What do the Mona Lisa’s smile and the most difficult asana in yoga have in common?

The Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda, is Leonardo da Vinci’s Renaissance masterpiece which hangs at the Louvre Museum in Paris. She has a mysterious, captivating smile which has captured the attention of humans ever since she was painted in 1503. The model was a Florentine noble woman by the name of Lisa del Giocondo who was forever immortalized by the great artist. Her smile is one part of our topic today.

The second part, is what is known as the most difficult asana in yoga. No, it’s not any of these formidable poses. It’s seemingly the easiest pose of all, the Corpse Pose, or Savasana. What makes a relaxation pose arguably the most challenging pose in yoga? And what does this have to do with La Gioconda?

Both La Gioconda and Savasana can teach us something about how to meditate, relax our tensions and return to center in the face of an adverse onslaught of thoughts. Got any of those lately? I thought so…

First, to the smile.

As it turns out, per this article, each time you smile, there’s a whole lot of goodness which happens in your body as a result. Some of the smile’s benefits are in the release of dopamine, endorphins and serotonin. Your body may feel more relaxed, your blood pressure may drop and so could your heart rate. Babies and children know it. Adults forget it. A child may smile up to 400 times a day, not to mention experiencing a hearty belly type laughter. Adults? Maybe 20 times a day…

Try it now. Sit down in a comfortable position, or lay down, and close your eyes. Think of something semi difficult you are facing today. Don’t go for 11 on the suffering dial. Something like a 3 or 4 would do. Let yourself connect with your face muscles. Notice the harshness of your lips, any clenching of the jaws. Notice any frown muscles between your eyebrows. Notice the hardness of your belly, any resistance in the chest and lower throat. Any tightness in your shoulders and neck. Bookmark this snapshot of you.

Now, gently, slowly, in mindfulness (read: moment to moment awareness) as you bring to your mind’s eye the image of La Gioconda, gradually allow just the tips of your lips to rise by perhaps 1/8th of an inch, or less, maybe a millimeter, as if pulled upwards very gently by an invisible thread. Notice the difference in your facial expression. Notice the shift in your shoulders, neck, the chest and the belly. Feel the softening. If you can’t feel a difference, allow that mysterious semi-smile to evolve a bit further, even if it first feels incongruent with the theme you have chosen. What are you noticing now? Have a curious attitude about it, be open to registering the change. Bookmark your sensations and the difference between those and the ones which preceded. I use this trick often when meditating and noticing myself in argument with reality, hardening to what is. The La Gioconda’s smile is a great way to begin to soften.

Now, to the Corpse Pose, Savasana. As this Yoga Journal article suggests, “Savasana is a practice of gradually relaxing one body part at a time, one muscle at a time, and one thought at a time. When you do this practice day after day, it conditions the body to release stress and can improve your sense of physical and emotional well-being. But when you have allowed tightness and tension to build up in your body, relaxing—even when you lie down—feels impossible. That's why it's important to practice the other, active asanas before attempting Savasana because they stretch, open, and release tension in the muscles. They also help relax the diaphragm, so the breath can move freely.”

The essence of this practice is about releasing stress, relaxing tension, mindfully (moment by moment with awareness) and intentionally (with intent and purpose). This practice is often very difficult because as you may have noticed, there’s always a place we find ourselves still holding on to stress. Try it now. Lay down (perhaps using the legs on the chair version if your back is hurting) or sit comfortably and begin a feet to head, or head to feet body scan. Note where you are holding tension, use the La Gioconda smile to allow yourself to release a bit of that holding wherever your scan takes you. Frowning muscles in the forehead? Check. Jaws clenching? Check. Shoulders being worn for earrings? Check. Neck and trapezoids in lift and burden mode? Check. Tightness in the throat? Check. Breath stuck in the upper chest? Check. Hardness bracing in the belly? Check. As Stephen Levine said, “the armoring of the heart can be discovered in the hardness of the belly.” In short, we hold and hold and hold so much, practicing Savasana not just in the yoga studio, but moment to moment, or in various times of the day, even sitting at your desk at work, not to mention while meditating, can yield beautiful results and benefits. Your body, heart and your soul will thank you, eventually, your mind may do so as well.

I hope this helps, love,

Noam

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