Datasets:
monomer
/
program_peace

Dataset card Data Studio Files
xet
 Community
1
line
stringlengths
1
117
zygomatic muscles and in women they tend to be much larger Conditioning the zygomatic
muscles will make your smile unambiguous and make your face leaner and friendlier
Smiling Exercise Zygomatic Smiling
Smile with only the zygomatic muscle leaving the risorius and buccinators relaxed To do
this pull the corners of your mouth diagonally upward toward your cheekbones a sneer
pulls the lips up vertically the risorius pulls them out horizontally believe the zygomatic
smile is more draining than the risorius smile because it is more closely tied to the stress
system The more you pair it with diaphragmatic breathing the less effortful it will be to use
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Repeated rhythmic contractions as in Exercise can also help build muscle tone and
coordination Instead of holding a prolonged contraction you may consider performing
rapid zygomatic and risorius contractions
Illustration A Each of the muscles involved in smiling is anchored at the corners of the mouth The two
zygomatic muscles stretch up to the cheekbone the risorius extends laterally toward the side of the face and the
buccinator is the large muscle underneath the others B Zygomatic exercises will help strengthen the muscles
centered around the cheekbone C D Risorius and buccinator exercises will increase the prominence and size of
smile lines andor dimples
As you practice the exercises in this chapter your entire cheek will become much leaner
and more muscular giving the impression of a long history of relaxed confident smiling People
will see this and implicitly assume that you are a happy person who has been smiling healthfully
all their life When you exercise the smiling muscles you may notice other facial muscles
reaching fatigue before your smiling muscles due to their relative lack of exercise This is most
likely to be a problem with the heavily strained sneering muscles Luckily the issue is fairly
simple to address
Refrain from Sneering
In my twenties a friend told me that smile like the Grinch It hurt to hear but he was right
My sickening smile was perverted from the repetitive strain of muscles around my nose
These included the three pairs of levator labii muscles which run along the sides of the nose
from the height of the eyes down to the lip They work in tandem to lift the upper lip and reveal
the canines
As you know revealing the upper teeth is a threat display in most primates Chimps bare
their top teeth in a grin when they are frightened uncertain or uncomfortable It often means
they are ready to fight Interestingly baring the teeth during a fight is a sign of uncertainly and
fear Highranking chimps seldom show their top teeth while lowranking animals frequently
do it All of this indicates to me that the muscles that lift the top lip are the smiling muscles
most closely associated with stress and submission Check the action of these muscles in the
mirror What do you think
Chapter Strengthen and Tone Your Smile
Illustration A Muscles involved in sneering B Chimpanzee sneering C Girl sneering
Sneering is common in human infants For example all infants sneer in fear when they are
momentarily left alone by their mothers using the logic presented in Chapter this suggests a
link with grief Scientists believe older humans learn to inhibit the sneering reflex because
sneering is not accepted in polite society Most adults only knowingly sneer to communicate
disgust or disdain Much more accepted is an unconscious partial sneer bracing the sneering
muscles just slightly We see this in people who curl their lip for minutes at a time By doing
that they subject their muscles to repetitive strain Over time that leaves the muscles ina
state of partial contraction
The use of the sneering muscles amounts to a fascinating psychological complex When
trigger points within the sneer change from latent to active you become committed to a
negative emotion because it is now advertised on your face Once you know someone else has
seen your sneering muscles become tense it forces your hand You implicitly decide you must
either act scared or aggressive The activation of latent trigger points within the sneering
muscles is the incendiary event in many negative confrontations Since using massage to
obliterate the trigger points in my sneering and frowning muscles have been virtually free of
heated reactions previously thought my anger was unjustly provoked by others but now
realize was allowing others to activate latent trigger points in my sneering muscles and it was
this that compelled me to react prematurely and discourteously
If you can release the tension in your levator labii it will make your resting face appear less
guarded Some people will not be able to tell whether you look unguarded because you are
friendly or because you are angry This is because dominant people often completely release
the levator labii when provoked Thus when you let this muscle relax you will either appear
calm and angelic or calm and dangerous Your other postures and actions will determine which
The first step in making your sneerless expression noncombative is becoming more aware of
the tension in your sneering muscles which you can do using the activity below
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Smiling Activity Sneer Awareness
Sit stand or kneel in front of a mirror It is best to have a light overhead that casts a shadow over
your marionette lines nasolabial folds so that you can see them move Play around with the sneering
muscles that lift and curl your upper lip Practice making the smallest sneer and the largest sneer that
you can Transition gradually between them Become aware of the sensation of sneering slightly and
how that differs from not sneering at all Pretend to say something rude to an acquaintance and
notice how you maintain a light sneer afterward Just as you want to stop squinting and raising the
eyebrows chronically you want to end your chronic sneer
When people see that your sneering muscle is relaxed they will try to imitate this Unless
they have practiced it and massaged the muscles they will likely not be able to do it
comfortably for long This is because once the sneer is relaxed even a slight emotional
aggravation can make this tense muscle snap back to full contraction reflexively Thus you may
find that people flash sneers at you inadvertently Just ignore this keep your sneering muscles
calm and continue being kind
Be particularly aware of the presence of the sneer in your smile Strained sneering muscles
cause us to smile when we are nervouswe use the smile to cover up the sneer In fact a
strained sneer tarnishes our every smile Our smile has become conflated with our sneer
and often even we dont know whether we are sneering or smiling see the first picture of me
above The exercise below will help guide you to use the risorius and zygomatic muscles
without using the levator labii to create a sneerless smile
Smiling Activity A Sneerless Smile
Sit stand or kneel in front of a mirror Look carefully at your lips Raise the corners of your mouth
while the center of your top lip stays still This involves using your risorius muscle to draw the corners
of your lips outward horizontally and using the zygomatic muscle to raise them diagonally Do this
without squinting or sneering Ensure that you are not sneering by keeping the center of your top lip
cupids bow neutral
You can also monitor your sneer with your fingers To do this make a peace sign with your hand
extending the middle and forefingers Place them just to the side of each nostril Sneer a few times
and become accustomed to how the muscles move under your fingertips You will feel the skin rise
Return to smiling without sneering using your fingers to track your success
The sneerfree smile will look ridiculous at first but the more you pair it with diaphragmatic
breathing the more sincere it will feel to you and the more genuine it will appear to others
Chapter Strengthen and Tone Your Smile
Rea e
MHL Le