CHAPTER 7

Mindfulness through Improv: The Individual in a Group

Jyoti Bachani

Improvisation has been linked to creativity (Fischer and Amabile 2009) and improvisational theater has been used to describe organizational strategy (Kanter 2001, 2010). This chapter describes a set of exercises that foster mindfulness using the body and mind for an individual in a group environment. The exercises can be used to teach a number of concepts that bring mindfulness to organizing and are relevant for humanistic management—for example, creativity, leader–follower interactions, group-dynamics, and the role of an individual embedded in a group. The somatic experiences created in the dynamic games enhance the understanding of these concepts of organizing beyond what other methods permit. This set of exercises has been selected as an introductory set from a wider repertoire used to train improv artists. Improv relies on being fully present in the moment, reactive to the external situation with a quick response, such that it builds on whatever the participants and audience bring to the situation. This introductory set of exercises has worked successfully in several different classes.

Humanistic Management principles challenge the dominant economistic paradigm to offer an alternative set of guiding values that prioritize human dignity and social well-being as central concerns of management over and above economistic values of profits and productivity. We currently live in a world dominated by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA). The problems the world faces require creative and mindful solutions. This chapter offers several exercises that can be used to engage participants in a class in a series of guided experiences that will lead to them becoming more mindful through their individual and collective actions combined with pauses for shared reflections. These exercises are typically used to train theater artists, specifically those who perform improv. Their use in business classrooms has proven to be an engaging way to give participants a way to become more mindful, in a cocreated setting. The exercises have been selected such that no theater background or aspirations are required for these to work well.

Often, mindfulness is a solitary practice that is cultivated using contemplative practices from different faith traditions. It involves silent activities such as focusing on the breath or sitting quietly with a word, a source of light, an image, or a phrase as a way to bring attention to a point in the present. If sound is used in such practices, it tends to be soft, musical, chanting, or guided imagery that is designed to help the participant calm down and become aware of the current moment with the help of the repetitive soothing sound. In recent years, some software applications on the Internet or mobile platforms have been made available to support self-seekers in their mindfulness training. The medical profession too is recommending mindfulness-based therapies for certain conditions. ­Neuroscientists have successfully studied the brains of long-term meditators to scientifically establish the changes in the human brain due to these practices. Behavioral and other studies have been used to establish well-­recognized scales for measuring the impact of mindfulness scientifically. As mindfulness is recognized as a stress-relieving activity, it has gained widespread appeal. Several large corporations are offering mindfulness training through their employee well-being programs or with specialist courses and consultants because it is perceived to be a performance-enhancing executive skill. The popularity of mindfulness in corporations offers hope that perhaps managers will be awakened to their role in addressing the larger problems of society and the world, and that they will be willing to deploy their organization’s power and resources to solve them.

Mindfulness has been described in other ways too, such as being in the flow (Csikszentmihalyi 1990). Flow occurs when working with intense focus, such as while writing or reading or creating art. Artists, athletes, and others experience this flow when engaged in the activity they are skilled at. People also report experiencing such flow when they commune in nature, say walking in the forest, or by the ocean or mountains. The Buddhist monks create sand-painted mandalas with such focus and beauty that they not only strengthen their own mindfulness practice, but also manage to skillfully engage others in it by drawing the onlookers into the feeling of oneness visible between the monk and the mandala.

In theater arts, artists train for doing improv using games and exercises that sharpen their ability to remain present in the moment. Improv relies on the artists maintaining a state of heightened awareness that permits them to be responsive to their fellow participants and audience so they can incorporate the new stimuli into their work. This chapter describes a few such guided improvisational exercises. These have been used ­successfully with executive MBA participants in management courses for a variety of learning objectives, all related to somatic awareness building of the concepts being taught. The class setting provides a unique setting where peer participation and learning enhances the individual contributions to cocreate something at the group level that benefits everyone. The instructor has to be an accomplished facilitator for these to be effective. Somatic and experiential learning is not common so the participants require a little more motivating and encouragement than a typical lecture or discussion-based class. The facilitator has to explicitly lay out clear rules for participation and set the tone for a nonjudgmental fun-learning environment. The instructor also has to be encouraging and supportive by reminding everyone the no prior improv experience is needed and everyone can participate as long as they follow directions.

The exercises are described in three categories, warm ups to break the ice, and get everyone started with easy participation, interactive exercises where individual contributions are built upon, and finally closing exercises to end the session. The instructor can select a subset from each of the categories and use them as appropriate for their class. The selection may depend on considerations, such as the learning objectives, the size of the class, the comfort level of the participants in engaging with these exercises, and the confidence the instructor feels in facilitating. Before using any of the exercises, it is always good to start by laying out the ground rules explicitly and getting everyone to agree to follow these rules.

