Lately I keep thinking about “smile” therapy. I recently watched the movie Eat, Pray Love, and I remember a part in it where her teacher in Bali, tells her to do a smiling meditation. He suggests that she smile from every organ in her body. The idea of this is so powerful to me.
In the spiritual community we always talk about how our mind and emotions affect our body, but our body has a deep affect on our mind and emotions also. It goes both ways. Exercise, breath, good, healthy food and the way we carry our selves has an enormous impact on how we feel and think on a daily basis.
When we smile, endorphins, serotonin and natural pain killers are released through our bodies. Studies have shown that people with manic depression can be completely cured with daily 20 minute sessions where the patient just sits and smiles! When we smile our body actually produces the physiology of happiness and health. Smiling lowers blood pressure and boosts immunity as well as reducing stress.
So smiling…
- Produces more happiness hormones than chocolate
- Improves your appearance
- Cures depression
- Boosts immunity
- Greatly reduces stress
- Lowers blood pressure
- Greatly improves overall health
I would be crazy not to spend at least 5 minutes a day in Smile Therapy!
So I’m thinking that I spend 20 minutes a day meditating, imagine the impact of smiling during that 20 minutes! It’s so simple, I don’t know why I’ve never thought about it.
So today I want to suggest a little smile therapy to everyone. Pick a time during the day when you have some space. Maybe when you first wake up, or when you go to sleep or meditate. And smile and smile and smile. Smile until it becomes deeply real for you. Feel every cell of your body smiling. Do it for any time between 5 and 20 minutes. Try it out every day for 10 days. If it works for you, you’ll have a wonderful new tool!
Wishing you all the best!
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Chakra Healing, Chakra Balancing, Spiritual Development
