While participating in a class by psychologist Lisa DeLongchamps, she instructed us to say to ourselves “relaxed and amused.” The whole class was astonished that something so simple could be so profound. Over the years, using this phrase whenever things got tense was a godsend. At one point, I was looking in the mirror saying the phrase and it was uncanny how my mouth naturally went into a little smile and I felt a renewed sense of delight.
In Taoist trainings such a Qi Gong, students are instructed to have an inner smile while performing their exercise routine. I invite you to utilize this technique for just five minutes a day and see what happens. What’s most important is to find a way to practice this every day. You can practice in bed before you retire or before you slide out in the mornings.
Recently, my son talked me into a bowling league. Both of us hadn’t bowled in quite awhile and it took some time to find our rhythm. Years before, I developed the practice of smiling to the pins before I bowled them down. My son was having a particularly difficult day and his face showed it. I mentioned to him about having a smile on your face when it’s your turn to bowl. Once he smiled, he did fantastic and we ended up have a lot of fun the rest of the night.
I invite you into a dialog about the Inner Smile.
When does your smile naturally appear?
How often do you catch yourself smiling or noticing a moment of amusement.
These are muscles we habitually use and the process of training them to show up on call can change our outlook on life.
Isn’t life easier when smiling is fun and natural? When you break out a smile, do you notice how others reflect it back?
Tags: health, inner smile, Lisa DeLongchamps, scott wurtz, smiling, Wellness
