Welcome to today's smiling mindfulness exercise.
Allow yourself to sit down or lie down getting as comfortable as possible.
Making any final adjustments as necessary.
And here taking a moment to acknowledge yourself for showing up for today's practice.
Let's start by listening to the sounds that are furthest away.
See if you can stretch your listening as you attempt to listen to the sounds that are furthest away.
And as you're stretching your listening,
What you're really stretching is your awareness.
And as you scan for the sounds,
See if you can allow these sounds to behave as sonar.
Helping you locate yourself in the present moment,
In the here and the now.
Helping the sounds to inform your presence in the present moment.
From here now,
See if you can focus your awareness and contract your listening to just the sounds in your immediate space,
The room you're in.
If you can focus on the sound of my voice,
The soft sound of the music,
And any sounds in your immediate space.
Once again allowing these sounds to inform your presence in the present moment.
And from here,
Focusing your attention and your awareness further and contracting your listening as you go from listening to the sounds in the space to listening to the sensation of the body as it breathes.
Feeling the rising and the falling of the body as it breathes in and breathes out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
And as you continue to breathe,
Let's start.
It might feel a little bit silly,
But see if you can slowly bring a smile to your face.
You don't have to have a huge grin,
Maybe just a small smile.
But bring a smile to your face.
Notice how it makes your face feel.
In fact,
How does it make your whole body feel?
Continue to smile and notice how it feels.
Perhaps,
Does it make you feel a little bit happier?
You may find it useful to let yourself think of a time when you felt happy.
Maybe remembering a time when something good happened.
Just keep smiling and notice how it feels.
Remembering to breathe in and breathe out.
Bringing a smile.
Notice how it makes your face feel.
How does it make your whole body feel?
Does it make you feel a little bit happier?
As you continue to smile,
Breathing in and breathing out.
Bringing a smile,
Breathing in and breathing out.
Science has shown that our physiology has a direct impact on our mood,
Our well-being.
Are there any doubts about this?
Think about someone that you know is hunched over.
We often say that it feels like they are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.
You can see that in their physiology.
Just noticing that you can cultivate a happier way of being through cultivating smiling physiology.
It's an invitation to smile more.
In your own time and not a moment sooner,
Allowing your face to rest.
Slowly allowing a smile fade away if you so wish or continuing to smile if you so wish.
Gently bringing some movement back into your fingers and your toes.
Perhaps even inviting in a light stretch as you reawaken the body.
Take a moment to acknowledge yourself for showing up for your practice today as you return to the day energized and revitalized.
Thanks for watching.
