Smile Meditation started by Prof. Park Jae Woo is a simple meditation technique that stresses on practicing original smile from body, mind and soul, in order to lead a peaceful and stress-free life
Smile Meditation is one of the forms of Yoga. It is relatively easier than the other forms of meditation and you can easily develop expertise over it in a short period of time. This technique targets a person’s mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual growth.

Introduced by Prof. Park Jae Woo, Smile Meditation uses Yoga techniques of body postures and breathing and helps in gaining a pure smile which contributes to the purpose of living in harmony with the world.

Smile Meditation is realized through an orderly form of meditation (that is practiced in a sequential and logical manner) as comprehended under the Triorigin concept, helps an individual to be able to merge smile as an integral part of meditation, such that they become conscious of the real purpose of their existence and lead a life with smiles.

Triorigin is the fundamental order governing and managing the evolution of the universe. Based on the principle of Triorigin, smile meditation is a unique process conjoining smile and meditation to achieve self-perfection and to lead a happy and healthy life free from all sorts of sufferings. Smile meditation allows a person to be aware of his smilic nature and to see smiles in every object of this world, in every moment of time, in any situation.

Like any forms of meditation, the mind is prepared for peace and relaxation. Thoughts are cleared of all negative vibes, where positive phrases are reinforced to create those positive thoughts and emotions. Learning the art of smile yoga is also learning to perfect oneself and live life the way it should be harmoniously lived. The focus of this form of meditation is on postures and movements that are easy and comfortable to do. Any motion causing pain can disrupt the body’s ability to smile. Every movement is taken slowly, where nothing is rushed, forced, or strained.

Health Benefits of Smile Meditation
A smile doesn’t only make you look good, but it can also give you plenty of health benefits like:
1. Reducing your risk of depression due to Endorphins released when you feel happy
2. Being viral and spreading that happy feeling to people in a room
3. Relief from stress, fears, anxieties, or worries
4. Better immune system that protects you from catching colds and flu
5. Lower blood pressure levels
6. Lower risk of heart disease
7. Natural pain reliever when you feel happy

In Practice
Ensure you won’t be disturbed – so the universe knows ‘this time is yours’. Have some ambient relaxation music in the background. This meditation will work best without a guide, as the journey will be unique to you.

•     Take a few full breaths and then find a natural and relaxed rhythm, slow and deep. Scan your body from tip to toe to let go of muscle tension and physical stress.
•     Say something similar to, “I use this time to appreciate the joy in my life. I give thanks for the people, places and things that make me smile.” Then, if you haven’t already, gently turn up the corners of your mouth.
•     It should feel natural. If it feels forced, back off and wait for thoughts and joyful feelings to energize it before you continue. Don’t hunt down things you ‘think’ should make you happy, or that you ‘should’ be thankful for. Relax, let go, sink into the intent you set, and see what comes. Let go of needing to have control.
•     Think of your thoughts as clouds. In a massive sky full of clouds, gently let your gaze focus on one. Look at it, feel it, draw from it, but don’t connect so much that the other clouds in the sky disappear. Don’t crave attachment to it. Just know that as one cloud passes, another will arrive, and another.
•     The arrival and departure of your thoughts in meditation should be effortless. No expectation – or hanging on. And as these clouds continue to pass by, connect to the Energy of your Smile. Feel it. Experience it. Be it.

However, even though it is difficult to improve concentration, it is not entirely impossible. Perseverance is important in improving your concentration power. Here are the top 20 ways with which you can improve your concentration. 

Select your environment

The environment in which you work plays an important role in improving your concentration.

Comfortable and appealing environments are more conducive to attaining full concentration while working.

Usually, while selecting the environment, keep in mind, the lesser the distractions, the better the chances of working with full concentration.

Control your thoughts

The key to concentration is to not allow your mind to distract you with casual thoughts.

When unrelated thoughts emerge in the mind, pay no attention to them and actively focus on the task you are trying to accomplish.

Make a time plan

Make a schedule for the jobs to be done. In order to balance, allocate time appropriately to serious tasks, and to leisure as well.

This will help you feel more fulfilled and less weak toward playful distractions.

Never be negative

Do not tell yourself that you cannot concentrate; this will make it more difficult to focus, because you will force your mind to be short of concentration and attention.

Avoid Multi-tasking

Multi-tasking ensures that we cannot concentrate on one single task at hand when we have a horde of tasks lying in front of us.

Focus on completing each task before moving on to the next.

Cut off the Noise

Cutting off noise is very important, as it is obvious that distractions won't help you focus.

Though it can be tempting to put the e-mail alerts on, reply to the BBM or whatsapp messenger and answer every request sent your way, eventually it will only prevent you from concentrating.

Diet and Exercise

Focus depends, to a great deal, on a balanced diet and exercise plan.

Lack of essential nutrients can cause fatigue and lethargy. Ensure concentration by eating a diet rich in nuts and fruits containing Vitamin E, and follow through with a healthy workout routine.

Understand the task

Concentration is particularly difficult if you have doubts about what you are doing or if you find the task confusing.

When work is difficult, the mind looks for easier things to do. Hence, try to get a general overview and develop a basic concept and framework before you start each task.

Conquer Procrastination

Don't feel like concentrating? Are you putting off a task? This is procrastination.

Do not postpone, in fact simply decide to not leave your seat till the burdensome task is over.

Spot your peak times

All of us have our times of peak alertness in the 24-hours cycle. However, it is not the same for all.

Find out yours and use it for more tricky or less interesting tasks.

Be positive

Whenever you need to focus, tell yourself over and over again that you can concentrate, and this will easily help you to develop this ability.

Divide tasks

Tasks that have no clear start or end point will destroy your focus. If you have a large project that needs work, clearly identify a path that you will use to get started working on it.

Concentration Exercises

Exercise restores the loss in focus by improving mind and body coordination.

Focus is closely related to memory preservation exercises like coin trick, chair trick. This will improve your concentration.

Meditation

Meditation is not a cure; but, if you can practice sincerely and learn to control the mind you will notice a difference, and slowly improve your concentration power.

Go slow

It is important to discipline yourself as well as put in more time to effective use.

So start small, but stick to it if you are not able to concentrate easily.

Train your brain

In order to improve your concentration you need to train your brain.

If you are unable to focus on a subject for more than a few seconds, but if you preserve, you will be able to fix the mind on anything for a longer duration.

Set a Deadline

Deadlines work well when trying to strengthen concentration.

A deadline can make it easier to forget the non-essential and speed up your working time.

Get enough sleep

Impose a regular bedtime.

Tiredness, fatigue and lack of a good night's sleep is one of the leading causes of poor concentration.

Steady progress

If you feel you are horrible at concentration, try to make small improvements each week.

If you get distracted for say half of the time, make an effort to get distracted for less time each week.

Manage requirements

Make sure that you have arranged all your requirements before you start with each task.

This may avoid unnecessary distractions, and you will work serenely.

Unite your heart with mind

Applying your mind to the work is a requirement in any case; adding positive attitude makes the real difference.

When you start enjoying the work, your understanding of it and desire to concentrate on it is much faster and better.