After years of the global coronavirus pandemic, with all the stress, social distancing, various lockdowns and the requirement to wear masks, some have forgotten how to be happy. That’s why they started organizing courses in Japan to learn to smile again. The app went into effect last February, in line with the “downgrade” of Covid-19 to a widespread disease. Beneath the masks, their facial muscles were immobilized for too long, darkening the faces of men and women who today rely on a trainer to learn how to re-move their muscles to express their joy.
Keiko Kawano, a radio host, has been taking smile lessons since 2017. At that time, Kawano noticed that his smile faded when he stopped doing vocal exercises for a long time. He decided to study the functioning of the facial muscles so that they always kept the cheekbones and corners of the mouth high. “People work the rest of their body, but not their face,” the presenter said, “the secret is to lift the eye muscles.”
Kawano has developed a method that turns him into a true smile trainer. Initially, his interest grew after the beneficial outcome of his lectures was confirmed by a television presenter in a post on social media. After 90 minutes of classes in gyms in front of schoolchildren, he moved on to corporate etiquette and smiling classes to arrive at Ibn Japan, a major computer systems manufacturer, where his teachings were “welcomed” by employees.
According to the news of the Times, the turning point came with Covid-19. For years, people have hidden their faces behind a mask, immobilizing their facial muscles for many hours of the day. It has “rusted” facial expressions that are saddened by the critical situation. Although the trainer was able to increase her followers by recommending how to smile with masks on social media in an emergency, the end of the pandemic spread her motto: “Smile more, more happiness”, quickly increasing demands for her lessons. Kawano began offering online and in-person courses, mostly in corporate offices and nursing homes. Katsuyo Iwahashi, a municipal official in Kanagawa prefecture, who works in public health programs and plans to give some sessions to responsible mothers of young children “in the hope of helping them smile through the difficult moments of motherhood,” highlighted the benefits of her work. and post-pandemic”.
Instructor-taught courses are filled with the typical stretches of yoga, allowing you to strengthen the cheekbone muscles, thereby pulling the corners of the mouth and providing a serene expression. The muscles just below the eyes are essential, the muscles that need to be lifted without moving the eyebrows too much to not strain the forehead and give life to a driven smile.
According to facial expression expert Yael Hanein, there is no scientific evidence that prolonged muscle rest can have a negative effect on facial movements. For the professor, however, the facial muscles can be worked like the rest of the body, even if this type of training is “grueling” given the great variability between individuals. Most importantly, this smile “doesn’t look fake,” she added. “These smile lessons feel very Western,” said Tomohisa Sumida, a researcher at Keio University in the Land of the Rising Sun, in fact, “a greeting is much more important than a smile.”
Despite this, customers seem quite satisfied. “Intentional muscle movements send positive signals to the brain that can help build self-confidence,” says psychologist Masami Yamaguchi, “these stimuli can generate positive emotions even when you’re not actually happy.” Kawano also offers a certificate course for those who want to teach how to smile for 80,000 yen, about 540 euros.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