The facilitator can start by asking everyone to stand in a circle formation such that each person can make eye contact with all others. If the group is large, break it into two or more smaller groups. A circle with about 20 people is the maximum that can work well, based on prior experiences. The distance between participants is about an arm-length, so that there is room for some movement, but still, everyone is close enough to physically feel like they are part of the same group. Once everyone has settled into the circle, standing facing inward, the facilitator, who also joins the circle just like everyone else, welcomes everyone, and lays out the rules of engagement spoken out clearly and loudly. In the following, I provide what I use frequently, as a script that can be used verbatim or modified to suit the context. Occasionally, I make up some more rules, if I judge that the group needs something more specific, by constantly checking in with the participants for clarifications, comments, and questions they may have.

Welcome everyone. Look around the circle to ensure you can make eye contact with everyone else in the circle. Spread out evenly so the circle looks symmetrical. I will call out instructions about what we will do and expect each of you to participate actively. This means you must listen attentively to the instructions and seek clarification in case you are not clear on what to do. You are responsible for your own safety so make sure you stay within your safe and comfortable zone. It is encouraged but optional for you to stretch yourself just a little bit beyond your comfort zone. The idea with this is to allow you to discover and explore your edges. Participation is required, except if you have any medical or other good reason to not participate. In case of these exceptions, please step away from the circle completely, before the start of the exercise, so that everyone in the circle is still actively engaged to keep our energy flowing as a group. The exercises will help build mindful awareness only if you focus on what you are doing, and not worry about who is watching or what they may be thinking. Show up for yourself to do it just to become aware of what you are doing, how and why, and pay attention to the inner voice and how you show up here. This is your time, so use it well to serve your own best interest. There is no right or wrong way to do these exercises. However you do it, is just perfect. You have to check-in with yourself and build your own awareness. I am only here to offer the space to do this with no other expectation from you.

We will cocreate a supportive and safe environment and have fun. How to be supportive? One way to be supportive is by not judging what anyone else is doing. Another way to be supportive is that if you happen to notice what someone else is doing and hear your inner voice saying, “This is wrong,” then to immediately turn that into a celebration where we can all learn from any mistakes. Say, if someone was not attentive and missed part of the instruction or just does something that seems wrong to you; call it out by laughing out as loud as you can. If you hear and see someone laugh, everyone join in immediately and laugh out loud. We will be using our inner-critic to find opportunities to create laughter. We want to laugh out as loud as possible and will be vigilant to find any excuse to do so. We can’t go wrong with laughter. It is a great way to give positive feedback and feel positive by just laughing out loud. Try it. Let us just laugh out loud. Thank you, very good. Any questions?

I have provided the text of what I usually say, but the facilitator can make up their own words in their own style, as long a few basics cautions are covered. Here is a summary of these basics: There are rules for participating in these games. We all must explicitly agree to follow these rules. Each one is responsible for his or her presence and mindfulness. This is time for self-care. Participation is required but if it is beyond your comfort level to join, then you may pause by stepping out of the circle for that specific exercise. Participate fully if you choose to stay with the group. There is no talking. There will be pauses to talk and reflect. We will get out of our heads and stay present in the body. As you move, make sure you can see where you are going so you don’t accidentally bump anyone else, so, please no walking backward and no running. Don’t do anything you are not comfortable doing. Always put safety first, as each one is responsible for creating a safe space. No judging. Laughing at mistakes is a celebration of learning.

Next choose from the several warm-up exercises described in the following, and follow with more advanced ones. The exercise is described first, as the facilitator should call it out, followed by some commentary about the exercise. The comments are based on the author’s experience with each exercise and are offered as a way to prepare the instructor in choosing the best set of exercises for their particular context and group of participants. Only the first couple of exercises are elaborately scripted, and the rest are simply described with the expectation that the facilitators can explain these in the same elaborate and measured manner as the scripts provided for the first two, in their own way.

Warm-up Exercises

1. Walkabout: Just walk around the room exactly as you would normally walk. The only difference is that you must remain silent and be mindful. Bring your attention to your walk. How do you really walk? How do your feet touch the ground? What do you do with your arms? What else do you notice as you walk mindfully? Keep walking normally. In a short while, when I say stop, everyone freeze in whatever position you are in. I will say “Walk” again and you will then start walking from the freeze positions again. There is no talking. Remember you are to focus on what you are doing and what is going on with you.

               This exercise is one of the simplest to use. Everyone can easily walk as normal, and be silent. It encourages full participation and takes away any hesitations about the activity. Speak out the instructions in a slow measured pace, allowing silent moments as you ask questions that guide their attention to how they are being mindful. Call a “Stop” to freeze them periodically, say every 30 seconds. If some people take longer to stop, it is okay to introduce laughs gently. This is a good exercise to begin with because there are a series of similar exercises that are progressive in nature and can be used as follow-up exercises to ease people into participation. This exercise works best when there is a sufficiently open space to permit the movement without people constantly bumping into each other or furniture. Hence, this may not always be possible in a classroom, even if the furniture is moved aside to the side. So, use it when the room is large enough for the size of the group.

