My tongue helps me stay calm and non-judgmental!

Have you ever observed your mind dancing? Let’s take a deep breath and observe our thoughts for a minute. Did you observe how fast are the dance movements of the mind!

Our mind keeps swaying and spinning every now and then. It keeps making moves, some moves are breathtaking while others are just casual. The mind takes a backward step by thinking of the past and then a forward step by thinking of the future. It also sways sideways with pleasant and unpleasant emotions. These amazing dance movements make us lose focus of what we are doing in the present moment.

During long conversations or meetings, we may continue hearing words but loose focused listening. Even while trying to listen attentively, our background thought process makes us judgmental about what we are listening. As a result, we have a strong urge to speak up without letting the speaker finish his part.

We can use our tongue either to talk back giving our judgmental reactions or respond calmly and mindfully. Our tongue is so magical. So, I tried anchoring my tongue by gently touching the tip of the tongue to the roof of the mouth with mouth closed, and then paying attention to listening or watching something. Just like when we make the sound “n” or “t”, stick it to the palate.

I experienced that this tongue position keeps the reactive and the judgmental part of my mind engaged and gives me the power to enjoy more in the present moment.

Ever since I have started using this anchor its become easier for me to stay non-judgmental about myself, other people, things or events. Now I feel less stressed, relish conversations more, feel more balanced, productive, happy and satisfied.

Anchoring the tongue gives me easy control over my thoughts and emotions. I get the power to respond back after deep listening rather than shooting my reaction or running away from conversations. Now, I have the power to choose my thoughts. I have the autonomy to be non-judgmental and make full use of the “now”.

I use this tongue anchoring while focusing on learning, listening, silent reading, memorizing, watching videos, driving, cooking or walking. I use this technique for activities where I need to be calm, quiet and focused.

SMILES in Life Foundation calls this tongue position as M.L.P. ( Mindful Listening/Learning Position)

In Yoga, this tongue position is called Nabho Mudra. It has a profound effect on diseases of heart, lungs, and brain and helps overcome insomnia, anxiety, high blood pressure, diseases of tongue, throat, eyes and is especially beneficial in all stress-related or psychosomatic diseases.

Even the dentists suggest this anchoring and call it the Correct Tongue Resting Position. They say it makes the face more attractive with higher cheekbones and a stronger jawline. The reason being that this position makes the muscles of our mouth rest at the appropriate place.

While doing Tai Chi this tongue positioning is recommended too because the tongue acts as the switch that connects these two meridians — the conceptual vessel in the front of our body to the governing vessel in the back.

Please try this technique and share your experiences with me…