Keiko Kawano, a smile coach in Japan, is helping her clients learn to smile again after three years of Covid-era masking. Ms. Kawano’s curriculum, typically taught in one-hour sessions online or in person, draws on yoga and emphasizes strengthening the zygomatic muscles, which pull the corners of the mouth. She also believes that the muscles just below the eyes are key and that weak ones create eyebrow-driven smiles, which can make the forehead look wrinkly. Her work has been received well by clients, and she even offers a one-day certification training for people who want to teach smiling. Smiling lessons may seem very Western, but they can help people improve their facial expressions and even build self-confidence. With Ms. Kawano’s help, Japanese people can learn to smile again and enjoy the happiness it brings.
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