2. Variations to the walkabout: Keep walking normally. You are doing a very good job of mindful walk, and bringing your attention to it. How does it feel to be fully present in your body? Do you think we take our bodies for granted for the most part and spend way more time in our heads? How did we learn to treat the body as a mere carrier for our head? Did paying attention to your body as you walked, help you learn something? Now let us bring our awareness to the surroundings. Keep walking normally, but as you walk, pay attention to where you go, and what you notice about the space around you. What do you notice? How about other walkers? Did you pass someone walking faster or slower? I will give you new instructions and need you to keep walking as you listen to the instructions. Do not change anything until I say so. As you walk, any one of you can choose to freeze and stop, without words, just using your body to simply freeze. As soon as one person stops, everyone else must also freeze. Laughing allowed, if that doesn’t happen soon enough. Once everyone is stopped, then any one of you can decide to start walking again, and as soon as one person starts walking, everyone else must also start walking. Please start now.

              This exercise leads to some slow stops and starts and generates some laughter. It also puts the participants in control and starts the first stage of self-organizing. Individuals take the opportunity to lead, by choosing to freeze or to start walking from a group stop. Some people are more proactive in taking this simple opportunity to lead while others prefer to be in the role of followers. These lessons may be facilitated in the shared group reflection time. This exercise also starts to build group awareness, as people stop or start as a group, and it may be noticeable that initial few stops and starts take longer and as people come together as a group, the time it takes for everyone to stop or restart is a lot less.

              The next few exercises build on these initial ones. As the participants are walking around the room, you vary the instructions about how they walk, allowing them about a minute to 90 seconds in each stage. Occasionally, there is nervous chatter as people try to verbalize in the way they are accustomed to relating with others. Gently guide them to silence, and remind them that this is special time and not class or walking as usual. They will have time to talk in the built-in reflection time and now they must stay with the mindful observations without verbalizing it. They are permitted to laugh to express something that may need attention to be in line with the instructions. It is imperative that the facilitator maintains the mindful atmosphere, and if it seems disrupted, to halt and restart after a reflective pause to address the cause of disruption.

3. Walk around the room as fast as you can, as if you are running late for an important meeting. Once everyone is warmed up with the walkabout exercise and a few “Stop” and restarts, add this exercise by calling it out after one of the stops. Walking faster will raise the energy level in the room instantly. It may also be a time to repeat the instruction on safety, especially if there are some close encounters as people rush about in an enclosed space. Call out the “stop” to freeze everyone more frequently. This will lead to sudden and surprise freezes, which are likely to yield funnier stopping positions too. After about a minute or two of this, ask everyone to walk normally again.

              The rest of the walking exercises below will also be added in the same way as this one, and with each switch and new addition, go back to the first exercise of walking normally. With normal walking in-between changes, there is a mindful transition as well as a restful reassurance for the participants to be in their comfort zone so they can be ready for the next challenge. At every switch and additional change added, be sure to offer encouragement with “Good job,” “well done,” and “you are all really good at this,” and some similar ways to reward participation.

4. Walk around the room as if you are walking on sand. Stop. Repeat a few times. Ask questions or offer some encouraging comments about how the walk on the sand is going. Maybe add sand dunes or a sand storm as variations to the theme. In-between remember to ask everyone to walk normally again.
5. Walk around the room normally, but making eye contact with everyone you walk past. Stop. Repeat and then go back to walking normally without looking at anyone else.
6. Walk around the room as if you are walking in a fresh air filled beautiful forest with fragrant flowers in bloom and a clear path ahead. Stop. Repeat a few times and then ask everyone to walk normally again.
7. Walk around the room as if you are walking in an over-crowded busy bazaar or flea market where everyone is hustling to sell you things you don’t want and it is really hot too. Stop. Repeat a few times and then ask everyone to walk normally again.
8. Walk around the room as if there is an oil spill, and the ground is really slippery. Stop. Repeat a few times and then ask everyone to walk normally again.
9. Walk around the room normally, but avoiding eye contact with everyone you walk past. Pretend they are people you want to actively avoid seeing or even acknowledging. Stop. Repeat and then go back to walking normally.
10. Walk around the room as if there is sticky glue on the floor. Stop. Repeat a few times and then ask everyone to walk normally again.
11. Walk around the room normally, making eye contact with everyone you walk past, and this time pretending they are people you really are very happy to see, but you can’t stop to chat with them right now, as you have to keep going. Stop. Repeat and then go back to walking normally.
12. Walk around the room as if you are walking in knee-deep snow and it is freezing cold with blustery winds. Stop. Repeat and then go back to walking normally.
13. Walk around the room normally, make eye contact with everyone who crosses your path, and this time you can stop briefly to acknowledge that you are very happy to see them, even though you still can’t stop to chat with them as you have to keep going. Stop. Repeat and then go back to walking normally.
14. Walk around the room as if you are wading through thigh-high water flooding. Stop. Repeat and then go back to walking normally.
15. Walk around the room normally, and when you cross path with someone, you recognize them as a long lost friend, and greet them enthusiastically, but still silently using only your nonverbal communication. You can stop for a just a few seconds, as you have to keep going. Stop. Repeat and then go back to walking normally.
16. End with a normal walk and freeze and then ask everyone to regroup in a circle silently.

