Why You Should Smile in Navasana
- Sanne van der Heijden
- Apr 15
- 4 min read
Halfway through Ashtanga Yoga’s Primary Series...
There is an asana (pose) that takes a relatively large amount of effort. Especially when the teacher counts this pose — Navasana, or Boat Pose — five times five breaths, and you’re already tired from the sun salutations, fundamental poses, standing, and seated sequences. The last thing you want to do is smile!
Usually, your mind kicks in with resistance:
"This isn't fun and relaxing"
"The teacher is counting way too slow,"
"Why am I doing this again?"
And unconsciously, your face turns into a frown.
At this point in class, I often say something like, “Put a smile on your face, because it will help your brain to believe it’s nice.” And that’s true — but wait, there’s more! A fake smile helps and works during the pose. But redefining the experience can make that gentle smile a genuine one and prepare you for challenging situations in life.
Facial Feedback Hypothesis
There’s a scientific name for the encouragement to smile during Navasana. It’s called the Facial Feedback Hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that your facial expressions influence your emotional experience.
This idea was recently tested in a global, multi-center study published in Nature Human Behavior. Regarding fake smiling, they concluded that:
“A facial mimicry and voluntary facial action task could both amplify and initiate feelings of happiness.”
In other words, both mimicking a smile and voluntarily smiling can start and increase feelings of happiness. The only disappointment was that they couldn’t prove the same effect for the group of participants with a pen in their mouths. While that might be unfortunate for those stuck in long office meetings, it doesn’t change the conclusion for our yoga class situation. Smile!
The Reason to Smile
Is an asana difficult or challenging? Good! That means you are getting stronger, more flexible, and improving your stamina, focus, and discipline. Every pose has a goal, and working toward that goal — and succeeding — is a reason to be content and smile.
A very important note: the asana should be practiced in the right alignment, without causing potentially damaging pain. Your teacher can help you with this and give modifications to do the pose in a safe way. You are responsible for finding the balance between challenging yourself and not forcing it. Ask yourself:
Am I cutting corners?
Am I putting in genuine effort?
Am I pushing too far while my body is not ready?
Gratefulness
In Ashtanga Yoga, we call this attitude Saṃtoṣa (संतोष), or contentment. It means we should feel content, grateful and at peace with the situation we are in. If you’re in Navasana during class, it means:
You were able to walk, bike, or drive to the studio.
Your body functions well enough to practice.
You had the time and means to attend class.
The contentment here lies in gratefulness for what you do have. It helps me to be grateful for very basic but big things. For example, I feel grateful for just being a human — one amongst billions — on this planet and being aware of it. When I see the “Pale Blue Dot” image or imagine where the Voyagers are now, I feel grateful for the ability to even think about these things.
Redefining the Experience
With this small bit of science, combined with the benefits of practice and the attitude of Samtosa, you now have a few tools to redefine the experience of a challenging pose.
If your inner narrator tends to be persistent (or just active in general), this structure might help:
Step 1: Become aware of your current thoughts.
Realize your thoughts are not who you are.
Step 2: Focus on your breath.
Step 3: Clear your mind and think rationally:
– What are the facts?– Are you doing the pose safely?– Is there a real concern?
Step 4: Fill your mind with true, helpful thoughts, like:
“I can do it.”“I’m not paralyzed.”“I’m becoming stronger.”
These steps are based on the tools Kino MacGregor describes in her book The Power of Ashtanga Yoga. I’ve used them ever since I read about them.
The thoughts that help will be different for everyone, so choose one that suits you and the moment. Maybe next time on the mat you’ll remember this post and the next time you think about it, you might want to read it again. And maybe the third time in a difficult pose— you implement these steps, maybe just the first one. Over time, this can become a regular part of your practice and by that time, you can compare the difference in the experience of the asana.
And when life gets uncomfortable — just like an intense asana — you can use these steps to meet the difficult situation with more calmness, clarity, and consciousness.
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If you're still reading — thank you for your time. I’d love to learn about your experience during class, and whether the ideas in this blog resonate with you. If you feel like sharing, you can leave a comment — or reflect on one (or more) of the questions below:
What do you usually tell yourself in the middle of a challenging pose?
Can you see yourself using the steps I shared — or maybe you already have your own version?
Has your yoga practice ever helped you get through something difficult off the mat?
See you in class!
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Sources:
Coles, N.A., March, D.S., Marmolejo-Ramos, F. et al. (2022). A multi-lab test of the facial feedback hypothesis by the Many Smiles Collaboration. Nature Human Behavior, 6, 1731–1742. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01458-9
NASA (2025). Voyager 1’s Pale Blue Dot. Accessed April 14, 2025. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-1s-pale-blue-dot/
MacGregor, Kino (2013). The Power of Ashtanga Yoga: Developing a Practice That Will Bring You Strength, Flexibility, and Inner Peace. Shambhala Publications.
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