SMILE

There is power and magic in your smile. :)

This morning I woke up, with a knot in the pit of my stomach. Fear along with acid bubbled, thoughts, looming thoughts of worry doubled.

Feelings of despair, melancholy zoomed by, even before I had had my cup of coffee. I wished I could crawl back into bed, unable to think positively about what lay ahead.

A glimpse of sunlight filled my room and woke me up from doom, that’s when I gently reminded myself, to smile using all my face cells.

When everything seems to fail, things look dire and pale, the one that never ceases to fail is a jolly good smile on my face.

The one thing you can do in any circumstance and is in your control entirely is to smile, no matter what.

I remind myself to smile often. I have to remind myself, because it seems like such a simple thing to do, especially when my worrisome thoughts(in light of these days) are so heavy and gloomy. But, as I have learned to smile more, I have found that often it is the simple things that come in handy when needed.

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” ― Leo F. Buscaglia

So I remind myself to smile, even if it makes me look silly sometimes. But I do it for my sanity, to lift my spirits, to remind myself of all the silver linings life has to offer.

Smiling has been known to create numerous benefits. One of the major ones is that it sends a signal to your brain where all grey pictures are being painted, that things are not so bad. The brain loves symbolism, so the more we smile, the more it is going to believe us. It releases happy hormones such as cortisol and endorphins when it believes us, and these hormones put us in a lighter, better mood.

My dad would tell me to smile and speak joyfully when receiving a phone call, “it resonates with the caller and puts them also in a happy mood” he says. I am learning the truth in those words now.

Smiling also reminds us that we can endure things, no matter how difficult they seem.

When I sit down to tackle a particularly difficult piece of a problem, my go-to expression is my eyes trying hard to focus, face and forehead in a big frown and mind working furiously fast and my breath shallow. The problem just seems even more difficult just then. But slowly as I ease my breathing, and relax my face and put on a smile, surprisingly I can remind myself that I can solve any hard problem thrown my way.

A smile works as a silent affirmation talking and communicating directly to our subconscious layer. It a silent repetition of the phrase coined by Marie Forleo — “Everything is figureoutable”.

And it is 100% true.

We have all been taught as kids that a smile is contagious. These days I observe myself when I am walking down the streets when I meet someone who smiles and waves at me, my instinct is to smile back. I sometimes try not to smile or sometimes even look sternly, but that’s way more difficult. So its probably me following the age-old adage — “monkey see, monkey do.” Also, what better counter to beat a contagious virus than contagious smiles.

It also puts everyone around in a better mood immediately. A smile can create powerful ripple effects, raising energy, positivity, and vibes of a society.

“Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” ― Mother Teresa

Also, because smiling releases happy hormones, our minds, and body are in a relaxed state, thereby relieving some of the stress that our body has stored. The minute I smile, I feel the muscles in my neck and shoulder relax immediately. We are known to store maximum stress in these areas. And a smile not only alleviates stress, but it is also known to lower blood pressure and heart rate as well, almost as being transported to a meditative state.

A smile is a simple meditation technique that we can use anytime, we don’t have to sit down still like a yogi and close our eyes. We only have smile till our cheeks stretch so much that they begin to hurt.

Duchenne de Boulogne a French neurologist who studied the physiology of facial expressions said that — A smile exhibiting true happiness is formed by the contraction of both the zygomatic major muscle (which raises the corners of the mouth) and the orbicularis oculi muscle (which raises the cheeks and produces crow’s feet around the eyes). This form of smiling got named after him — the Duchenne smile. The smile that doesn’t use the orbicularis oculi muscle is a usual smile.

That’s why it is easier to connect with people who have a twinkle in their eyes as they seemingly radiate true happiness.

Psychological scientists Kraft and Pressman conducted a study — Grin and Bear It, where they asked a group of people to hold chopsticks in their mouths (it naturally results in a smile) while solving complex problems. They explicitly asked half the people to smile and solve the problem and the others were given no instructions related to smile. They found that the group who smiled consciously or unconsciously (who were told to smile) had lower heart rates and faster recovery from stress levels that usually peak after solving a complex problem. The group that was not asked to smile had a much longer recovery.

This led to them concluding that there are major psychological benefits to keeping a smile on at all times.

Also, a smile makes us look good, doesn’t it? When I look at myself in the mirror, I am happier and like myself better when I see myself smiling back rather than grouchy or neutral. When you want to get a good headshot for a professional website or even for a passport picture, we are told to have a smile on. I guess we come across as more relaxed and genuine while being professional about it.

Isn’t it amazing, such a small effort with so many benefits and at no cost to us at all?

Let’s all try the smile mudra challenge — the next time you find yourself resisting a tough thought, remind yourself to smile deeply. Like Kraft and Pressman said — “Let’s try to grin and bear it.” No matter what, and see how we benefit from it.

Fun fact — I wrote this entire article with a big Duchenne smile :-).