1. Happiness Programme by Art of Living Foundation
The link between meditation and happiness is well-documented. Daily meditation enables practitioners to adopt a more optimistic and levelheaded approach towards life. To achieve this natural state of happiness, the Art of Living Foundation, an international non-governmental organisation that helms global initiatives in trauma relief and youth empowerment, is offering a three-day Happiness Program. Its trainers employ the Sudarshan Kris yoga technique, a controlled breathing practice that provides relief for depression and decreases cortisol levels, a major stress hormone in the human body. Designed in four two-hour sessions, the programme is now available online.
2. Audio platform shareyourvoice.world
When the world was brought to a standstill in recent months, media personality Anita Kapoor was spurred to think of ways to connect with people during the lockdown, while tuning out from information overload and virtual fatigue. “All of our lives have been impacted in one way or another. [The month of] May felt like the right time to begin and understand what that feeling of isolation and longing to connect the world past the barriers of lockdown was like for everyone,” shares Kapoor. This led her to launch audio platform shareyourvoice.world in June featuring voice recordings from people all over the world describing their current living conditions. By doing so, it leverages the acts of listening and sharing to bring humanity closer. Kapoor says, “The site is a neutral and safe platform for the world to raise awareness about one another’s existence, give space to movements, and to store cycles and waves in the timeline of this world.”