These warm-up exercises can be modified to suit the comfort level of the participants and available time, as each can be extended or curtailed or skipped completely. The facilitator has the onus to make these choices by assessing the group needs and energy, and with the intention to keep the participants comfortable and group dynamics flowing smoothly. ­Facilitator must provide the instructions at an even pace with a subtle rhythm to the experience. The gradual introduction of changes and low-impact contact with other participants allows progress from individual participation toward group interactions. The exercise with greeting each other as long lost friends builds rapport among participants and makes them familiar with each other without relying on the usual habit of words to introduce each other. It is particularly effective if the group is made up of people who are unfamiliar with each other. Past participants have remarked how this helped them know each other and make new friends quickly.

When everyone is in the circle, after a brief silent pause to allow for a transition, thank and compliment the group, and give them permission to offer their feedback, spoken in one word that encapsulates their experience, offered popcorn style into the center of the circle. Limiting the feedback to one word may seem drastic but it is a really effective way to force everyone to think of what the essence of his or her feedback is. Limiting it to one word also preserves the energy in the room built up with the silent exercises and it encourages the nonverbal expression. It prevents lengthy dialog or conversations as usual and equalizes participation by extroverts and introverts in the group. Sometimes it helps to also add that everyone must speak once before repeat participation. The facilitator may kick-start the feedback process by offering one word of appreciation that reflects the group experience. After several people have responded, there can be explicit permission granted for additional one-word comments so people who spoke already may have a chance to say more, if time permits. In my experience of asking for feedback, majority of it is positive and encouraging, and the occasional anxiety or difficulty expressed is also best surfaced early so the facilitator can address it. If the facilitator prefers, the one-word feedback maybe replaced with one short sentence instead. If there is not much feedback offered, keep the games moving along without worrying about it too much. For most participants, this would have been unusual activity and it is good to simply thank them for participating and go to the next stage of the games.

Post-Warm-up Advanced Games

Since everyone will be in a circle at this time, thank them for sharing their feedback and set up the rules for the next round. This next set of games will link individual contributions to their immediate neighbor standing on their left side, as a gradual build-up to group interaction. If people know each other in a group, they may end up standing close to each other, so the build-up with small interactions with their immediate neighbor tends to be easy for them. The facilitator may choose an active and willing participant as their immediate neighbor to the left to start this set. These games will have sounds and gestures. The permitted sounds and gestures can vary slightly due to individual interpretations but there is no expectation for any creativity in expression yet. No other words are permitted, and as before, no talking, with the usual mindful attention to the activity is expected. The instructions for the exercise are better demonstrated, rather than read out, so best to speak out the instructions along with illustrative demonstration of it.

1. Energy ball Whoosh exercise: Hold two hands in front of your abdomen as if you have an imaginary basketball held between them. Describe it as an energy ball that you have that will be passed around the circle. Next make a sweeping gesture with your right hand, palms open, as if you are pushing the ball to the person on your left and make a loud and clear sound saying “Whoosh” as you sweep the imaginary ball. The energy ball is now with the person to your right and they have to pass it on to the next person on their left by making the same “Whoosh” sound along with the accompanying gesture of sweeping with their right hand toward the left direction. Ask everyone to practice the sound and gesture together once or twice, so everyone is clear on how the energy ball will move through the circle. Check if anyone has any questions, as you remind them that there will be no talking once the game starts, and then begin. When the ball of energy comes back to you after going through the complete circle, catch it and say thank you and well-done or good job. If there were hesitations and any confusion in implementing the instructions, as there typically are, remember to laugh loudly at the accident, thereby encouraging everyone to join in catching these hesitations and remaining attentive in the circle. The ­instructions are simple but the activity can still feel awkward initially, and the laughter is a good way to get rid of any initial hesitations at the silliness of adults pretending to pass imaginary energy balls around in a circle. Once the ball has made it around the circle smoothly, ask them to send the energy ball around as quickly as they can by starting with a faster sweep and whoosh. This time when it completes the circle, keep it going around without stopping. There will be chances to laugh as people get flustered or whoosh before the ball comes to them in their desire to speed it along or other minor issues. These minor issues may be caught with extra due diligence or exaggerated care as a way to build early discipline of quick self-check by the group. If appropriate, pause for a quick feedback break, or carry on to build this with the next exercise.
2. Boink to change directions: Demonstrate a new action and sound. Hold the left arm close to the body and bend it at the elbow for the lower arm to stick out in front of the body at 90° angle, with the fist firmly closed. The sound to accompany this gesture is “Boink.” This gesture and sound are used to turn the energy ball’s direction. As it comes from the right, it gets stopped in its leftward movement within the circle with this barrier that bounces it back to the person who sends it—and makes the energy ball go right whenever a circle member interrupts the Whoosh with a Boink. Practice this sound and gesture together as a group. Again, check if there are any questions and remind everyone that laughter is a sign that they are attentive to the activity in the circle. Finally, ask that the energy ball must move through the complete circle at least once, before anyone can Boink it.

