Now, once again, it is time to stop reading, put this manual away. Come back to it in your own time. Remember, this is not a race. Don’t let me catch you reading any further until you: Take at least one day to one week to luxuriate with this wonderful, awesome, delightful and energizing exercise/protocol called Laughter Yoga. See ya next time.
Laughter is an instant vacation. -Milton Berle
Protocol # 4 Smiling Into The Heart
The world always looks brighter from behind a smile. -Author Unknown
Smiling feels good. Can we agree on that? So, if smiling feels good, why don’t we do it all the time and therefore feel good all the time? Hmm. Perhaps it has something to do with habits, even habits that we may have been taught. Consider our schooling: Sit still behind the desk, don’t speak unless you are given permission, put your hand up if you have to go to the bathroom and so on.
Did you know that the Latin root of the word “gymnasium” actually meant school? The Greeks and Romans understood the need for the body to move in order to facilitate learning. Our modern system of schooling was really devised to train young people to fit into the modern industrial age. We were being trained to become cogs in the assembly line! Modern schooling has more to do with rote memorization than learning to think! Rote memorization is not a lot of fun. Modern schooling has a way of sucking the fun out of learning.
This is changing since George Leonard wrote the book Education and Ecstasy. Leonard and others have alerted us to the concept that learning can not only be fun, but also ecstatic. When we “get” a concept, the “aha” moment is a moment of joy. When we are in joy, we are making more neural connections in the brain, and solving problems/challenges, big or small, can actually be easier.
We were told LSD was our salvation. Now I know it is LSBP: Laughter, Smiling, Breathing and Posture. –Matti Anttila
You have now experienced the joy that a Laughter Yoga session can access. (That is, if you have been laughing along with me on the videos. Have you?) But as you know, we can’t laugh all the time. It’s just not going to work to be laughing when the boss is giving out assignments, for example. Can we smile all the time, or at least, a lot more? Why not? At the end of our Laughter Yoga sessions, often we will do a guided visualization with smiling.
Let’s do this now: Again, you may choose a time and place where you will not be disturbed. When accessing a deeper place within you, it’s good to not have outside distractions. Here we go.
Smiling into the Heart
Sit comfortably, or even lie down. As you reach your hands up into the sky, draw a heart in the air. Inside that heart are lots of little smiley faces, hundreds of them. They grow to thousands, millions, billions and trillions of smiley faces.
There are now over 70 trillion smiley faces in your imaginary heart in the air. Using your hands, draw all those trillions of smiley faces into your heart.
The heart smiles in response. A big, warm and cuddly smile. The heart sends those smiley faces to your cells and a smiley face attaches itself to each and every cell in your body.
Every cell smiles and sends a smile back to your heart. Your heart is now overflowing with smiles and sends those smiles to all corners of the universe.
Feel the smiles in your heart, in every cell and radiating out to the far reaches of infinity. Feel how easy it is for your lips and face to smile when there is a smile in your heart.
Take a few moments and luxuriate in that feeling. It’s OK to do nothing, just for a few moments.
In this busy life, we seem always to be doing something. Take a moment to just be. If you feel so inclined, take a deep breath and sigh it out.
How does that feel?
As you luxuriate in that feeling, squeeze your left thumb with your right hand. In NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), this is called setting an anchor.
Any time you want to have this same feeling, all you have to do is squeeze your left thumb with your right hand and the feeling is triggered. This is a way to access a smile and the feeling that comes with it. You now have a technique to access smiling at will, regardless of what stressors you may have in life. Many thanks to Marja Pirie, Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher Extraordinaire for this technique.
Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. -Mother Teresa
Benefits of Smiling
Smiling changes your mood
Next time you are feeling down, try putting on a smile. There’s a good chance your mood will change for the better. Smiling can trick the body into helping you change your mood.
Smiling relieves stress
Stress can be seen clearly in the face. Smiling helps to prevent us from looking tired and overwhelmed. When you are stressed, put on a smile. Smiling will reduce your stress and you will be able to think clearly to take action.
Smiling boosts your immune system
Smiling helps the immune system to work better. When you smile, immune function improves possibly because you are more relaxed.
Smiling lowers your blood pressure
When you smile, there is a measurable reduction in your blood pressure. Give it a try if you have a blood pressure monitor at home.
Smiling helps you stay positive
Try this test: Smile. Now try to think of something negative without losing the smile. It’s hard. When we smile our body is sending the rest of us a message that “Life is good!” Stay away from depression, stress and worry by smiling.
Smiling releases endorphins, natural pain killers and serotonin
Studies have shown that smiling releases endorphins, natural pain killers and serotonin. Together these three make us feel good. Smiling is a natural drug.
Smiling makes us attractive
We are drawn to people who smile. There is an attraction factor. We want to know a smiling person and figure out what is so good. Frowns, scowls and grimaces all push people away. A smile draws them in.
You have two missions this week, should you decide to accept: Whenever you find you are not smiling inside, squeeze your left thumb with your right hand and notice your inner smile. Time commitment: About 4 seconds.