Smile with Your Eyes

Embody what you want, and you can change how your body feels. 2020 has been a year of missing everyone’s smiles behind their masks but are we really missing our smiling connections? Smiling is felt everywhere in our bodies, and although my Smile series was inspired by a client with Parkinson’s disease to help her exercise her fascial muscles and connect energetically outwardly; it immediately became much more because we are all living behind masks these days. This everyday safety precaution has changed our lives and made me miss seeing everyone’s smile throughout my day. From the cashier at my local café to greeting my clients, smiling while wearing a mask needs more attention. Our current normal has allowed me to think about how we do connect and feel a smile in our bodies. Smiling energy can be found in any part of our bodies, so I created a Somatic series to help us all connect to our smiles and each other. Like anything else worthwhile, it’s worth practicing!

The noted author and Ted Talk speaker Brene Brown has touted the benefits of physically embodying success. We know that all emotional responses physically look the same across cultures:, sadness, anger, mourning all look the same and that if you embody them your body comes to feel them. Actors have been using this as a professional tool for decades and it is well documented in legendary acting guru Konstantin Stanislavski’s technique informally known as the “method.” The point is to embody what you want. Raise your arms up and feel successful. Practice smiling with your eyes to feel joy and connect passed wearing a mask. 

Even a mask can’t stop the infamous Mona Lisa‘s smile from shining through her eyes.  

Here is my Smile Series. Make sure to initiate from the specific body part listed but don’t limit. Allow your body to react, express, and experience the change smiling naturally brings. Take note of the changes and practice your own observation skills. What changes physically, emotionally, energetically? Do you need imagery of something pleasant to help feel the benefits of the physical shaping or does the act of smiling help you feel different? Send your smiles out to someone in the room or virtually.

Here are my six favorite ways to embody smiling but you can smile through any part of your body so be creative and bring in 2021 with a smile.

Tracie’s Smile Series

1. Smile through your mouth – what do you notice?
2. Smile through your eyes – what do you notice?
3. Smile through your hands – what do you notice?
4. Smile through your arms – what do you notice?
5. Smile through your spine – what do you notice?
6. Smile through your feet/toes – what do you notice?

Please share your observations and what you notice in the comments. What changes are you experiencing physically, emotionally, and energetically?

Some images that inspire me to smile are a snowy mountain side, my cat snoring, a great cup of coffee or the strong smell of ocean and sand that wafts into the car before I even reach the beach. What images work for you?