Best Way to Lift Your Mood with Smiling, Laughing, and Roaring

Simply by altering your facial expression or having a laugh (even a forced laugh) you can you can lift your mood and let go of tension and negativity in a matter of moments. If you are too stressed to smile or a laugh, then roar.

Grin like a Cheshire cat

It is impossible to feel miserable or stressed with a broad smile on your face. If you cannot manage a genuine smile of enjoyment, then fake it – it often leads to the real thing. Smiling, even when simulated, immediately alters your frame of mind, making you feel instantly better about yourself. The knock-on effect is that people then respond to you much more positively.

Laugh like a hyena

A good belly laugh not only gives you a natural high (stimulating the production of endorphins), it is great way to relax and relieve stress. Along with an array of health benefits, laughter exercises and releases tension in the muscles of the face, scalp, neck, torso, shoulders, arms and legs, and suppresses the production of stress hormones. And it keeps you looking and feeling young!

You don’t need an endless repertoire of funny jokes or to be brilliantly witty – all you need is the ability to see the funny side of life – and stressful situations. As with smiling, if you cannot come up with genuine belly laughter, then fake it till you make it. Laughter – even fake laughter – is infectious.

Roar like a lion

Because it involves making a pretty grotesque facial expression, not to mention sticking your tongue out, it takes courage to do this in public. That said, the Lion pose is a great stress-buster which strengthens, tones and eases tension in the tongue, jaws, lips, throat and facial muscles. In addition to relieving stress, regular practice of the pose tightens the facial muscles, improving appearance, and is said to improve the voice quality and to prevent or cure sore throats.

Sit in the kneeling position with your hands palms down on your knees. Take a deep inhalation then exhale forcefully until your lungs are empty, making an aaargh sound as you do so. At the same time open your eyes and mouth as wide as possible, stretch your tongue out as far as it will go, as though silently roaring, straighten your arms, stretch out your fingertips, and tense the whole body. Hold for as long as you can, then close your mouth and breathe in through your nose. Take a few normal breaths then repeat.

Although traditionally performed in the kneeling position, as a quick stress-buster you can do the Lion in any comfortable position – at your desk or in the driving seat of your car.