11 Smiles, frozen lake, sunset silhouette, back view - 01/24/09 (Winter)

Over the years, and especially now as I approach 60 (an age when human bodies are much more susceptible to degenerative diseases, and the deteriorating effects of aging), the "11 Smiles" chi kung routine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MtiAanfoWo
has become one of my favorite health maintenance exercises. Along with Prof. Cheng's 37 Posture Tai Chi Form
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8P-ZCG1ysDo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bm2pY7_EA4
it's the exercise I rely on most to keep all my internal organs, and their inter-related systems, healthy and strong.

11 Smiles takes only about a minute to do - - as long as it takes to breathe in and out 13 times. However, the discipline of smiling several times a day into each vital organ inside my body helps prevent all kinds of self-destructive habits from taking hold inside me - - bad habits which, if allowed to take root, would inevitably undermine and eventually destroy my health.

It's not enough to just exercise daily to maintain a healthy, flexible, youthful-like body as one ages. One also has to avoid all kinds of self-destructive habits which can undermine long-term health. Like smoking. Breathing polluted air. Drinking polluted water. Drug addiction. Alcohol addiction. Bad posture. Malnutrition. Binge eating. Obesity. Unprotected sex with strangers. Poor sleeping habits (which can undermine the immune system). Working to exhaustion. Inadequate rest. Living in unsanitary conditions. Debilitating mental and emotional stress. Etc. Etc.

Doing the 11 Smiles exercise several times a day helps keep all these self-destructive habits from taking root inside me. Daily practice of 11 Smiles reinforces my desire, intent, and will to keep all my vital organs, and all their interconnected, inter-related systems healthy and strong, especially now as I approach age 60.

If I smile into all my vital organs every morning, establishing a positive relationship of reverent respect for my brain as soon as I get out of bed, and again, I smile into my brain during the day, and again, in the evening, is it conceivable I would do something as disrespectful and self-destructive of my brain as introduce various mind-altering drugs into my body, like heroin, cocaine, LSD, or marijuana, which damage and destroy brain cells?

If I smile into each of my lungs regularly, lovingly, like a parent smiles at two newborn infants, encouraging them to grow and thrive, is it conceivable that soon thereafter I would light up a cigarette and send poisonous fumes into both of my lungs, which can cause cancer that destroys not only my lungs, but my entire body?

If I smile into my liver regularly, is it conceivable I would proceed to consume large quantities of alcohol, which poisons the liver and causes such liver diseases as steatosis, hepatitis, and cirrhosis?

If I smile into my heart regularly, is it conceivable I would then proceed to consume a diet full of grease and trans-fats, which will clog my blood vessels, make me obese, and bring on heart-attacks and strokes?

If I smile into my stomach regularly, is it conceivable I would then do something as disrespectful and self-destructive of my stomach as eat food late at night? Would I ask my stomach to do serious digestive work while the rest of my body is trying to fall asleep?

If I smile regularly into my sexual region, is it conceivable I would then go on to have unprotected sex with strangers? Knowing full well that I may be exposing my entire body to AIDS, and a variety of other sexually transmitted diseases?

If I smile regularly into all the bones of my skeletal system, asking them to support me correctly, is it conceivable I would then do something as foolish and self-destructive as maintain bad posture, slouching and slumping in my chair throughout the day?

If I smile regularly into the bone marrow inside my bones, asking it to keep my immune system strong, is it conceivable I would stay up late, night after night, and not set aside 7 or 8 hours of sleep for every 24 hour period, so my body could repair itself, and my immune system could regenerate itself inside my bone marrow?

The answer to all these questions is, of course, a resounding: "I don't think so!"

Knowing that all my inter-related vital organs have to work well together to keep me healthy, why would I do anything that might endanger the health of any one of them?

This is the mindset that the 11 Smiles discipline reinforces in me every day. Basically, at its core, 11 Smiles discourages self-destructive behavior. I attribute my long-term health in great part to this mindset.

ChiGuy396

ChiGuy396@yahoo.com

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