              Start with a Whoosh. Invariably, someone eager to participate and add variety to the Whoosh, adds the Boink before the energy ball goes around the circle fully to complete a circle. Make sure to laugh out loud to catch this. It often falls upon the facilitator to keep these instructions clear and to catch the early errors. The facilitator’s skills are crucial for introducing and maintaining attentiveness in the group. There will be guaranteed laughter with the Whoosh and Boinks causing new behaviors, such as some people being more at ease with change while others are not yet comfortable with it. The change of direction will lead to people being off-guard and not ready who receive the energy coming back at them. It is remarkable that even these simple instructions are hard to keep straight and the exercises quickly reveal how we are not fully present in the moment. However, with a few minutes of practice, it tends to stabilize, and when it does, is a good time to pause and reflect again. The one-word or one-sentence feedback will be self-reflective, if you remind everyone to stay with “I statements …” and not worry about judging others. The observations can be about the group, as “I noticed the energy was concentrated in one part of the circle where there were more Boinks….” It is best that no single individual is called out for what they brought to the exercise, and the attention remains on organizing and group dynamics. Lessons about change management may be visible from this exercise as some people are more willing to adopt the changes while others prefer to stick with the Whoosh they have mastered, without ever using a Boink.

3. Ramp to skip a player: The word associated with this exercise is ramp. The gesture is upper arm held close to the body and the bent at the elbow to make the forearm go up diagonally from the elbow toward the opposite shoulder, with unfolded flat hand, fingers pointed closely together. It is meant to resemble the highway ramps over which the energy ball will travel with some consequence. The ramp must be made with the arm that is on the same side as the direction from where the energy ball is coming. Say, if the energy ball is coming from the right side being whooshed to the left, the receiver will make the Ramp-gesture with the right arm, such that the energy ball hits the lower part of the ramp, at the elbow, and travels up the ramp toward the left shoulder. The consequence of using the Ramp is that the energy ball passes over the person to the left and must be received by the next person in the circle, skipping one. The Ramp speeds up the way the energy ball travels through the circle by skipping over people who must handle it. The game starts with a Whoosh with the same rule as before, that the first round of Whoosh must complete the circle, and after that anyone can add either a Boink to change direction of the energy ball or a Ramp to skip a neighboring person in the same direction as the direction in which the energy ball was traveling through the circle. It is often a good idea to restrict the use of a Boink immediately after the Ramp, if the directions are leading to too many errors, so that people gradually get used to these. It may not be necessary if the errors are just making the game ­interesting and yielding plenty of laughter. Mindfulness is the goal and the energy ball games are simply a way to cultivate real awareness and presence through engagement with the rules. The reflective pause to collect feedback will be a place to collect all such observations and build up group awareness about levels of mindfulness, or lack thereof, as the experience unfolds.
4. Gesture-Buildup: In Gesture-Buildup the facilitator starts with a simple physical gesture, say, a shrug of the shoulders with a facial expression, and passes it to their right by facing the person to their right while making it. The gesture can be anything they wish, with the caution to keep it playful and avoid offensive or rude gestures. The next person repeats that gesture and builds on it, by adding something extra to it. They may repeat the gesture by adding their own flavor, say by exaggerating it, or reinterpreting it slightly, so it is still recognizable as the same gesture but with a little individual variety added to keep it interesting. The additional gesture added to it is communicating something nonverbal just as the original gesture is too. This gesture is passed along to the next person in the circle. The next person repeats their immediate neighbor’s gesture and adds to it. And so it goes along to complete the circle. Each person is always doing just two gestures, the most recent one passed from their neighbor and one original one they add that they pass to their neighbor. This exercise is an opportune one to return to share the leadership role in the circle, with the facilitator asking anyone to start the gesture that is passed around the circle, after the first round is led by the facilitator. By now participants are typically comfortable enough and have laughed enough to be able to take leadership and offer a few fun gestures to pass around. The gestures are not limited to use of facial expressions and use of arms and hands only. Encourage full body expression, including safe jumping, twirling, or twisting. This exercise often proves to be a reminder of how conditioned we are to using our bodies in rather limited and preprogrammed manner. Loosening up the body with freedom to express fully also loosens up the energy and contributions that each one makes in the circle. Whoosh, Boink, and Ramp, are all exercises where individuals start to interact and relate with others around them, and the Gesture-Buildup creates openness even as it raises awareness about the nonverbal communication between people. The reflections on this exercise reveal how mindful everyone has become as they share how some gestures and responses literally can tell stories in two gestures and how we often rely too much on words when so much of our communication is nonverbal.
5. Gesture-Response: This exercises gets back into relating with dyadic interaction. One person, say the facilitator, starts it by turning to face the person on their right, and offers a gesture. The person on the right now interprets the nonverbal message conveyed by the gesture and offers a nonverbal response to it. Say, the facilitator started with bow made to the person on their right. The person now can offer any response, maybe a bow back to them, or a hand held up in a gesture of blessing the bow, or a haughty expression and a slight turning away to indicate that the bow is not received well enough or however they wish to respond to it. The dyadic interaction is complete with the offered gesture and a response to it. After offering a response to the facilitator, the person next turns to the person on their right and offers an entirely new gesture. The person on their right must now respond to this new gesture, nonverbally. That would complete that dyadic interaction. The gesture and response literally complete a nonverbal story between the two people. The gesture–response dyadic interaction is passed around the circle.

