise and fun on the court, yet it is a highly-skilled game for those who wish to play regularly and fine-tune their motor skills.  Playing regular Badminton can boost energy, flexibility, lower blood pressure, reduce weight, and increase well-being.  Those who want to go beyond the beginner level will discover an increase in mental agility as the game relies on strategic action.

Rapid growth

Badminton clubs are catching on fast in the San Francisco Bay Area. Compared with tennis, squash, and other racket sports, badminton clubs are inexpensive. A big appeal of badminton is the social element. Singles is demanding, but most social players play doubles. This allows the players to work together as a team against their competition. There is an atmosphere of belonging and collegiality which gyms simply can’t match.

Short-attention span is a problem for employers

Unlike the gym, where distraction is the norm,  badminton focuses your mind on the moment.  Many in the knowledge economy must develop the skill to concentrate for long periods of time. There are those who successfully practice meditation, but this is not easy. There is a paradox here: meditation demands self-discipline, but you need self-discipline in order to meditate.

An example

I play at lunchtimes with employees of local companies. These people are from enlightened businesses that allow their employees the time to de-stress and  re-energize in the middle of the day.  Employees from one of these companies play  at the same three lunchtimes a week as I do.  What they appear to share is a liking for each other. They are clearly having a good time.  There’s a sense of inclusiveness, laughing, and good humor.

Badminton is a way of engaging the whole person. It’s a way of connecting with others that goes beyond the confines of business talk. I don’t think you can laugh and be stressed at the same time.  Genuine laughter is the litmus test.

Here’s what American employers don’t know, that four-letter word ‘play’ is the secret ingredient to connection, sustainability, and productivity.

Qigong (pronounced chee gung, and sometimes written Chi-Kung) has been around for a while. Well, thousands of years in one form or another. One branch  became Tai Chi, a martial art. However, Shibashi qigong is relatively new, and its origin in this form is ascribed to two Chinese doctors in the 1970′s. Shibashi qigong is a series of 18 slow and gentle movements and it isn’t about fighting.

There are wild claims that qigong can do just about anything for you, from treating diseases to making you smarter. I’ve been practicing the 18 slow and gentle movements daily for the past 11 years, and I’m no smarter today than I was when I started.  But I do feel these exercises have kept me flexible, calm, and balanced. I taught these expercises to my wife and she in turn took this into the workplace and started teaching during a lunch break.  Her classes are popular.

As educational guru Sir Ken Robinson says, we are educated from the neck up and slightly to one side. Our culture is left-brained to the extent we think of our bodies as a way of getting our heads to meetings.

Our culture has an uncomfortable relationship to the body. Because America is such a wonderfully diverse place, it might be that this anti-body attitude is changing.  There’s a large Chinese community in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I live. It’s not unusual to see the early-morning  parks populated with older Chinese people doing slow and gentle exercises. I first learned qigong from Juliet Lee in Oakland. The series of 18 movements is not difficult to learn and they do promote a sense of wellbeing.

Workplace Wellness managers would do well to look at bringing Shibashi qigong into the workplace. It’s a potential low-cost employee benefit that is also likely to boost productivity, and who knows, it might make you smarter.