After learning about the inner smile for meditation from various sources (I love the meditation teacher from Bali in “Eat, Pray, Love”), I decided that I would have that smile on my face whenever I thought about it. And I thought about it often. For whenever I put that inner smile on, I feel my whole body smiling. I feel uplifted and at peace. Energized yet relaxed. All worries and concerns fall away.
The first time I remember learning about the inner smile was during a choir directing workshop many years ago. It is a technique for singers to improve their tone. As a choir director, I used it often to bring about a better tone in my choir. I loved testing that technique whenever I was performing. It makes ones face light up and the eyes sparkle. I always had people come up and compliment me even when I sang with a 100 voice choir.
As I look back, I see that I have known about this inner smile for longer than those workshops and meditation demonstrations. I recently read some letters that my mother wrote to her mother when I was a baby. Through her descriptions, I discovered that I was always smiling. Perhaps I was born with a smile on my face. My mother described it as turning me inside out–that’s how big it was, I guess.
This explains why I feel so at home with that inner smile. I have coached many singers and performers about the inner smile, sharing what I have learned. And when they put it into practice, it is a small but remarkable shift in their presentation on stage. In fact, most people in the audience wouldn’t be able to identify what it is that is different. They just enjoyed the performance more.
This subtle shift in one’s face can bring about profound changes in how one approaches life.
Try it: the inner smile is like that smile that naturally comes over your face when you think of someone you love, when you remember a wonderful memory, when you see your loved one from across the room. It lifts your cheekbones and the corners of your mouth. Your eyes naturally sparkle with the glow of unconditional love. Love bubbles up from your heart and shows up on your face.
Take a moment now to put that inner smile on….and feel it….what do you notice?
Is the inner smile already a part of your daily practice? Please share about how you learned about it and how you use it.
If it is not a part of your daily practice, try it out. See how it makes you feel. Notice how people respond to you. Please share below about your experiences.
“When your smiling, the whole world smiles with you.”
–Shay, Fisher and Goodwin