              This exercise is another good one for being mindful of our ­nonverbal communication patterns and potential. It is useful for concepts of relating, such as power differences, high–low status, engagement-disinterest, and other types of interactions that are made visible in the quick gesture-responses of each pair. The laughter in this exercise is less from any errors and more from the gestures chosen or the clever or predictable and very relatable responses on display. The laughter also becomes less forced and more spontaneous by this stage of the exercise. It is an exercise that offers many good shared lessons when it is time to end it with a pause for feedback and shared reflections.

6. Names: This exercise is for groups that have participants who do not know each other. Everyone in the circle is asked to share their first name preceded by naming an activity or adjective that can be acted out with a gesture with the simple rule that the adjective or the name of the activity starts with the same syllable as their name. As each person shares their name and accompanying gesture, everyone else in the circle immediately repeat it together, before the next person shares their name and gesture. So, for example, Julie may make juggling gesture and say “Juggling Julie” and after Julie does that, everyone else repeats the gesture of juggling and says out loud “Juggling Julie.” The circle is completed when everyone has said his or her names.
7. Passing-the-Names: This exercise follows the Names exercise. One person in the circle says their own name and gesture and then does the gesture and says the name of another person who may be across from them or anywhere else in the circle. The person named then picks it up and says and does their own name-gesture and picks another person’s name and gesture. This paired calling of own-name-gesture and another’s-name-gesture is thrown around the circle till everyone has had a chance to receive and most people seem familiar with most or at least a few names.
8. Zip-Zap-Zop: This advanced exercise requires a higher level of mindful presence as the unpredictable and fast nature of where the energy is coming from and going to require everyone to be alert. Hesitation, delays, and missing the cues are reason for laughing out loud. The gesture is simple finger-pointing with the arm extended to ensure that there is no mistake in where the finger is pointed. The first person points to another in the circle and says “Zip,” while ­making eye contact with the person they are pointing to. The receiver at the other end of the pointed finger then must point to another person with their arm extended and finger pointed out, making eye contact with them, and shouts out “Zap.” The zapped person then must pass the finger-pointing with extended arm to another with a “Zop” sound. And the person zopped restarts the cycle with a “Zip” pointing to someone new. It is advisable to state in the instructions that people should not point to their immediate neighbor on either side, as the raised arm and pointed finger may cause contact and risk of injury. The prior exercises being with neighbors, makes this a hard exception and a cause for errors and laughter in this round. The Zip-Zap-Zop also catches people unaware as it moves rapidly and sometimes with unclear eye contact, two or more people may receive it. A few minutes of practice, and the errors start to diminish as alert minds engage with the game.
9. Bumper: Once the Zip-Zap-Zop gets going well, then a twist can be added to it with Bumper. Bumper is a gesture of crossed forearms held in front of and close to the chest, with the word “Bumper” shouted out. Bumper is used to repel the energy pointed at one with Zip-Zap-Zop. If a receiver says “Bumper” and makes the protective armor gesture of covering their chest with forearms in a cross formation, the energy goes back to the person sending the Zip or Zap or Zop. They must now resend it to another in the group. Bumper adds to the laughs in the circle and also allows for relief from the relentless pace of a fast flowing Zip-Zap-Zop. End this with reflection and feedback pause, and encouragement. These pauses and encouraging words can be sprinkled as best judged by the facilitator, after some experience with these games.

Wrap-up Games

Closing games wind down the group in a manner that allows individual and equal participation.

1. Standing in a circle, facilitator asks everyone to silently choose an enemy in the circle without revealing who they have chosen. After everyone nods that they have selected someone as a foe, then ask everyone to also choose a friend in the circle, silently and quietly. There is no expectation to reveal these ever. Once everyone has chosen a friend in the circle, the facilitator asks everyone to start walking around the room as in the starting exercise, and when everyone is walking, add the stop and freeze again. Then, the instruction is to walk such that each one is away from their chosen enemy and has their friend acting as a shield by keeping formation such that the secret-friend is always kept in-between the person walking and their secret-enemy. As the friend and enemy are both secret and unknown, and also individually chosen, this leads to some interesting rapid movement and fast changing formations in the group walk. The facilitator can end this exercise rather quickly with a stop and freeze command and by asking participants to return to a circle.
2. Proverbs: In the circle, someone starts with saying one word and one word only. The person to their right adds another single word, and the person to their right adds yet another and so it continues. The goal is to string a sentence together, with one word each contributed by each person in the circle. This is only possible if everyone listens really well and builds on the previous work, grammatically, if not logically. The word must be spoken out loudly and clearly so it is audible to everyone participating. The really important part of the instruction is that the first word to come to your head must be spoken out loud. Being spontaneous makes this fun. Best not to think much about what is said, and definitely don’t think ahead of time for a word as it has to fit with the last word spoken. Delayed response, even slight hesitation is an error that will invite laughs from all. The absurdity of the sentence being made is an integral part of the fun of this exercise. If you can’t offer a word promptly, or if the words spoken before your turn are making a complete sentence, then you can simply close this round to restart with a fresh word. The way to close the round is to make the “yes-n-clap” gesture—where hands move as if clapping, but very gently with no sound of clap, and with repetitive chanting of the word “yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes” with a slightly bowed head. As soon as a participant starts the closing gesture of “yes-n-clap” everyone else in the circle also joins it. Sometimes, the facilitator repeating the sentence just completed is helpful.

              The sentences may take a few starts to become grammatically accurate and a few more rounds to become the wise absurd proverbs that everyone takes away from the session. The aphorisms created are often silly and the absurdity is a good way to end the session with a reminder that mindfulness is not always about being serious, but is a state of being fully present to enjoy the moment, however it is. The final round of shared reflections is optional, and as with other pauses, on the discretion of the facilitator. Chances are that every participant is able to notice how being fully present makes the sentences coherent, and better over time. Let the practice and experience speak for itself by this stage.

Reflections and Lessons

The facilitator selected the exercises based on delivering some learning goals, and it is the skill of the facilitator to draw out these lessons out from the experiences by effectively using the feedback pauses for gathering shared reflections. When the participants offer their one-word feedback, the facilitator can weave that into the learning goals that were the basis for selecting the exercises at the onset. Assuming that the exercises are performed as planned, the participants ought to offer up the lessons during the feedback sought. The facilitator has an important role in calling the pauses frequently and using the feedback to adjust the choice or pace of the exercises used with the group. The facilitator’s skill in taking the feedback and weaving it into the experienced activity and generate dialog about the learning goals is critical. Being an experiential exercise, the lessons from using these exercises will depend on what experiences that are created by the participants under the guidance of the facilitator.

Facilitation skills grow and strengthen with practice. For first-time facilitators, if at all possible, it is recommended that the facilitator participate in these exercises with a more experienced facilitator leading the group. That will provide a good understanding of the participants’ perspective as being a participant will before being a facilitator is useful. If that is not possible, the next best way to prepare is by practicing facilitating these games with a friendly group initially, say with your colleagues or friends and family. This preparation and practice will pay off in the classroom.

Each of the participants will bring their own energy and mental state to the group, and what is learned by each individual and the group will depend on what is cocreated with what they bring to the table. The reflection and feedback pauses will be the time that these will be shared. Facilitator role in these pauses is primarily of listening carefully. Reflect back and amplify the feedback that is offered by connecting the shared experiences and emerging peer-to-peer lessons with the learning objectives of the exercises. Some examples of possible feedback may be: individuals reporting that they have become aware or awake as to how they are not always present in the moment, living in their heads more than their bodies, and living in their thoughts about the future or the past or what someone else may think of them. When asked if they thought of anyone else during the exercises, majority will not be thinking of others, as the setup instructions were to be focused on the self. However, by asking this now, everyone can become aware that while they may worry about what others will think, in reality, no one has the time or interest in thinking about them. This makes participants appreciate how much they need to work to stay fully present in the moment.

Other lessons from previous sessions have also included reflections about how little we use our bodies, and how rigidity in the body can be a reflection of the stress or rigidity over nonphysical aspects of work as well. Another lesson that comes up often is how challenging some of the exercises were, even though they seem really simple. This leads to plenty of laughter, which is appreciated. There are also lessons on how quickly the challenge of following directions can change with fresh dynamics emerging with the support of the peer-group, even when it is simply a light-hearted way of calling attention by laughing.

Occasionally, there may be some dissent or challenge, which is also good feedback to get early enough so facilitator may modify the pace or choice of activities. It also helps to end these pauses with a reminder to everyone to be responsible for what they choose to do to cocreate the experiences being reflected upon. Lessons about organizing come from the group interactions. The individual contributors may have started with hesitant participation, limited and guarded interactions, gradually growing into comfortable interactions with peers to end with a sense of team spirit with shared laughs. This progression is hard and visible somatic experience of emergence of organizing. The gesture-and-response exercise yields lessons in power dynamics in dyads as some actions lead to unmistakable leader–follower behavior or display of difference in status even in the simple nonverbal cues. Other lessons are about the importance of listening and building on other’s work, specially seen in the names and proverbs exercises. The sentences become more coherent and grammatically accurate and the proverbs become better when people listen attentively. These exercises work best when people open up and are willing to suspend judgment to really listen. Creativity is visible when participants are ready to enact whatever might be conjured up in the moment. These exercises are a safe way to explore fear as silliness permits people to easily go where they would not dare to go if they were being serious. The lesson of importance of a supportive community and peer learning is also evident in the way these exercises play out.

Being an experiential workshop, where mind and body both are used, to deliver lessons about individual, group, and the interfaces between the two, participants leave with a somatic understanding of many of the management concepts, such as leadership, creativity, team dynamics, and organizing. These exercises can also be used to cover topics commonly taught in courses in organizational behavior, organizational theory, management communication, somatic-psychology, and contemplative traditions. The variations depend on the expertise of the facilitator and what the participants bring to the room. Some other topics, for which the facilitators have used these in the past, are: presence, listening, voice, teamwork, risk-taking, idea-generation, status, power, leadership and followership, the impact of status on relationships, nonverbal communication, staying positive, building on ideas offered by others, and developing narratives.

Using improvisational theater exercises as a way to engage individuals and form groups, to cocreate organizing as a mindful activity is a rather creative and innovative format. As immersive experiential class activity is rare, the novelty of using these exercises remains as a memorable experience for the participants. It is a welcome departure from the usual Powerpoint-dominated lessons in classrooms. Flexing their creative muscle in a supportive environment, and cultivating mindful presence to better understand their own mind–body and individual–group interfaces is a very practical thing. It also takes mindfulness out of the dominant context of the different religious traditions, or solitary and silent practice. By making it a group activity that permits interactions and movement, it makes for a whole new appreciation for the idea of working with the mind. It may bring together people of diverse faith traditions, such as meditating Buddhists, or Hindu yoga practitioners, or Christian contemplatives. Unlike the silent contemplative practices, instead of fighting to quiet the brain, improv can channel the active firings of thoughts into actions. By making the mind’s contents explicitly visible in the actions, we can see and observe them, in reactions and interactions. Improv also expands the capability for spontaneity and flexibility of thought. The pause for collective reflection and sense-making completes the circle of mindfulness. The activities will definitely encourage multisector conversation and interaction among participants from different disciplines, regions, career stages, or demographic backgrounds. Past participants have reported on the inspirational messages they are taking away from having participated in these.

These experiential exercises have been used by past participants in their own work, in different contexts where more mindfulness or teamwork is needed. Others have used some of these for specific purposes, such as using the name-game as an icebreaker in new groups where team building might be beneficial. The activity mentioned with the name sometimes leads to affectionate names for the people who used them, such as Leader-Lara, who happily enjoys the unexpected benefit of being remembered for her leadership. The walk-about exercise may be used to raise the energy level in a meeting or as a stress-relieving break as a supplement to the typical coffee breaks in long meetings. For those who already have active mindfulness practice of their own, this may offer an alternative way to expand their practice. In summary, each participant can find it useful in his or her own unique way. The pedagogy offered here is innovative, interactive, and inclusive. It is also integrative in how it promotes learning across traditional disciplinary boundaries, in shared dialog and cocreated activity.

References

Csikszentmihalyi, M. 1990. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York, NY: Harper and Row.

Fischer, C.M., and T. Amabile. 2009. Creativity, Improvisation and Organizat­ions. HBR Casestudy.

Kanter, R.M. 2001. Evolve: Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow. Harvard Business School Press.

Kanter, R.M. 2010. Adopt a Cow: Strategy as Improvisational Theater. Harvard Business Review.